So the Mayor's Council was oh so juicy today.
Once
TransLink's presentation was finished and the various Mayor's had their 5min intro speals the main motion was introduced with some protest from Linda Buchanan that other motions couldn't be introduced before the staff motions. Cote shot that down based not on rules but based on historical precedent with the argument being that for new motions to be considered it would be appropriate to defeat the staff recommended motion and then to introduce the new motions.
Here was the original motion:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Original Motion
That the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation:
1. Endorse the work plan in this report that will have TransLink:
a) proceed immediately with planning and project development work for a SkyTrain on Fraser Highway project. and,
b) concurrently, initiate a planning process to refresh the South of Fraser rapid transit strategy, consistent with the 10-Year Vision of building 27 km of rapid transit on the three corridors.
2. Endorse the cancellation of the Fraser Highway B-Line in the Phase One Plan, and instead direct the planned resources to improving the 96 B-Line and existing services on Fraser Highway.3. Receive this report.
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Mike Little then introduced an amendment motion that read:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Amendment No.1 Mike Little (Deemed Inadmissible)
As a replacement to 1 a and b:
That the Mayor's Council of Regional Transportation:
1.a) direct Translink to identify all alternate sources of revenue other than the regional taxation to address the difference in cost of approximately $1 billion dollars between the previously supported LRT-SNG phase 1 project and the proposed SkyTrain route along the Fraser Highway to Langley and the approximately $56 million dollars spent on planning the previous LRT phase 1 which was initiated in good faith with the City of Surrey's support and subsequently canceled at Surrey's request, and,
1.b) report back to the Mayor's Council prior to commencing a planning project on the expansion of SkyTrain south of the Fraser.
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This amendment was not allowed to be processed further by Cote because he believed that the amendment was a marked departure from the original motion and that the original motion should be defeated and then his amendment could be introduced as a new motion. Linda was still very sour.
The discussion then continued from Richmond's Malcom Brodie about having Surrey pay somehow for the $56 million sunk costs. A lot of finagling about with language occurred until the final amendment that would go before item 1 read:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Amendment No.2 Malcom Brodie (Passed 23-0)
That Mayor's Council of Regional Transportation, subject to the City of Surrey's specific agreement to compensate, no later than upon signing the Memorandum of Understanding, all work plan costs unnecessarily expended to date:
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This amendment was then passed unanimously (including Surrey).
Mike Little, then wanted to do a referral motion to take the main amended motion and do something along the same lines of his previous amendment. This was again stopped by Cote, for the same reason he had before. (At this point Cote has his hand on the side of his face and seemed like he had a twang of impatience for having to do that a second time haha)
Mayor Frose, commented that within the 10 year vision there is phase 3, and that this project stays within the funding envelope for phase 3. He went through the point that they went into the 10 year plan without any funding at all. He recommended that Mike add instead:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Amendment No.3 Jack Frose (Not Introduced)
3. Work continue on securing funding for completing the Mayors' vision.
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Mike or Frose didn't end up introducing that sadly (it would have been a good amendment in my own opinion.)
Cote again re-iterated that the problem with Mike's amendment was that it suggested the main motion needed to wait until after his amendment in order to continue and for this reason that he could not allow it without the main amendment first being defeated. However, he did say that the work that Mayor Little suggests be done prior, is still happening, but just concurrently to the main motion (it's already embedded in the main motion).
Discussion went thereafter to talk about Phase 3 funding and how it will work with Phase 2 funding and how Translink will produce a phased project that may go half way to begin and then all the way eventually or right away depending on the timing of Phase 3 funding.
Mayor Stewart then introduced a amendment to the language of "project development" in 1. a), with the help of Translink staff so that 1. a read:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Amendment No.4 Richard Stewart (Defeated 67-67)
a) proceed immediately with planning and design work for a SkyTrain on Fraser Highway project. and,
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McCallum argued that this was a delay tactic and narrowed the scope of work that Translink staff would be proceeding with breaking it down into too small portions. He called for a weighted vote. Frose disagreed with McCallum and thought it didn't change the intent and said he would support the amendment which was a big break in ranks.
West Van Councillor Craig Cameron argued that building it halfway is a no brainier bad project. Cote countered that those arguments are premature (which is true - it hasn't been studied, but would be as part of the main motion they are debating).
Cote then called the vote on Stewarts amendment saying he would vote in favour.
The weighted vote was so tight it was a dead tie and defeated 67 to 67 with Surrey (26), Vancouver (32), Delta (6) Langley City (2) Tsawwassen (1) voting against.
They then went back to the main motion with McCallum calling for a Recorded Weighted Vote on the motion. Mike Little then went on a frustrated tirade about ALR land echoing Craig Cameron saying that "you are going to have to drop stations down in the middle of Farmer Bob's fields" hahaha. Cote then reiterated, vote against the motion, and if its defeated then we can talk about what to do instead and then finally called the vote on the final motion:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Original Motion + Amendment No.2 (Passed)
That the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation, subject to the City of Surrey's specific agreement to compensate, no later than upon signing the Memorandum of Understanding, all work plan costs unnecessarily expended to date:
1. Endorse the work plan in this report that will have TransLink:
a) proceed immediately with planning and project development work for a SkyTrain on Fraser Highway project. and,
b) concurrently, initiate a planning process to refresh the South of Fraser rapid transit strategy, consistent with the 10-Year Vision of building 27 km of rapid transit on the three corridors.
2. Endorse the cancellation of the Fraser Highway B-Line in the Phase One Plan, and instead direct the planned resources to improving the 96 B-Line and existing services on Fraser Highway.3. Receive this report.
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These items were voted on separately all by weighted vote and all passed with more than 70 votes (from what I could tell - I had trouble identifying all the votes from the live feed)
To see all the votes check out this spreadsheet here where I have been keeping track:
https://1drv.ms/x/s!AjWWltw_HSwzh9QnZg0FaDAIIIR6yw
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