PERIOD REPORT
DATE: May 2, 2016 Report No. ADM-16-013
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Anja Nurvo, Director of Corporate Services
SUBJECT:TITLE Corporate Services - 2016 First Period ReportBody
The following is a report on the activities pertaining to the Corporate Services Department from January 1, 2016 to April 30, 2016.
I. DIVISION ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
1. Corporate Services
• Staff completed the following:
o 41 notices, agendas, minutes and action reports/follow up for Regular, Special and In Camera meetings of Council and Committee of the Whole, including posting on the Township’s website
o 32 newspaper notifications of meetings and advertisements
o 9 Proclamations prepared and posted, including to Township’s website.
• Corporate Officer completed 10 electronic registrations at Land Title Office.
• Corporate Officer responded to 12 requests for access to records under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
• Coordinate Volunteer Recognition Event, including booking venue, catering, invitations, all logistics and follow up; successful event with 100 attendees at CFB Esquimalt Gunroom on April 17th.
• Assist with coordination of HMCS Esquimalt Commemorative Ceremony with CFB Esquimalt held on April 16th.
• Ongoing coordination and scheduling of Mayor and CRD Board Chair meetings.
• Conducted research and prepared 13 staff reports for consideration by Council on various topics.
• Corporate Officer completed updating of the Consolidated Zoning Bylaw (previous update was September 2015) as well as the Consolidated Official Community Plan Bylaw.
• Continued with scanning of Bylaws, to eliminate duplicate paper copies.
• The Administrative Assistant position was reclassified as Administrative Assistant/Deputy Corporate Officer to ensure coverage for Corporate Officer duties in her absence, including electronic registrations at Land Title Office.
• The Administrative Assistant continued with courses towards a Diploma in Local Government Administration.
• Staff took part in advanced Tempest training including Land Module, Calls for Service (bylaw complaints & public works calls) and Prospero (permits).
• Staff was trained on the new website and the new content management system for posting to the website and editing content.
• Corporate Officer attended a workshop on electronic records management.
• Continued with implementation of Records Management process including: preparation of retention/destruction reports, review of records, purging of files to be retained, secure destruction of applicable records, production of Certificates of Disposition, updating database.
2. Communications
Communications Analytics Summary:
Legistar: (last period figures in brackets)
• 990 total page views (214) - all pages in the Granicus system
• 409 total visits (177) - total number of times visitors came to the site
• 300 total unique visitors (177) - 62% desktop, 38% mobile)
• 941 (284) external media stream views*
* Media stream views represent the total number of views of all live and on demand media during the time period
Website Google:
• 399,543 page views - decrease of 4.2% from previous period
• Most popular page: home page (7.95%) - decrease of 0.75% from previous period
Facebook:
• Current period: 67 new Facebook likes, an overall increase of 13%
Communications Activities:
• Working with I.T. Manager and with input from Township website committee, launched redesigned website at www.esquimalt.ca <http://www.esquimalt.ca>.
o Implemented communications plan to promote new site
o Troubleshooting content issues with consultant
o Training staff on new content management system
o Adding new content, menu items and photos
o Worked with consultant to implement new subscriber e-mail procedure and develop e-mail templates for news, events, newsletter, etc.
• Communications support for Westside Solutions Wastewater Treatment project as part of a regional communications team working on project communications strategy, public engagement, media relations and event coordination.
• Communications support to Township departments on program announcements and initiatives (Official Community Plan Review, EVP announcement)
• Continued with program of news releases and newsletters, posting 32 news releases to the website and issuing eight releases using regional news media contact list. Topics of news releases included:
o Heritage Week Celebration at Gorge Park
o Township Launches Redesigned Website
o Routes of Change Explorer Visits Esquimalt
o Township Announces Project Partner for EVP
o Earth Day Celebration at Highrock Park
o Esquimalt Hosts Age-Friendly Community Workshop
• Worked with departments on revising and adding web content to new corporate website.
• Daily updating of website home page with news and events features.
• Daily media monitoring using Google Alerts, media outlet websites and social media; forwarding information to staff where appropriate. Posting of pdf news clippings and links to internal website for staff information. 101 news items posted to Intranet (+19, 23% increase)
• Daily updating on internal website The Bridge, posting content of interest to staff, including announcements, news items, videos, safety information, photos and photo galleries.
• On behalf of the Township, liaising with advertising representatives from print, broadcast and electronic media on major advertising opportunities.
• Daily monitoring of social media sites and posting of information (last period in brackets):
o Approximately 65 (76) tweets and retweets posted to Twitter
o 148 (152) new followers added during the period
o 53 (41) timeline posts to Facebook during period
o 67 new Facebook likes (85) during the period, an overall increase of 13%
• Assisted with promotion of community events and media photo opportunities, posting some 32 (25) event announcements to the website. This included:
o New Year’s Day Levee
o Township Classics at the English Inn
o Wastewater Treatment Open House
o Heritage Week Celebration
o Special Council Meetings
o Mayor’s Open Door Events
o EVP Open House
• Writing assignments included speeches and speaking notes, event notices, news items, newsletter, advertising and web content.
• Editing, writing and design of April 2016 “Current” Newsletter. Stories included:
o Esquimalt Village Project Gets Green Light
o Township Launches Redesigned Website
o New Parks and Recreation App
o Fraser Street Adventure Park Going Ahead
o OCP Review in Full Swing
o Community Events
• Continued coordination of Township editorial and advertising in the Victoria Times Colonist’s “Experience Esquimalt”.
Times Colonist “Experience Esquimalt”, 2016 First Period Summary
|
Issue |
Editorial |
Advertisement |
|
Feb 2016 |
• 5K Run • Upcoming events |
• Parks and Recreation Coupon |
3. Archives
• The grant application to the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at UBC, for Phase II of the “Capturing our History: Esquimalt Archives Image Digitization Project” has been approved. The project will see the up-loading of 1,200 historical photographs along with 400 relevant, textual images (post cards, posters, maps, sketches etc.) which will aid in telling the stories inherent in the photographs themselves.
• Municipal Archivist participated in the inaugural meeting of a committee exploring organizing an event in April 2017, commemorating the Battle of Vimy Ridge, at the Bay Street Armoury with representatives from several community and municipal organizations.
• Municipal Archivist gave a presentation to the Esquimalt Photography Club, on the importance and history of the Esquimalt Archives and provided a demonstration of our on-line historical photography site.
• The theme for this year’s Heritage Week was “Distinct Destinations”. A free public program was organized at Gorge Park on Sunday February 21st that included traditional folk dancers from the Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society, the Japanese School Children’s Choir, demonstrations of origami, watercolour painting and calligraphy, and local historian Dennis Minaker providing an historical walking tour of the park.
• Assisted the CFB Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum in the creation of two new exhibits and contributed information on the sinking of HMCS Esquimalt.
• New acquisitions over this period included:
o Photographs of local school groups circa 1919 - mid-1920s.
o Photographs of events being held at the Esquimalt Community Club, circa 1930s - 1940s.
o Material related to the sinking of HMCS Esquimalt, including group pictures of survivors, group pictures from HMCS Sarnia (the ship that rescued Esquimalt survivors), a CD of Within Sight of Shore (commemorates the sinking), and the memoir by Derek McLean the stepson of the ship’s Executive Officer, Lieut. John Smart.
• There were 78 logged requests for information/assistance/support/tours during this period, of which 39 were walk-ins, and 18 related to oil tank/furnace inquiries; research requests included:
o history of the Tudor House (previously the Sailors’ Club).
o history of First Nations canoe racing in Esquimalt, View Royal and Victoria.
o worked with volunteers at Ashton Armoury, providing material for the 100th anniversary of the 13th Field Ambulance, celebrated in March.
o assisted the writers of the book “Esquimalt Japanese Garden: Past and Present.”
o Royal Canadian Legion’s history in Esquimalt and the first legion building in the Township, a converted house located at roughly the same spot as the legion facility today.
o information for a forthcoming book pertaining to Dr. David Lyall after whom Lyall Street is named, who was the Royal Navy Surgeon and Naturalist on the survey vessel HMS Plumper.
o information and photographs for Dr. Chris Gainor, an historian specializing in space exploration and aeronautics, on the repair of the space launch platform at the Esquimalt Graving Dock in 2007.
o natural history of Macaulay Point, history of Brothers Island and Admiral’s House in HMC Dockyard and Maple Bank, home of the first group of admirals posted to Esquimalt.
• Research on houses, apartments and commercial buildings in Esquimalt continues to be popular with 14 requests being made by local residents.
• A total of 90 walking tour packages were handed out to the general public. The current walking tours brochures were reviewed and some revisions were made to reflect changes in properties and in our built heritage.
• Our team of seven volunteers contributed a total of 652 hours. Volunteers continue to work on a variety of projects:
o reviewing and organizing the contents of a variety of boxed material.
o creating finding aids for our extensive collections including photographs and original art work.
o researching historic photographs to add additional information, scanning and supporting the creation of finding aids, most recently working on the E & N Railway material.
o reviewing collections of clippings from local newspapers to extract and organize the material.
4. Human Resources
Job Evaluation:
• Two Job Evaluations were conducted and resolved with no change in cost to the Township. Two additional evaluation results are being disputed.
• A fundamental precept, not clearly enunciated in the CUPE Agreement, is that management design the jobs and employees cannot voluntarily add duties to their jobs. The Township steadfastly maintains that neither increase nor decrease in value will occur in the absence of new and different responsibilities - not just a few task changes.
Labour Relations:
• CUPE
Our current CUPE Local 333 voted to transfer its membership to CUPE Local 374 which will now represent similar employee groups in Oak Bay, Sidney, North Saanich, Colwood, Sooke and Metchosin. The effects of this change have not been fully realized in that there remains some confusion in Local 374’s collective mind as to whether Esquimalt employees only will decide their Contract issues or if 374 members as a whole will be voting on Esquimalt issues. Our understanding from the Labour Relations Board is that only Esquimalt employees will have a vote in Esquimalt Collective Agreement matters.
Of the six grievances that remained last Period, all have been resolved.
II. COMMITTEES
• Staff organized recruitment of interim appointments to vacant positions to various Advisory Committees.
• Staff canvassed existing members for willingness to stand for re-appointment and prepared report for In Camera Council meeting.
• In their role as Recording Secretary, staff organized, attended, recorded and transcribed minutes, prepared notices and agendas and completed all required follow up for Environmental Advisory Committee, Te’mexw Treaty Advisory Committee and Labour Management meetings.
• Staff organized and coordinated 4 Mayor’s Open Door meetings and Mayor’s Luncheon at CFB Esquimalt.
• Staff coordinated and made arrangements for registration, travel and accommodation for 2016 AVICC, FCM, UBCM Conferences and the Local Government Leadership Academy Conference for Elected Officials.