The Mission Record Thursday, September 27, 2012 3 The Mission Record Thursday, September 27, 2012 3
Council meetings now broadcast via website By Carol aun Mission Record
Mission residents who can’t attend council meetings can now watch the proceedings from home at their convenience. Council did not advertise its first broadcast via webcam last Monday. “It’s new technology for us and we’re trying to work out the bugs,” explained Paul Gipps, the district’s deputy chief administrative officer who organized the project. Gipps says the district will try to improve on the sound and picture quality before the next meeting is streamed. The feed is live and its quality will depend partly on your bandwidth and how fast your computer can download the information. Viewers need Flash to watch the live broadcast, but the archived meetings are available on multiple platforms, said Shaun Green, the district’s IT project coordinator. The camera is mounted above the doors at the back of council chambers. There is only one now, and the system can be upgraded to include more cameras to offer different views, but that would require more funds, he added. Currently, the district has only budgeted about $15,000, or 30 meetings a year, for the project. All committee of the whole and extraordinary meetings, such as the budget presentation, will be covered. District staff began exploring webcasting about 10 months ago when politicians said they wanted to open up meetings and connect with the public. Staff researched television broadcasts too, but with
Shaun Greene, Mission’s IT project coordinator, adjusts the camera used to broadcast meetings inside council chambers. CAROL AUN PHOTO
the Internet, you don’t have to sit down at a given time or be watching a specific channel, said Gipps. Archived meeting recordings are broken down per item, allowing viewers to target their viewing to a specific discussion. Staff will monitor the progress of the webcasts and provide a report to
council by year’s end. To view meetings, visit mission.ca and follow the links. 14 core services review recommendations approved Mission council has approved 14 of 21 recommendations from the core services review released in July.
Council deferred all six forestryrelated items, and wants to investigate alternative options to make forestry operations more efficient and effective. The elected group also nixed the recommendation to eliminate council committee chairs. According to the report, commit-
tee chairs detract from good discussion at council meetings and eliminating them would shift more accountability to the chief administrative officer. Most councillors disagreed. “I’ve yet to be shown this council is having difficulty having good discussions in meetings,” said Coun. Dave Hensman. “When council members have portfolios, they are looking at things more carefully.” “From a political point of view, I like that we’re doing and want to continue it,” said Mayor Ted Adlem. Coun. Nelson Tilbury was the only one to support the recommendation, reasoning councillors could have tunnel vision when they are focused on certain portfolios. Approved recommendations: • Continue sound financial management; reviews should be conducted for select processes; create two business units to support IT infrastructure; rotate IT staff to enhance after-hours support; council should commit to supporting a pre-defined number of improvement projects annually; contractors/partners should be held accountable for major capital projects; improve accountability by establishing a performance management framework; re-organize department and staff resources to better support the organization; develop a comprehensive communication strategy; create a communication position; establish a succession plan; expand governance policies to direct council; create a partnership strategy, and; explore one-window service delivery. The full report can be found at mission.ca.
Property transferred to Crown under Civil Forfeiture Act By Carol aun Mission Record
A 6.42-acre property at 10836 Greenwood Drive in Mission has been transferred to the Crown under the Civil Forfeiture Act. Supreme Court Justice Gordon C. Weatherill also transferred one-fifth ownership of the property at 33293 Dewdney Trunk Rd. to the Crown, along with proceeds of $25,000. The two properties are owned, directly or
indirectly, by eight members of the Hurtubise family, and housed marijuana grow operations. While the judge found that most of the owners were not aware of the illegal activity taking place on the properties, he found that Henry and his nephew Don, who were the owners of the Greenwood property, knew what was happening and were therefore ordered to transfer their ownership to the Crown. The judge further found that they tried to
avoid forfeiting the property to the Crown by purporting to sell it to Robyn James Bellingroth. Two-fifths of the Dewdney Trunk Road property was owned by Henry and his wife Irene, while brothers Michael and Barry (Henry’s nephews), and Tracey Kelsey, on behalf of Brilor Homes Ltd. (owned by Henry’s brother Albert) each have a one-fifth stake. Kelsey is Albert’s stepdaughter. All the owners, except
Brilor Homes Ltd. and Tracey Kelsey, retained their share of ownership. Weatherill reasoned it wasn’t fair to take Henry’s share away because Irene, who wasn’t aware of the situation, had used her inheritance money to invest in it. Albert presented the two properties to his family as an investment. The plan was to subdivide them, but they would be rented out until subdivision was approved. Family members trusted Albert to look after the properties.
The Greenwood property was purchased Sept. 23, 2008. On July 10, 2009 police received a warrant to search the property based on suspicions of hydro theft. There were five rooms in the outbuilding which contained more than 1,000 marijuana plants and growing equipment. A fire at the outhouse in September 2011 revealed marijuana was being grown on the property again. The Dewdney Trunk Road property was purchased in
August 2004. Police entered the property in November 2009 and found a marijuana grow operation with more than 2,500 plants. Money for rent collected from some tenants were obtained from unlawful activity and those monies have been forfeited to Crown as well. The ruling was made Sept. 18 and the full judgement can be read online at www. courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/ SC/12/13/2012BCSC1368. htm.
★ ★★★★★ ★★★ PURCHASE YOUR
★ TICKETS ★ ★ ★ ★ NOW! ★★★★ ★★★★★★★★★ ★★★★★★★★★★ ★★★★★★★★★★ Celebrate Business Success October 19th, 2012
Get your tickets on-line at www.missionchamber.bc.ca or by phone 604.826.6914