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Public Safety
I am extremely proud to have opened the new Inlet Centre Firehall in February 2014, providing a state of the art facility for the fire department. The new hall, in addition to ensuring our fire fighters have access to the latest technologies and training, was built with many 'green' features like a green roof and energy efficient systems - and it was delivered on budget. I am very proud to have served on the two Councils that delivered on the Fire Department Master Plan adopted by the previous Council in 2004, which delivered a fully staffed second fire hall. And I am very pleased we have maintained hall 2 in Glenayre, where I believe it provides the best service for the entire south shore of the city. Port Moody residents take pride in our emergency response services, both fire and police, and while it has been challenging in times of economic uncertainty and escalating costs, I feel I have brought balance to our budgets to ensure expectations are met. In 2013 the Port Moody Police Board, which I chair, delivered a budget to City Council that included the lowest increase in over 10 years - this was a result of an extensive process of strategic planning and organizational optimization. The Board and Department continue to develop partnerships and programs that will provide service improvements efficiently and cost effectively. We continue to work in partnerships such as IRSU, IHIT, MiERT and other regional integrated units that deliver the highest level of service to residents. Eagle Ridge Hospital has responded very positively to concerns our council, and other tri-cities councils have raised and is now operating at a much higher reponse level than when I joined council in 2005. Over the past three years, I have worked with the hospital on their expansion plans, including the introduction of an additional 250 extended care beds in the community, an update and expansion of the Emergency Room and the long term plans for hospital expansion and community health centre development. BC Ambulance service continues to be a challenge for us to maintain a dispatch location in Port Moody, having recently moved to Riverview, but I continue to look for solutions within the system to provide the highest level of response to our residents. |