Championship play V.I. Raiders defeat Langley Rams for a shot at the provincial title. PAGE 26
www.nanaimobulletin.com
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2015
VOL. 27, NO. 46
Council debates recording tools
I
Ballot business
Dawne Anderson, Salvation Army envoy, grabs some fresh air with her morning coffee while greeting voters Monday morning. The Salvation Army Community Church on Eighth Street, one of Nanaimo’s polling sites for the 2015 federal election, saw a steady stream of voters come through its doors upon opening on voting day. Early deadlines meant the News Bulletin was unable to publish last night’s results in today’s paper. Please visit www.nanaimo bulletin.com and pick up Thursday’s issue for full election coverage.
VIDEO OF committee and incamera meetings could be made available to the public. BY TAMARA CUNNINGHAM THE NEWS BULLETIN
The cost to videotape council meetings is a “small price to pay for transparency,” said Nanaimo Coun. Gord Fuller. New video-recording equipment for Nanaimo’s service and resource centre could range from $8,500 for a basic camcorder to as high as $118,200 in the first year, depending on how technical politicians want to get, a new report shows. Council meetings at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre’s Shaw Auditorium can be viewed by the non-attending public, but residents are in the dark when it comes to watching boardroom politics at the resource centre where budget, governance and core review issues have been debated. Staff recommends councillors hold off on a decision to install video-recording equipment until after a core services review and not to create or release permanent audio of in-camera meetings, which they say will take considerably more effort to review, require modified software, and possibly additional equipment. There would also be the need to hire a new position or a contractor. The issue went to council after press time Monday. Fuller told the News Bulletin in advance of the meeting that he recognizes the challenges to releasing in-camera audio, but what you can get now is “a totally blacked-out piece of paper with a meeting date on it” and minutes don’t explain much of what happened. “You may have to do some editing with the tapes, but to me it’s worth it. Transparency is worth it,” he said. But Mayor Bill McKay would like to wait for the city service review before a decision is made.
CHRIS BUSH THE NEWS BULLETIN
Environment committee recommends anti-idling policy for city BY TAMARA CUNNINGHAM THE NEWS BULLETIN
New one-minute idling limits could be en route for municipal vehicle drivers. But for one Nanaimo resident, it’s not enough. Nanaimo’s advisor y committee on environmental sustainability is recommending politicians clamp down on unnecessary idling with the city’s first anti-idling policy for its vehicle fleet. The new rules are about reducing air pollution and greenhouse gases while having an efficient use of
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city resources and healthier work environment, the draft policy shows. There are exceptions, including for emergency vehicles, but drivers would see a one-minute idling limit if they stop for any foreseeable amount of time, while diesel drivers would have three minutes. All new employees and drivers would also have to undergo anti-idling training and information sessions. City resident Natalia Kuzmyn calls the new policy commendable, but she wants idling capped for all Hub City drivers with a
city-wide bylaw. Cities like Vancouver and Victoria already have idling restrictions. Kuzmyn believes it’s time for Nanaimo to consider one of its own, for reasons of health, greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. “When you are woken up in the middle of your sleep because engines are turned on and there’s the exhaust going, you can’t do anything about it. There are no bylaws,” said Kuzmyn, who lives near light industry on View Street. She’s proposing an education program,
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bylaw to limit idling to 10 minutes within an hour, and fines of $100. “The amount of time they idle is up to the city ... let’s just not allow excessive idling to the detriment of the health of the people and the environment.” The effort to appeal to the city for a bylaw has won support from the South End Community Association and Island Health, whose medical health officer Dr. Paul Hasselback said anything we can do to improve our air makes sense from a health perspective. See ‘CITY’ /4
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