Prince George city council has a full agenda for tonight's meeting, with many items held over from the Oct. 3 session:
Chamber revisits municipal auditor general
The Prince George Chamber of Commerce will make a presentation to council, seeking their support for a municipal auditor general. The proposed official would conduct audits on the finances and performance of the city government. The British Columbia Chamber of Commerce supports the initiative.
Daycare site proposed
A proposal to develop an out-of-school childcare program will come before council tonight. The landowners of 361 Corless Cresent are asking the city to approve a rezoning application that would allow for a major use community care facility. Currently, the property is only zoned for a facility that would allow 10 children. The new zoning would allow for up to 25. The proposed hours for the operation would be 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 to 5 p.m., which should lessen noise and traffic concerns. The closest similar daycare facility is at the Highland Community Centre. According to the staff report, the proposal is within the scope of the Official Community Plan and would not result in a concentration of similar facilities.
Tabor Mountain registration update
The Tabor Mountain Recreation Society will provide the city with an update on the progess of the registration of trails on Tabor Mountain. The society is looking to the city for their support in the form of free office space. More than 400 kilometres of trails have been registered.
Downtown Partnership celebrates successes
The Downtown Partnership will update city council on their work and developments over the third quarter of 2011. According to the group's report their success include the August approval of the Downtown Incentives Program, the return of Summerfest, the tile mosaic in the gardens of Spirit Square and $33.6 million in downtown building permits.
Transparency recommended
Postponed from the Oct. 3 meeting, council will hear Councillor Brian Skakun's recommendation that the City of Prince George council adopt a new, more transparent financial reporting strategy. Similar to that of the City of Quesnel, Skakun is suggesting a system noting items such as accounts payable clerk's cheque listings and electronic fund transfers that would be included in the city council agenda once per month. Some issues still to be worked out would be privacy concerns, solicitor-client issues and the ability of staff to create such a monthly report.
Waste diversion postponed
City manager Derek Bates will present the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George's study on curbside waste reduction. Since the amendment of the province's recycling regulation requiring producers to have a collection recycling program in place for packaging material and printed products by May 2014, it is recommended that further work on introducing new diversion strategies is postponed until those new details are fully understood.
