A special meeting of Port Moody council’s committee of the whole scheduled for Saturday will cost the city’s taxpayers at least $900 — and some of its staff their weekend time.
But it could end up costing the city much more, say some councillors.
The meeting, called by Mayor Rob Vagramov and to be held at 5 p.m. in the Inlet Theatre, is being convened to continue the agenda of the Jan. 21 committee of the whole meeting that was abruptly adjourned when a motion to continue past the usual 10 p.m. time limit failed to get unanimous assent from council. (Coun. Diana Dilworth voted against the extension.)
Vagramov told The Tri-City News the sudden end to Tuesday’s session left two “emergency” items unresolved, including a memo he said he wanted to introduce to expedite the installation of a pedestrian crosswalk at Elgin and Clarke streets, where a child was struck Monday by the driver of vehicle; and a report from Coun. Amy Lubik about setting up warming shelters in PoMo when the weather gets cold. He added he wants to get Tuesday's agenda done without further delay.
Port Moody city manager Tim Savoie said Saturday meetings of council are a rarity, usually reserved for special occasions like Freedom of the City award ceremonies or workshops.
He said 12 staff members — himself, the corporate officer, six general managers, the manager of policy planning, a senior planner as well as two theatre technicians — will also be required to attend the meeting on a day off at an approximate cost of $900. And while some of those staff are exempt from being paid overtime, a senior planner attending a meeting that lasts two hours could earn about $200 in extra pay, although that would go higher if the meeting goes longer.
On top of that is the use of city resources to issue notices of the meeting, print and assemble agendas, and set up the theatre and livestream video feed.
But Coun. Meghan Lahti said those expenses pale in comparison to the $125 million the results of Saturday’s meeting could cost the city. That’s the estimated value of public amenities — such as a proposed pedestrian overpass to Rocky Point Park and approximately $25 million in community amenity contributions — Port Moody could receive from a massive redevelopment of its commercial core that was being discussed when Tuesday’s meeting ended.
Lahti, who missed the meeting due to illness but said she watched online, said a motion introduced by Vagramov outlining several parameters to the redevelopment of the neighbourhood immediately adjacent to the Moody Centre SkyTrain station, could cause a consortium of developers and property owners to walk away from its proposal to transform 23 acres of auto repair shops and light industrial spaces into a mixed-use community of 3,800 homes, as well as retail, commercial, tech and education spaces that could employ up to 1,400 people.
“We won’t see anything at that site,” Lahti said, adding she isn’t able to attend Saturday’s meeting either because of a previous commitment.
She said a presentation by members of the consortium earlier in Tuesday’s meeting was the first time council had a chance to formally see the plan the group has been working on in collaboration with city staff for almost two years.
She said Vagramov’s motion to constrain that plan to focus more on creating “high-value” employment opportunities; reduce the number of residential towers as well as limit and vary their height; “significantly” increase its market rental and below-market rental housing components; and add more green space is more about politicking and disrespects the negotiation process that helps bring developments to ultimate fruition.
“It’s up to us to negotiate those things going forward,” she said. “It’s unfair to pull the rug out from under them.”
Coun. Dilworth, who declined to vote to extend Tuesday’s meeting after her motion to defer Vagramov’s Moody Centre resolution until the city could consult further with residents was defeated, called the mayor’s motion “dictatorial,” adding, “We want to be inclusive.”
She said the city needs to conduct an open dialogue about Moody Centre’s future, otherwise “the development community will turn away from Port Moody.”
Dilworth also said Vagramov’s characterization of his urgency to call another meeting so he can speed the installation of a new crosswalk on Clarke Street takes political advantage of an accident in which a child was hurt. She added she will be at Saturday's meeting, along with another councillor who missed the Tuesday session, Zoe Royer.
Vagramov said he has been advocating for an additional crosswalk on Clarke for a couple of years and he wants to ensure it gets done as soon as possible.
1/24: Updated after further information received about actual costs for Saturday's meeting.
