Approve 2027–2030 Capital Plan

Statement Watch

Second, that a significant portion of the plan is devoted to asset lifecycle replacement rather than new spending initiatives. And the third is that the plan includes an investment of $5 million to maintain and renew existing police facilities, including improvements to several of its buildings. These investments preserve essential infrastructure while the city continues planning for a future purpose-built headquarters, subject to the last round of questions. The plan is fundamentally an investment in the infrastructure that officers rely on every day to keep Vancouver safe. It ensures that critical policing technology, fleet assets, and facilities remain reliable, secure, and operational for the next four years. It addresses historic underinvestment. Importantly, the plan recognizes that capital investments in technology are best funded as part of a capital plan, not as an item of operational funding. And the Board considers this to be an improvement in its governance, financial transparency, and in public accountability. In sum, the board believes this capital plan represents a balanced and responsible investment in public safety. So on behalf of the Vancouver Police Board, I respectfully ask council to support the proposed 2027 to 2030 capital plan submitted on behalf of the board for $68.2 million over the period, ensuring that the Vancouver Police Department remains equipped to meet the city's current and future policing needs. Thanks very much. Okay, our next public body representative is Tom Digby. Good afternoon, councillors, and thank you for having me here. The Park Board supports this capital plan. The dollar amount in the capital plan dedicated to the Park Board would be $739 million, about 20% of the overall... And even though we put forward a proposition for $1.4 billion investment, which is fully justified, we are satisfied that this council is actually taking a historic step forward. It is a historic increase. in funding for the park boards. And so I think you should take credit for that and be thanked for that. I also want to acknowledge that this is, I think, the outcome of a long-standing park board strategy starting over four years ago. This meeting four years ago did not deal with park board issues nearly at the level that all of you are dealing with it now. And I want to say that's the advocacy of the Park Board. We've been working on this. We brought it forward in January this year. We really started activating on it, started asking staff hard questions. You can find a billion dollars to invest in community services. in recreation facilities and parks here in Vancouver. And while you didn't quite get to a billion, but I want to thank staff for working on that as well and getting there. So that is some progress. Now, there is a big, significant problem that the park board list of recreation facilities is different.

than the council's list. And I wish I could say what the police board had just said, which was that, you know, the best things come together when council and the park board work together. It's a huge regret of mine that we have not been better connected over the past four years, and thus we've wound up with two separate lists. Now, the park board sent me up here to make three specific requests to you today. One is that the Kitsilano pool in the recreation facilities list be elevated from a planning project to a renewal project. The GM, the park board did say it's approximately a $40 million plan the park board has endorsed. There is no guarantee the pool will last through the next four-year cycle. You do remember that the pool did not open until August. I think, is that 23 or was that 24? It was delayed for eight weeks for opening, and that kind of damage could happen any time again, and we would be delayed, and we may actually lose the pool. The second thing we want to ask you to do is move the Renfrew Community Center onto your list of community centers. It's the number two on the park board list. And the third thing I'm sent here to ask is that you request that the REFM intensify its efforts to work with the province around the Ministry of Education and BC Housing to get our shared joint facilities moving together. We think that is needed to get Britannia, Thunderbird, Raycam, Strathcona, and West End Community Center on the agenda. And we hope you'll intensify your efforts on that in the coming term. Thank you very much. Thanks very much. Okay.

Statement Watch

Yes, John Irwin, former park board commissioner, speaking for myself, and I'm a resident of Vancouver for quite a few years now. So basically, we, you know, do appreciate the 500, 496 million being invested in the park board facilities. But my ask and the ask, I think, of the community center associations would be to bump that up a bit. I'm worried that the community centers won't be there. Now I'm worried about the police facilities as well when a seismic event happens. And I think they need to be there because people will not have houses. Some of the population in that event hopefully doesn't happen within our lifetimes or our children's lifetimes. I would also like to say, echo Chair Digby, that we accelerate its pool and the 50-meter pool. I don't know that it's acceptable for a city like ours to go for eight years without a competitive pool. I'm not sure about that. And then regarding the priority, I would argue we should stick to the priority that was worked on so hard, 2,000 contacts with citizens. Regarding the current public engagement, respondents noted recreation facilities are 78% of the priority in that folder. Infrastructure is 64%. Park renewals and amenity upgrades, 62%. Urban forest and natural areas, 60%. So, you know, I think that, you know, again, we can say that the, you know, community pools need attention. The ideal goal would be two rebuilds and two pools per capital plan cycle to get back to where we really need to be so kids can have their swimming lessons. people can recreate, and they have cooling centers to go to. And once again, I feel that, you know, the mayor and the majority are ignoring the park board, the CCAs. We've heard that the CCA All Presidents Group endorsed the park board list. At the meeting that I attended for the park board capital budget, basically there were 120 registered speakers, almost half supported the draft park board, plan, while only three opposed it. The rest simply indicated other, and some of that other was give us Sunset Pool, we're on board. I think some of them are here and they'll speak after me. And so I'd argue the mayor and the ABC majority need to stay in their own swimming lane and respect the jurisdiction of Vancouver's duly elected park board, and we have legal opinion from a barrister that it is the jurisdiction of the park board. Thanks for your time and your energy. And I approve the rest of the plan, by the way.

Statement Watch

Hi, hello, councillors. Welcome. My name is Norman Soddenberg. I am a resident of Vancouver. First of all, let me offer my sympathies. Democracy seems to take a great deal of time for you. I'm here to... Oh, I like this. This is great. Thank you. I'm here to talk specifically about one item on the capital plan, and that is the Marple Pool. Marple Pool has been discussed for a very long period of time. We lost the pool 30 years ago, and it's been a conversation in the community since then. About five years ago, it was discussed even further, and then through Van Splash, it was given a priority, and all the associations at that time accepted that. that document. So they were all on board that the Marple Pool should be the next one. What I will say lastly is that all the infrastructure is there for the pool. So the most efficient use of funds at the moment would be to put it towards the Marple Pool. Everything is in place now. And for both the pool and the pool house, it's a result of the new Marple Community Center. and they put the infrastructure for the pool in place. So it's the most efficient use of funds, and it would be a project that could go ahead the quickest and could be completed in the shortest period of time. So give that your consideration, and thanks very much. Thanks very much. Okay, our next speaker is Speaker 6, Bellwinder Warwick. Hello, Bellwinder. Thank you, good afternoon. My name is Balwinder Singh Varad, president of Sunset Community Association. I'm speaking on behalf of the association in supporting of the city 2730 capital plan. I want to begin by thanking council for your vision and commitment to investing in Vancouver future. Preparing a capital plan requires balancing many important priorities across a growing city, and I appreciate the thoughtful approach. you have taken to strengthen our neighborhood and improve the quality of life for the residents. On behalf of the SCA and the residents of South Vancouver, I sincerely thank you for including a new aquatic facility at Sunset Park in this capital plan. I also wanted to thank you for including the marble, revising the marble pool too. Not many will support the sunset. For many years, our community has advocated for equitable access to recreation. South Vancouver is home to thousands of families, children, youth, seniors, and newcomers who deserve the same opportunity to enjoy quality recreation facilities as residents across Vancouver.

Statement Watch

Given the limited public resources available, I recognize that collaboration and thoughtful planning are essential. I respectfully encourage the city and the park board to continue working together to deliver an equitable citywide park and recreation system that serve all Vancouver residents. A new pool is much more than... recreation facility. It is an investment in public health, water safety, accessibility, inclusion, and community well-being. It is a place where children learn life-saving skills. Seniors stay active and healthy. Families connect and able to build communities. The Sunset Community Association looks forward to continue to work collaboratively with Council, the park board, city staff, and a community partner to help bring this important project to fruition. Thank you, city, Councillors, for your commitment to ensuring that under the Vancouver Charter, every residence has equitable access to quality recreation opportunities. Today, your support for this capital plan is an investment, not only in infrastructure, but in people, in community, and in future generations. Together, we can leave the legacy that will benefit Vancouver families for decades to come. I respectfully encourage council to approve the 2730 capital plan. Thank you again for allowing me to speak. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Statement Watch

Good afternoon, Council. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. Aaron Jasper was a former Park Board Commissioner from 2008 to 2014. I'm here to speak in favour of the plan approved by the Park Board on Monday night. I want to thank or acknowledge Steve Jackson and his team. I think the work that they have done over the years with all the different plans, the Fan Splash, the Community Centre Association process, all of that, I think... It was probably, in my opinion, probably one of the best capital plans I've seen in many, many years. So hats off to the staff, but also to our commissioners. I think the park board commissioners really led the charge in trying to expand the funding envelope. I myself wasn't optimistic that they were going to get the 1.4, but I think the fact that this envelope is what it is was initiated from the commissioners. I think they should be commended. I also want to thank all of the different user groups, in particular, Jerry Fast and the Community Centre Association presidents and all the associations that have worked for many years. And again, that's the point. I think there's enough credit to go around. I applaud the mayor for making a commitment to $400 million towards community centres. And I applaud city staff for trying to also expand the spending envelope. that we all stay within the jurisdiction boundaries that have been settled by the Vancouver Charter. Obviously, you have a decision as to whether or not you want to spend or fund the projects identified by the Park Board, but as has been illustrated and as has been submitted to this council, It is park board jurisdiction to identify those priorities, and I would request that you stick with that. I won't regurgitate, reiterate all the good comments from the chair of the park board. I want to touch on a couple of quick points. One is the consultation process. I've been involved as a private resident and as a commissioner in many different capital plan consultation processes. And I mean, no disrespect to staff, but I think this one wasn't as good as in the past. I take serious issue with the fact that only five community centres had open houses, that in five community centres, the ones that were identified in the Mayor's motion were the only ones that had big, beautiful posters with brand new community centres. Those are the only ones that had postcards mailed out in those neighbourhoods, and they were the only ones that had open houses. If you went to any other community center in this city, there wasn't even so much as a postcard on a bulletin board. So I think we should really think about how the consultation process is done going forward. And again, I mean, no disrespect to staff. I also just want to take issue or contradict staff's assertions. $400 million is not enough money. to do all of the community center listed on the mayor's plan. It costs about 110 to $120 million per community center. So I think you just be realistic about what you can achieve with the funding envelope that's going to be approved.

Statement Watch

Thank you for your time and thank you for all the work you do. Thanks very much. Okay, our next speaker eight is Carola Mansfield. Hello. Hi there, go right ahead. Oh, yes. Hi. My name is Carola Mansfield, and I'm speaking for myself. And I'm not a Vancouver resident, but I work in the City of Vancouver. I'm going to speak directly to the Parks and Recreation portion of the capital plan, both capital plans. The closing of the Vancouver Aquatic Center without providing alternate pool capacity during its renewal, and while Carisdale Pool is still offline, indefinitely was short-sighted the city's aquatic users as a whole are only now coming to understand how this will impact every one of them not just the vac users I understand that South Vancouver needs pools, but to have outdoor pools as the sole deliverables during the upcoming period will do nothing to alleviate the 8,000 and growing person swimming lesson wait list. Lives will be lost as a result of generations of children not having access to swimming lessons, free or otherwise. The three community centers prioritized for renewal in the Park Board's draft plan were identified through public consultation and verifiable research. Let me speak about the Hastings Community Center. It has land, it has no pool, but is close in proximity to the Templeton Pool, which is not currently in any plan, but also needing renewal when its turn comes. This could be the opportunity to use a little forethought and planning and avoid the current situation we have with the closure of pools with no alternatives. In renewing the Hastings Community Center, you could include a 50-meter pool that would expand aquatic capacity and programming flexibility. The crisis would be averted when Templeton's turn comes for renewal. The same could be applied to the renewal of the Kensington Community Center and to including pools at either of the community centers in South Vancouver. A standalone 50-meter modular pool indoors at sunset would cost less than $30 million and would increase capacity and flexibility of programming. Once the site is identified, a modular pool can be open in 15 months. The key is that the city has an extreme pool capacity deficit and building outdoor pools that are only operational three months out of the year will not address the shortfall or the lack of access to swimming lessons. I ask that you amend either plan to change Sunset 25-meter outdoor pool to a 50-meter indoor pool. Thank you. Thanks very much. Okay. Speaker 9 is Kate Stewart. Speaker 9 is not on the line.

Statement Watch

hello uh stephen menon uh resident of vancouver and speaking neutral for the motion I'd like to thank the mayor and council for your time today. I would also like to thank the park board and council for recognizing the need for significant investments in our parks, community centers, and pools. In particular, the 60% increase in funding for community centers represents an opportunity to begin to pay down some of the infrastructure of debt that is accumulated and leading to 70% of our community centers being in poor, very poor state. The funding is a start to also demonstrate to citizens that the Park Board and city can be able to deliver multiple community infrastructure projects running in tandem. We need to be able to show taxpayers that these projects can be delivered. I want to recognize the Park Board staff for their hard work and community-focused process in identifying achievable projects within the budget envelope provided. My criticism... is that was very clear in the park board meeting that happened on Monday night, that the city has two different plans that residents are unsure about. was represented between the both of them and that has created tremendous around confusion for citizens it is simply not acceptable the media also highlighted the need and the importance for an independent park board to work in collaboration with the city and other levels of government activities have occurred in the variety of plans since april in the back and forth the legal expenses and the clear to clarify jurisdiction has simply been disappointing we are not setting up staff And these projects are a success without clear guidelines between both bodies.

I'd like to thank council and the park board staff and the mayor for their time today. Thank you.

Statement Watch

Thanks very much. Speaker 13 is Jamie Hahn. Hello? Hi, Jamie. Are you a resident of Vancouver? Yes. Go ahead. And I'll be speaking in favor of the capital prime priorities recommended by the park board. When I was a kid, I had learned how to swim from years of swimming lessons and also enjoyed playing with my friends at a variety of pools, not just indoors, but outdoor pools too, like at kids. I had learned how to skate at Killarney, and it would be the highlight of my week, especially since it happened around the Olympics, so all of us there felt inspired by the athletes to try our hardest. In addition, I got to experience a plethora of arts and music programs, in addition to what I already did in school, as well as programs for students during various breaks in the school year. I would not have been able to access all of this, a wide variety of programs, if it weren't for the support that existed for my family and if the facilities themselves were forced to close due to being in a poor state from years of inaction from government. I support ensuring that the next generation of kids that come after me are able to experience the same joys and the same growth that I got to experience. Therefore, it is vital that families are able to continue having low-cost access to all the various recreation programs at facilities that are built to last. It is important that this city respects the jurisdiction of the Park Board in making its decisions that best reflect the needs of Vancouver residents. In priorities outlined by the Park Board, it had recommended investments to community centers in lower-income neighborhoods such as in Granby Woodlands, Kensington-Seer College, Renfrew-Collingwood, Hastings-Sunrise, Strathcona, and more. And Council will abandon lower-income Vancouver residents by continuing with its current prioritization of community centers, pools, or other facilities outside of those already found in past reports as having a higher priority in needing renewal or replacement. Council must listen to the Park Board when it has already recommended actions that best reflect the needs of its residents, and I urge Council not to abandon residents who rely on community centers in lower-income neighborhoods. Thank you. Thanks very much. Okay. Speaker 14 is Laura Christensen. Hello, everyone. Hi, City Council. My name is Laura Christensen. I'm speaking as a Park Board Commissioner. I am generally in support of the capital plan, but would like to request amendments to the listed recreation facilities priorities. On Monday, the Park Board passed our capital plan and made some requests of Council, including that you revise your priorities to match that of the Park Board. City Council has the jurisdiction to set the funding envelope. The Park Board has the jurisdiction to set the priorities of where that money is spent. This is how it has worked for over 130 years until this specific Council. A major incongruency between our plans are the community centers for renewal. The five community centers included in the city priorities were purportedly selected based on FCI, the Facility Condition Index, which is just a ratio of the deferred capital renewals needs by the total replacement value.

Statement Watch

However, a May 25 memo to council noted, I quote, while FCI is an important metric, it represents only one component of a much broader and more complex infrastructure investment challenge. It goes on to say, costing and prioritization across city asset portfolio is significantly more complex than can be represented through FCI in isolation. That is the advice from your staff. By contrast, the community center strategy completed by Park Board, which is only four years old, considers 13 different criteria, including FTI, but also seismic resiliency, emergency use requirements, service gaps, and growth in the area. The Park Board strategy is the best source of data to guide this decision. The CCAs themselves agreed that they want to stick to the prioritization in the community center plan. Further, fitting five community centers into a single plan is unrealistic. A single, no-frills community center is well over $100 million, promising five community centers that's unrealistic expectations for the public. The park board plan includes Hastings, Kensington, and Renfrew, the three highest priority community centers. I request that you please at least add Renfrew to the list as they're desperate for renewal and need expansion as they're in a very high growth area. Beyond community centers, I'd also like to request that you include upgrades needed at Kids Pool. This was the subject of a briefing that we both received. A modest investment here will keep the pool operational for at least 15 years. Although repairs have been made to the pool, every year we are still reacting to damages from winter storms, and the opening every year is tenuous. Making an investment in this capital plan will avoid the possibility of delayed openings and unexpected and expensive emergency repairs. Because I do have a few extra seconds to talk, I do want to note that on Monday, the Park Board did approve to proceed with the feasibility analysis of a co-located, renewed community center. meter pool and rink at either Hastings or Kensington. There's no action required by council right now, but I want you to know that Park Board is advancing this work on a 50 meter pool and I hope you'll support it in the future. So please stay in your jurisdictional lane and let Park Board set the priorities for Parks and Recreation. Thank you. Thanks very much. Okay, I'm going to go back to the top of the list here for the speakers we missed. Speaker 3, Tyler Peterson. No, not here. Okay. Speaker for Razum Rani, I think, has said he's not coming. Okay. Speaker number nine, Kate Stewart. Yes, I'm on the line. Go right ahead, Kate. Thanks. Hello, Deputy Mayor and Council. Members of staff and fellow speakers. My name is Kate Stewart. I live in Kitsilano, and I work in real estate, and I'm also a practice goalie with the Golden Eyes, Vancouver's first professional women's hockey team. I'm here in general support of this capital plan, particularly the $400 million investment in renewing five community centers. I'm asking Council to also seize the opportunity to make the needed renewal of Vancouver's ice rinks a meaningful part of that investment. Our ice rinks are in a dismal state. Vancouver has not added a net new ice rink since 1976.

Statement Watch

Since the 70s, our population, as well as the demand for recreation, particularly in women's sports, has grown significantly. At the same time, investment in our ice facilities has been deferred for decades. The result has been rising operating costs and increasing service disruptions. We saw that this past season when the Brine League at Carisdale Arena canceled two months of the figure skating and minor hockey seasons. The city's own data in the latest FCI report shows that Vancouver's ice rinks have an average unmet demand of 42%. In other words, nearly half of the demand for ice cannot be accommodated, compared to only about 8% for community centers. When Vancouver can't meet demand, families and coaches spend their time in their cars traveling to Burnaby and Richmond or further for ice time, increasing their costs and contributing to the state of congestion in Metro Vancouver. But this capital plan is an opportunity to change that. Both Carisdale and Britannia are among the five community centers receiving renewal funding under this plan. Because the arenas are located beside or near their swimming pools in these communities, these projects would be an ideal opportunity to capture waste heat from the refrigeration systems that can then heat pools and community spaces. That reduces operating costs, lowers greenhouse gas emissions, and makes the city's investment work much harder for taxpayers. These high-efficiency integrated projects can receive significant outside funding from BC Hydro and the federal government. The Canucks Partnership of Britannia is demonstrating what can be possible with alternative funding. Council should build on that success by pursuing additional partnerships with local sports organizations that want to play where they live, not at private facilities and in other municipalities just because it's the only option available to them. This further contributes to privatization. Invest in our modern ice facilities. Keep the opportunities for sport in Vancouver. I encourage Council to ensure that ice rink renewal is treated as an integral part of these community center projects. and to direct staff to pursue every available partnership and funding opportunity to maximize the value of this investment. I would also welcome the opportunity to share additional information and to support the implementation of these ideas with any interest holders. Thank you for your time. Thanks very much. Okay. One last possible speaker. Number 10, Jenny Yu. Not on the line. Okay. Thanks very much. All right. Council, that is the end of our speaker's list. Thank you for everyone who came to speak to council. Would somebody like to move the motion? Second. Second, Councillor Zhou. Moved by Councillor Kirby Young. Council members, is there any discussion? See Councillor Zhou. Councillor Zhou, go right ahead. Yeah, thanks, Chair. So I just sent everyone an amendment, so hopefully you can move me to the amendment queue. Very good. We'll go to the amendment queue, and I'll put you on there. Whoops, I'm going to clear the amendment queue. Okay, Councillor Zhou, do you want to put yourself in the amendment queue? There you go, I advance you. Go right ahead.