As part of its school site selection process the Board of Education for School District No. 40 (
Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 7:00 pm
City Hall – Council Chambers
An Important Notice for Residents of
The Board of Education for School District No. 40 (
Community Workshops are scheduled for the following dates:
Wednesday, January 14, 2009: 6:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Saturday, January 17, 2009: 10:00 am – 2:30 pm
The preferred option(s) will be presented at an Open House at a date to be confirmed following the workshops.
All events will be held at Century House,
PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUESTED
Please Contact: Barb Basden @ 604-517-6310 or bbasden@sd40.bc.ca
Following a two day judicial recount at the BC Provincial Court, New Westminster Registry, Judge Her Honour Alexander declared the results for the office of School Trustee for the 2008 General Local Election for the City of New Westminster. Brent Atkinson received 3665 votes and Vivian Garcia received 3663 votes. Therefore, Brent Atkinson was declared School Trustee-elect.
Date: November 20, 2008 9:12:05 AM PST
Subject: Grimston Park - a much larger issue
At some point those who represent us must realize that unilateral decisions made behind closed doors and affecting so many are not acceptable - the Grimston Park issue is cited on A4 of the Vancouver Sun today and you may expect the community to watch closely and follow-up.
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=3D25c3e
Cynthia Smith
Subject: Re: Grimston Park - a much larger issue (E-mail from School District #40)
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:19:51 -0800
Cynthia Smith
the report in the Vancouver Sun was of course wrong as so many newspaper reports are. The only decision made was to take the Grimston Park option out for consultation. Anybody who says otherwise is lying. Unfortunately many people prefer to listen to lies, rumours and gossip and will not listen to the truth.
James Janzen
James Janzen,
Your memory of the October 28th, 2008 meeting appears to differ from mine.Here is the point of difference: Mr Alkins announced that the municipality, the province and the school district had agreed to the land swap between Grimston Park and the old Douglas Rd cemetery site. Mr. Alkins said that he was presenting those in attendance with the choice between a middle school somewhere on Grimston park land, and an elementary school somewhere on Grimston park land. He had current quotes for building, and all that remained was for the school size "option" to be decided. He concluded by saying that he wanted the contractors in place by November 2008 (in other words, right now).
James Janzen, I have spent more than 8 years in post graduate study, in such places as the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress - are you saying to me that I did not understand the presentation that I attended on October 28, 2008 at Lord
Tweedsmuir elementary school in New Westminster, BC?
If you suggest that I shouldn't have believed the presentation, then why was it held at all? What should one believe given the presentation on Oct 28, and the information on the Translink web site? You repeatedly tell me not to believe what I hear. Of course, you must realize that that would include what you are telling me as well.
Cynthia Smith
Citizens have a right to protest. But they can't do so when officials withhold the very information that would lead residents to rally."
Re: Enough with the nitpicking
Mr. Brett is a successful entrepreneur who has worked in private and public companies. I also work with entrepreneurs in private and public companies and I salute entrepreneurship. Good entrepreneurs have vision, skill and a deep understanding of their business, their market and their customers. These are the keys to success. This is especially critical when starting a business in
The seven Voice New Westminster School Trustee candidates are committed to providing
Lisa Graham had the following letter published in the October 22nd Royal City Record.
Dear Editor:
The school board is all about community and community issues. It is entirely reasonable for the public to scrutinize the decisions that are made at the board table and, further, to raise questions on issues of concern, and this should happen without the consequence of being publicly rebuked by trustees.
Jim Goring's astute questioning of the School District No. 40 business company finances is reminiscent of parent Kelvin Chao's questions, which indicates that he is both informed and concerned; and, as a declared trustee candidate, he is only doing his homework.
On the issue of the business company audit, it needs to be acknowledged that the audit was done by a reputable firm, Grant and Thornton, and that the audit is legal and accurate. That being said, an audit is only a snapshot of the state of a company's finances, as presented, on the date of review. Further, it is not uncommon to do a comprehensive post-audit analysis of a company in order to clarify anomalies and/or assess the 'big-picture' status of any said company.
What Mr. Goring presented was a big-picture analysis of the school district business company's financial performance over the last couple of years, the result being that, compared to the losses accrued in the first four years of operation, over the last two years, the company has shown consecutive, but extremely modest, profits of $1,900 and $4,500.
That being clarified, of concern to myself as a "shareholder" is the fact that absolutely no monies from the company have been deposited into district coffers to benefit New Westminster students and staff - not in the form of any declared dividends and certainly not in the form of any repayment of the public education dollars that were used to start the company. Further, when I asked at the annual general meeting, I was told that the company directors had no current plans to address the loan.
If the school district business company is to continue, and it seems that it is the will of this board that it does continue, in terms of paying off the $1-million debt it owes to the district, I have long advocated that the business company recognize the loan for what it is: a legitimate business expense that is no different than any other business expense like salaries and lease costs, etc.
Currently, the business company's debt is not calculated into its annual audit, but when I raise the issue of establishing a repayment schedule for the loan, a majority of my trustee colleagues defeat it.
Unfortunately, the school district has more "need" than it has "budget," which is why, until it is paid in full, payment on the loan from the district should be a standing budget-item on the business company's ledger.
No longer can the school district afford to be treated like the bank of Mom and Dad.
Lisa Graham, New Westminster school trustee, Voice New Westminster
A Voice New Westminster board of education candidate says the school district's business company didn't actually make the $36,000 profit last year that's been reported, and it should have been clarified in the company's financial statements.
The district's profit appeared larger than it was last year because the district gained back money it had lost the previous year, said Jim Goring.
"(The business company) is still the same break-even company that it was. To say that we may have turned a corner this year - we're still not there, and whether or not we can remains to be seen," Goring said.
After reviewing the statements with a friend, who's a chartered accountant and business analyst, Goring said they determined that a bad debt expense in 2007 was conservatively estimated at a higher cost than it actually was and the money was recovered in 2008. That, along with refunded insurance costs, make the company's gains appear larger than they actually were.
According to Goring, in 2006/07 the district's 2006/07 loss of $30,216 is actually a profit of $1,914, making the 2007/08 profit not $36,000 but only $4,519.
The financial statements provide the wrong impression, said Goring.
Goring acknowledged the amount of time trustee Brent Atkinson, who is CEO of the business company which oversees a school in China, has put into the endeavour. He conceded that in the last two years - under Atkinson's guidance - the company hasn't lost money.
The business company has required working capital from the school district, and this shows that it is not able to stand on its own, Goring wrote in a release he gave The Record.
"I think the public needs to understand the real numbers," said Goring, who was announced as a Voice candidate last month.
Voice members call their group an "electors'group" and not a political organization, yet many of the members share the same perspective on city and school district matters.
The business company has long been under scrutiny from a number of Voice members, and some unaffiliated parents, who say it pulls money and time out of local schools. The for-profit company oversees the Wenzhou Offshore School in China and offers English as a second language programs abroad.
The district has invested $1 million into the company - the only one of its kind in the province.
Spurred on by the economic success of international education, the district launched the company after B.C. Liberal-introduced legislation allowed school districts to go into business.
Atkinson, who co-owns a successful chain of insurance companies, has narrowed the business company's focus and cut spending since he took over the operation.
Responding to Goring's claims, Atkinson said the business company's financial statements follow the auditor's standard of practice, and he has no say on how they should be done.
Atkinsons wanted the financial statements to reflect that the company broke even in 2006/07, but the auditors said they wouldn't make the adjustment because there was still an outstanding bill. At the time, he was mad because he thought the company had broken even, he said.
When Goring raised the issue at the Oct. 8 board of education meeting, Atkinson said he had a lengthy discussion with the auditor about the financial statements and was told that they had to perform the audit as it was presented, with the $36,000 profit shown last year and a loss shown the previous year.
"In terms of the business company, they're the ones who have to sign off as auditors," he said.
"I'm just telling you what happened. I'm not saying I agree or disagree with how it should be done."
Atkinson told The Record that he stands by the audited financial statements.
"If he (Goring) doesn't agree with them, maybe he should take up accounting," he said.
He also noted Goring asked at the business company's annual general meeting what it would cost for the business company to shut down.
"I think I pointed out to him that I've seen probably thousands of financial statements in my business career, and I've never seen one that had anything to do with the wind-up costs of a company," he said.
If Goring disagrees with the audited financial statements, Atkinson said he should talk to the auditors at Grant Thornton.
Atkinson noted that Goring is running as a school trustee and suggested he's looking for a political issue that will get his name in the paper.
"Why does he call a reporter, and you know what the answer to that is: it's election time.
"And so Voice and other people are interested ... in getting their name printed in the paper.
"(They) come up with what I would consider partial red-herrings like this, trying to build some sort of profile.
"But I wish they'd endeavour to build a positive profile instead of a negative profile," he said.
He also noted that Goring himself pointed out at the business company's general meeting that revenue had doubled in the last year.
"Even though he wishes to be negative about the modest return, and maybe he's somewhat disappointed or embarrassed by the company being in the black instead of in the red, which would give him more of a campaign platform, I suppose, the fact is the company is in the black," Atkinson said.
"The business company's broken even for the last two years, and it's trending in the right direction, and I perceive that to be positive."
The City of New Westminster is involved in closed-door meetings to buy the Westminster Pier from an Alberta investor group. The deal could be completed within a month.
The Westminster Pier is a seven-acre former dockside property located on the Fraser River, east of the Fraser River Discovery Centre and the Larco property parking lot. Acquiring the land would allow the city to continue its goal of reclaiming its waterfront for public access.
But the deal is in jeopardy, say some members of New Westminster council, now that details of the sale are public.
Voice New Westminster, which released the information Thursday, counters some council members' plan to use the announcement of the purchase to score political points with New Westminster electors, who go to the civic polls Nov. 15.
"If this is being trotted out as an election goody, there better be some substance to it," said Blair Armitage, the mayoralty candidate for the Voice slate.
"I'm sure (Mayor Wayne Wright) wouldn't comment about trotting this out as an election goody but the timing of everything is once again too coincidental," he said, referring to the mayor's 2005 announcement regarding the Plaza 88 development prior to the 2005 civic election.
"If they're going to do this again, let's have the substance behind it."
Voice learned about the sale when members of the civic electors group spoke to surveyors working at the site, said Armitage.
But Coun. Johnathan Cote accused Voice councillors Bob Osterman and Betty McIntosh of revealing information about the deal, which was discussed by council during an in-camera meeting.
"This release of information may compromise the city's ability to complete this incredibly important deal," said Cote.
Armitage came to the defence of the two Voice councillors, and explained that he asked Osterman about the land deal and was told he couldn't discuss it because of its confidential nature.
Mayor Wright refuted Armitage's claim that the land purchase was aimed at gaining votes.
"We've been really diligent in trying to get this for a waterfront park for some time. That part is public knowledge," Wright said. "We've been trying to get the waterfront back for over 30 years."
The land had been owned by the provincial government but was then sold to Westminster Pier Development Corp., which planned to build residential towers on the site. The land was then sold to the Alberta investment group when Westminster Pier Development Corp. ran into financial problems.
I attended the recent “downtown Charette” hosted by City staff. The City is currently updating the Official Community Plan for the Downtown neighbourhood and this exercise was designed to solicit community input. The staff involved were knowledgeable, respectful and approachable and “no idea was dismissed”. Attendees chose between four design groups. The group I participated in touched on issues such as replacing and/or including rental housing units, senior residential spaces, daycares and schools etc. in new developments. The community participants brought different ideas to the table and showed great vision. I really enjoyed the event and hope that some of the input will be considered in the planning process for Downtown development.
The area included as “Downtown” was essentially from the waterfront to
The height of the Degelder project has created permanent shadowing on surrounding properties. There is (at least) one highrise in the vicinity that I’m sure will never see direct sun again. One idea put forward that may work in spite of this shadowing problem was a mixed use/mixed density development in a style we referred to as the “Village at Carnarvon”. One thought was to include the Civic Centre on this site. The Civic Centre is being funded entirely (so far) by casino money. It has yet to be decided what will be incorporated into the facility, but we have been led to believe it will include a large art component.
The discussion for the old St. Mary’s site (owned by Bosa and currently listed for sale) was lively. I have always felt that any redevelopment on that property (that is not a new hospital) would have to have include a community amenity; one that would be accessible to all residents. Keeping in mind the pride this City has for its history, my thought would be to include a new museum.
The City currently has a museum at the back of Irving House. The building is completely unsatisfactory. In fact, the City-commissioned Cornerstone Report completed in June 2004 identified that there was risk to the collections, personnel and public from seismic deficiencies.
There have been discussions to include a museum in another building at the Quay, but the proximity to the water has been identified as an environmental condition that would be harmful to the collection. A museum on the St. Mary’s site could include a memorial to the hospital incorporating some of the tiles that had been saved from demolition - perhaps even recreating the garden. It would also compliment and support Irving House, an existing museum that cannot be moved to another area as the location is a large part of its historical value.
If a developer were to give the City adequate space for a museum (and perhaps even sponsor the entire museum) or a different amenity, concessions, likely in the form of variances, would need to be afforded. Bearing in mind this is a large parcel of property, the surrounding zonings and the fact that the developer needs to make a profit, is this something the community would be prepared to accept and if so, to what limits? One 20 storey highrise? Or 2 highrises? Higher or lower? More or less? Mixed density? Townhouses? Commercial? Mixed use? All of these ideas? What are your ideas for the site? Is trading variances (Density Bonusing) for amenities something that would be generally accepted city-wide?
Susan Wandell
Dear Editor:
Re: It's time to move forward, The Record, Letters to the editor, Sept. 13.
With interest, I read school trustee Michael Ewen's letter on the land use study, but still, it does not explain why the district-commissioned Archie Miller report about the
According to a recent newspaper article, it was never acted on or shared with all trustees until this summer, years after it was issued by Mr. Miller. To commission, withhold and ignore consultant reports is not "best practice."
In fact, as a glaring example of how this board neglects to follow proper channels of process, it completely contradicts Mr. Ewen's claims about debate leading to consensus decisions at the board table.
This is further evidenced by the construction of school district parking lots.
In constructing the high school site parking lot, the board ignored the Archie Miller report that outlined the possibility that there were remains still buried on site and also ignored the requirement to secure permits for the construction of the parking lot.
Having knowledge of the lost graves, and bypassing city hall's permit process, the upper parking lot at the high school was constructed anyway.
At
For lack of a permit and because of faulty construction, at great financial expense, the McBride school parking lot was done and then undone with no benefit to anyone.
Consequently, the parking difficulties at McBride remain, and the money that was spent was completely wasted.
In this district, the board does not have sufficient capital funds to address its many facility issues.
This makes it completely unacceptable for the district to continually repeat "rookie" mistakes.
Not only is it bad management to bypass process and ignore expertise, it's arrogant. Ultimately, over and again, it is the students who are penalized by board incompetence.
That said, one outstanding question remains: will a fine be assessed and will a correction of the high school parking lot be ordered as well?
Paul Johansen,
Somewhere out there, in a parallel universe, there’s a parallel New Westminster where, the week before last, nearly 2000 high school students walked into a brand new high school. Their new high school isn’t laden with asbestos nor is it being held together with Bondo. It doesn’t leak when it rains or snows, and best of all – in this parallel New Westminster – an exhausted rat-catcher is now mercifully being sent off to a well-deserved retirement. The entire focus at this parallel universe high school is on learning, not dreading what’s going to happen next.
Unfortunately, none of the above is happening here in the New Westminster we live in and the week before last our high school students returned to the same critically wounded NWSS they inhabited last year and the year before that.
There’s no point elaborating here on what went wrong with the high school replacement project or the negative impacts the endless delays and screw ups have had on students, staff and parents alike: these have been well-chronicled elsewhere.
But now that our kids are all back at school, the big question on the mind of many parents and community members is surely going to be “WHEN” will the new high school project finally get underway?
As we wait to hear fresh news of where things stand with the project, and whether the summer months have brought any solid progress, we can only shudder to imagine what bizarre new obstacles could conceivably be thrown in the project’s path.
In the interim, I’ve prepared a brief report from the notes I took last June 27, 2008 at an information meeting organized by incoming DPAC Chair Margot Barton (click here to read my report). Doug Hibbins presented information directly to those of us in attendance and it was extremely helpful to hear the information firsthand. I’m certain that all those who were in attendance at the meeting were most appreciative.
- Patrick O'Connor
OTTAWA, August 30, 2008 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and King Bean Wholesalers are warning the public not to serve or consume certain King Bean Wholesalers sandwiches described below because these products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
This recall is being initiated as these sandwiches contain a ready-to-eat deli meat product recalled by Maple Leaf Consumer Foods, Burlington, ON. There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these sandwiches.
The following King Bean Wholesalers sandwiches are affected by this alert:
| Product | UPC | Best Before Dates up to and Incl. |
|---|---|---|
| Roast Beef Sandwich | 6 26403 00103 3 | 01-Sep-08 |
| Roast Beef Kaiser | 6 26403 00878 0 | 01-Sep-08 |
| Roast Beef and Sub | 6 26403 00070 8 | 01-Sep-08 |
| Roast Beef Sub | 6 26403 00030 2 | 01-Sep-08 |
These sandwiches were sold in stores located in New Westminster, Surrey and Langley, British Columbia.
Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled. Consumption of food contaminated with this bacteria may cause listeriosis, a foodborne illness. Listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk. Infected pregnant women may experience only a mild, flu-like illness, however, infections during pregnancy can lead to premature delivery, infection of the newborn, or even stillbirth.
King Bean Wholesalers, Surrey, BC, is voluntarily recalling the affected products from the marketplace. The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.
For more information, consumers and industry can call one of the CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday).
For information on Listeria monocytogenes, visit the Food Facts web page at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/causee.shtml.
For information on receiving recalls by e-mail, or for other food safety facts, visit our web site at www.inspection.gc.ca
Taken from: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2008/20080830e.shtml
The decision to finance the bridge through tolls raises questions about the province's tolling policy.
Enter the politicians.
From the NDP we have Delta North MLA, Guy Gentner, Surrey-Newton MLA, Harry Bains, NDP MLA and transportation opposition critic, Maurine Karagianis all lined up against the introduction of tolls to finance this project. Among a variety of concerns they believe that the introduction of tolls will force many drivers to the Alex Fraser causing even greater congestion.
Minister of Transportation, Kevin Falcon, always sensitive to his critics, pointed out that the $1-billion South Fraser perimeter road that recently received environmental approval will allow drivers to get from the Pattullo to the Alex Fraser in five minutes, drastically cutting down on congestion. He also said not all drivers will be flocking to the Alex Fraser because it is a free alternative. "A modest toll does not act as a big dissuasion for people to make a travel decision. At least that's what all the traffic studies tell us.”
"When you do the traffic modelling, what you find - and the Port Mann is the best example - is that today when people are spending 4½ hours sitting on a bridge, wasting time, if they have the option of paying a few dollars to get across it a lot faster, people will do that."
Harper said high gas prices are already negatively affecting drivers, and he wondered how fair it is to charge tolls for people who have to drive across the bridge when they have no choice.
"Health-care services have been regionalized, so you have people from Surrey coming to Royal Columbian Hospital and people from
TransLink's spokesperson, Ken Hardie said that on the subject of tolls TransLink has no other option. "It's the only way we can pay for it," Hardie said. "TransLink basically doesn't have $800 million to build it in our budget. In fact, we are short lots of money." Therefore the decision has been made and it is that the new
Voice New Westminster Director, Neil Powell, captures the sentiments of a number of
2) Build complete communities
3) Achieve a compact metropolitan region; and
4) Increase transportation choices.
Powell suggests that a greater
So where do you put the new bridge?
The Delcan report suggests TransLink could build the new bridge 50 metres upstream or 50 metres downstream. Making that decision will involve looking at the costs and impacts of each option on the areas on both sides of the river.
Another school of thought advanced by Voice New Westminster Director Patrick O’Connor, would be to include the bridge with the construction of the “Stormont Connector”. The Stormont connector project would join the
TransLink CEO, Tom Prendergast said the next stages for replacing the
TransLink's spokesperson, Ken Hardie said the transportation authority is aware of the current bottlenecks in
Next steps
The traffic modeling studies need to be reviewed. The impact studies (economic, social and environmental) need to be reviewed. A solid position on the future of this City must be articulated. Once this is done we must get out in front of getting this project moving. 10 years is not a long time but it is an eternity when you consider what we are experiencing today with the traffic.
Blair Armitage
After all of the bleating from Cote, Harper, Williams and the group pushing for the pool plans that will be built in
A friend of mine, who is in the pool business with a major player in the Lower Mainland, sent me the reports of a process engaged in by the
The process was engaged in at the same time the
The consultation process engaged in for the Aldergrove facilities was transparent, respectful and empowering to those who participated.
Compare that to the shabby, often secret and mickey mouse process undertaken in
We make the
Read the report, draw your own conclusions.
In the Township report, look at the clarity in defining the discussion, and the options available to help the decision making.
Now review the whole process in New Westminster, from the discussion of spending money to extend the life of the old poll, the decision to deconstruct the old pool, the lack of process and lack of any meaningful attempt to build concensus on how to move forward, to the decision to hire a management company which had never built an outdoor pool.
It is clear to me, that once again, the squandering of scarce public money in
In the decision making process for the Moody Park Pool , Voice New Westminster tried to do the right thing, and asked the politicians to review their decision.
It made little difference. The politically motivated incompetents ruled the day.
Once again, lack of leadership, coupled with special interest politics has done serious harm to this city.
Read the reports, I think you'll agree.
C.C.
In a piece of expert photography done exclusively for Voice New Westminster, we are able to graphically show visitors to this site the deterioration that has occurred to a portion of the Skytrain bridge situated above Front St. in New Westminster. With the chunks of fallen concrete that have been recovered by people in the area, and corroborated by our pictures, it is very clear that there is a significant safety issue for workers in the area, as well as for vehicles and pedestrians traveling through the area.
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