City dips into reserves

Council briefs by Dan Hilborn
Published May 27, 2006


Rapidly rising land costs have forced the City of Burnaby to dip back into its massive reserve fund, in order to keep buying properties for the city's land assembly plans.

City council agreed to take another $5 million out of its total $147-million capital works, machinery and equipment reserve budget, after being told they overspent their property acquisition and miscellaneous development budget by $213,223.

The finance department report shows that Burnaby has outstanding commitments worth $3.6 million on its land assembly budget, meaning the new funding will leave them with $1.1 million for future acquisitions.

NO RELIEF ON CAMBRIDGE

Residents of the 4200 block of Cambridge Street will just have to put up with some extra traffic on their block this summer, as the city continues with a program of road improvements in the Heights district of north Burnaby.

Gray Taylor, a resident of the street, said he is concerned that the city has closed Eton and Cambridge streets at the same time, leaving his street with increased traffic congestion and a temporary bus route.

"There's been a general sense of frustration on the block, and we've noticed a few confrontations between people commuting on the street and residents," Taylor said at the May 15 council meeting.

Coun. Garth Evans was the only elected official to respond to Taylor's comments, and he said the city is acting on the engineering department's recommendations.

"I understand this can be very disruptive, but I'm personally reluctant to interfere with the engineering department," Evans said. "I'm sure they'll take some steps to reduce the disruption."

CITY WINS RECOGNITION

A trio of projects in Burnaby will receive Provincial Heritage Awards during the Heritage Society of B.C. annual conference in Nanaimo next month.

The GVRD's $200,000 restoration of the 1927 Picken House, which was gutted by fire in 2003, will receive the Outstanding Achievement Award.

The stately English Cottage-style home is located on Cariboo Road at the eastern end of Burnaby Lake regional park and was built by the original damkeeper on the Brunette River, where he operated the Aintree Dog Kennels, the first breeder of Irish setters in B.C.

Burnaby's own heritage commission will receive two Awards of Honour for their assistance in publishing In the Shadow by The Sea, a book edited by local historian Harry Pride that looks at the history of Barnet Beach, and for the creation of the city's Second World War Roll of Honour.

Council agreed to send four members of the heritage commission to the conference at a cost of about $3,000.

CROSSWALK UPGRADE SET

Burnaby council has agreed to put $50,000 into next year's traffic management budget to install larger signs and more flashing lights at the Grange Avenue crosswalk that connects to Patterson Avenue.

The crosswalk, which leads pedestrians to a traffic island near the corner of Kingsway and Patterson, was described as being part of "an otherwise ambiguous intersection area" in a report from the city's traffic safety committee.

SAVE ON ENERGY BILLS

Environment Week will be a time for local homeowners to cash in after Burnaby was chosen as a pilot project for a provincial program that offers up to $750 for the purchase of new, energy-efficient appliances or other home improvements.

The province will make a total of $100,000 available to Burnaby homeowners, who can use the funds for new heating and cooling systems, hot water tanks, windows and other improvements that will reduce their home's energy consumption.

The announcement was made at city hall recently as council unveiled its program for Environment Week, which runs June 4 to 11.

In addition to the usual neighbourhood cleanup campaigns and tours of the city's recycling facilities, residents can take part in a lecture series and a tour of several 'green buildings' in the city, including the Cranberry Commons housing co-op and the new Byrne Creek secondary school.

Mayor Derek Corrigan said he was particularly interested in the Trunk Swap taking place at the Bonsor rec centre on June 4, where people can sell, exchange or recycle unwanted household goods, including old electronic items.

"It's time for everyone to realize that the old VCR will never be fixed, and storing it under your bed will not make it work," said Corrigan.

Environment Week will also see the city officially unveil the new Central Valley Greenway bike route on June 8 and hand out its annual environment awards on June 11.

WEST NILE CONTROL OK'D

Clean out your bird baths and make sure there's no place where large amounts of water can pool on your property. Those are the two things homeowners can do to help slow the arrival of the dreaded West Nile virus into the Lower Mainland, according to a report presented to Burnaby city council recently.

Burnaby council has approved a mosquito control strategy for 2006, in anticipation of the arrival of the disease, which has already spread into Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and into Yakima Country in southern Washington State.

To combat the disease, the city will cooperate with the Fraser Health Authority as it tests dead crows and mosquitoes for the disease and continue its 'preemptive use of larval treatments' around surface water and catch basins around the city.

The agents used in the larval control program are Bacillus thuringiensis isrealensis (Bti) and Bacillus sphericus (Bsp), which are related to Btk (kurstakis), the active ingredient sprayed over large portions of Burnaby during the 1990s to combat the spread of the Asian gypsy moth.

If West Nile virus does arrive this year, the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health authorities will dispatch two truck- mounted sprayer units as part of its control program.

Burnaby agreed to participate in the program, but will only allow the trucks to be dispatched in the city after "due consultation" with the health authority.

Coun. Garth Evans, a lawyer who serves on the environmental health committee of the B.C. Medical Association, joined in council's unanimous approval of the plan.