Port Coquitlam’s newly elected Mayor Brad West kicks off his four-year term with changes to the Council committee structure and meeting start times.

At Tuesday’s Council meeting, Mayor West announced the creation of a new committee which will be known as Committee of Council and will replace all previous committees. Many city matters requiring a Council decision will now first be discussed by Committee of Council, which will either request changes or further information, or send them on to Council for a formal decision. This committee structure is common in many other cities and helps streamline the decision-making process

“The changes are not being made for change’s sake but to help Council work smarter and more efficiently, and focus more on addressing city priorities,” said Mayor Brad West.

Mayor West also announced a new Mayor’s Citizen Advisory Roundtable which will be made up of 12 volunteers who will have input on city matters. A formal call-out for applications from people representing various sectors of the community will go out in January.

“The roundtable will have a direct voice to the Mayor’s office and be a sounding board on residents’ priorities,” said West. “It’s a way for Council to continue to engage our citizens and businesses – find out what matters to them and come up with creative ways to make Port Coquitlam a better place for everyone who lives, works, visits and invests here.”

To ensure Council members can continue to have a voice on championing key issues, they will be appointed as Council designates for the following areas:

• Steve Darling: community safety (bylaw enforcement, fire, RCMP, emergency preparedness).
• Laura Dupont:  environment, climate action, parks.
• Nancy McCurrach: arts, culture and heritage.
• Darrell Penner: public works and transportation.
• Glenn Pollock: housing, sports and recreation.
• Dean Washington: budget and finance and vice-chair of Committee of Council.
• Mayor Brad West: development, planning, downtown and economic development.

There will also be some changes to the meeting schedules. Committee of Council meetings will start at 2:00 pm and take place the first four Tuesdays of the month.

Council meetings also start one hour earlier at 6:00 pm with public hearings, and take place every second and fourth Tuesday of the month.

The following appointments were also made to external committees:

• Metro Vancouver – Mayor West (alternate Cllr. Penner)
• Translink Mayor’s Council – Mayor West (alternate Cllr. Washington)
• PoCo Community Foundation – Cllr. Pollock
• Fraser Valley Regional Library – Cllr. McCurrach
• Fraser Health Municipal Government Advisory Group – Cllr. Pollock
• School District #43 Liaison – Cllr. Darling
• Tri-Cities Healthy Communities Partnership – Cllr. Pollock
• Coquitlam Watershed Roundtable – Cllr. Dupont
• PoCo Arts – Cllr. McCurrach

Time-stated community advisory groups or task forces will also be created on an as needed basis to deal with emerging or key community issues.

For more information and meeting schedules for committees and task forces, visit www.portcoquitlam.ca/committe

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For additional information, contact:

Gabryel Joseph
Manager of Corporate Office
City of Port Coquitlam
T: 604.927.5413
E: josephg@portcoquitlam.ca