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COMMUNITY
HERITAGE COMMISSION
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MINUTES
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An Open meeting of the Community
Heritage Commission was held in the Council Committee Room, City Hall, 4949
Canada Way, Burnaby, B.C. on Thursday, 2017 November 16 at 6:00 p.m.
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PRESENT: Councillor
Colleen Jordan, Chair
Councillor
Sav Dhaliwal, Vice Chair
Ms.
Ruby Johnson, Honorary Member Emeritus
Mr.
Lee Loftus, Parks, Recreation and Culture Commission Representative
Ms. Les Lee Lowe, Burnaby
Historical Society Representative
Ms.
Tammy Marchioni, Citizen Representative
Mr.
Harry Pride, Historian
ABSENT: Councillor
Nick Volkow, Member (due to illness)
Ms.
Diane Gillis, Citizen Representative
Ms. Coni O’Neill, Citizen
Representative
STAFF: Mr.
Jim Wolf, Senior Long Range Planner
Ms.
Deborah Tuyttens, Museum Services Supervisor
Ms.
Lisa Codd, Museum Curator
Ms.
Rebecca Pasch, City Archivist
Ms.
Blanka Zeinabova, Administrative Officer
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The
Chair called the Open meeting to order at 6:05 p.m.
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MOVED BY commissioner lowe
SECONDED BY commissioner pride
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THAT the minutes of the Community
Heritage Commission Open meeting held on 2017 September 07 be adopted.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
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MOVED BY commissioner marchioni
SECONDED BY councillor dhaliwal
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THAT the presentation be heard.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
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a)
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The
Case of the Missing Minutes: Rediscovering Burnaby’s
Incorporation
the First Year of Council
Presenter:
Jim
Wolf, Senior Long Range Planner
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Mr. Jim Wolf, Senior Long Range
Planner, provided a PowerPoint presentation on the history of Burnaby’s
incorporation and its first Council in 1892. It was noted that the first
municipal Clerk was Mr. Alex Philip (1892-1894) and the second Clerk was Mr.
Alfred Smither (1894-1899). Council met in New Westminster where the minutes
were kept as well; however, in 1898 the Great Fire destroyed Columbia Street.
At the Council meeting on 1898 September 24, Council resolved to allow the
Clerk $30 for making a copy of the minute book and $5 for copying the
accounts, as well as authorized him to purchase the new books needed.
In 1962, Ms. Margaret Ades, daughter
of Mr. Alfred Smither, advised that she had some of her father’s minute
books, and donated them to the Burnaby Historical Society.
In 2005, Council minutes from
1895-1898 were found in the Provincial Archives in Victoria. They were restored,
and are now stored in the City’s Archives.
In conclusion, Mr. Wolf noted that
the City is missing all Council minutes from 1892 September 22 to 1894 March
24. It was noted that meetings were held weekly, and approximately 80
Council meetings need to be located in local newspapers. To date, the City
recovered all Council meeting accounts between 1892 September 22 to 1893
April. Staff will continue researching and compiling the missing accounts, transcribe
the newspaper articles into Word documents, and create an online research
tool for users to access on Heritage Burnaby.
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MOVED BY commissiOner loftus
SECONDED BY commissiOner lowe
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THAT
the correspondence be received.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
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Correspondence was received from Ms.
Laurie Gourlay, Interim Director, the Salish Sea Trust, seeking support from
the City by signing ePetition to add the Salish Sea to Canada’s Tentative
List for UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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Correspondence was received from Ms.
Laurie Gourlay, Interim Director, the Salish Sea Trust, requesting the City’s
recognition of December 11th as “A Day for Our Common Future”, as
well as seeking support for the 41 UNESCO World Heritage Site applications
submitted in 2017 from across Canada. It was noted that 10 successful bids
will be announced in December.
Arising from discussion, the
following motion was introduced:
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MOVED BY commissiOner pride
SECONDED BY commissiOner marchioni
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THAT the Commission recommend
Council support the Salish Sea Trust’s application for the Salish Sea to be
included on Canada’s Tentative List for UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
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A memorandum was received from Ms.
Rebecca Pasch, City Archivist, in response to an inquiry made by the
Commission in September regarding the Heritage Burnaby website referencing
1892 to 1894 missing records. It was noted that a brief history of the Great
Fire in New Westminster and its impact on the City of Burnaby’s early records
was added, as well as a description of all Council records on Heritage
Burnaby Research page, explaining which Council records are missing and why.
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A memorandum was received from Ms.
Rebecca Pasch, City Archivist, providing an update on work at the City
Archives. The update included the following:
·
The
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report (2016) includes a Call to
Action specifically for the Archives – to identify and collect copies of all
records relevant to the history and legacy of the residential school system
for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR).
Staff began gathering the
data last fall and conducted a full survey of the City’s holdings. As there
were no residential schools in Burnaby, records are primarily related to the
treaty negotiations in the Lower Mainland and in the Province of British Columbia.
·
The
Archives has been working towards best practices for preservation, i.e.
wrapping and conserving 20 leather-bound Council minute books; rehousing in
upright enclosures a collection of glass plate negatives; and migrating
photograph preservation masters to a secure drive maintained by the IT
department.
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MOVED BY commissioner marchioni
SECONDED BY councillor dhaliwal
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THAT the report be received.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
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a)
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Report
from the Director Planning and Building
Re:
Heritage Burnaby – “Migration Stories Project”
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The Director Planning and Building
submitted a report outlining a new partnership with Simon Fraser University
for the creation of a digital project for Heritage Burnaby.
The Director Planning and Building
recommended:
1. THAT the Community Heritage
Commission approve the “Migration Stories Project”, as outlined in this
report, as a partnership project with Simon Fraser University to enhance
Heritage Burnaby.
2. THAT Council be requested to
approve the expenditure of $10,000 towards Phase I of the “Migration Stories
Project”, as outlined in this report.
3. THAT a copy of this report be
sent to Dr. David Kaufman, Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University.
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MOVED BY commissioner loftus
SECONDED BY councillor dhaliwal
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THAT
the recommendations of the Director Planning and Building be adopted.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
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Brian Elder – Missing Minutes
Councillor Jordan advised that she
received a letter from Mr. Brian Elder advising that Reeve Schou (Burnaby
Reeve 1893-1903) was also a special correspondent for two local newspapers,
the Vancouver ‘News-Advertiser’ and the New Westminster ‘British Columbian’,
and sent Council minutes to both newspapers. These minutes were previously
searched out, photocopied and sent to the City Archives.
Deborah Tuyttens - Heritage
Christmas
Ms. Tuyttens noted that this year
Heritage Christmas at Burnaby Village Museum will be presented by Concord
Pacific. The Museum will open on November 25th; with a tree
lighting ceremony on December 2nd at 6:00 p.m. Proceeds from
carousel rides tickets will be donated to the Burnaby Christmas Bureau.
Lisa Codd - Burnaby Neighbourhood
History Series
Ms. Codd advised that the Burnaby
Neighbourhood History Series were very successful, with the largest
attendance at the Chinese-Canadian Stories.
Jim Wolf - Miscellaneous Updates
Mr. Wolf advised that staff is
working on a project with the Burnaby School Board. More details will be
forthcoming.
The speaker further advised that the
exterior restoration of Mathers House restoration will begin in 2018.
Mr. Wolf noted that staff have completed
a sample chapter for the Burnaby School Book History project to be reviewed
by the Book Committee.
Councillor Jordan - Appreciation
Councillor Jordan advised that this is the
last meeting for Commissioners O’Neill, Lowe and Loftus. The Chair conveyed
thanks and appreciation to the Commissioners for their participation on the
Heritage Commission.
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There
were no inquiries brought before the Commission at this time.
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MOVED BY commissioner lowe
SECONDED BY commissioner marchioni
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THAT
this Open meeting do now adjourn.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
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The
Open meeting adjourned at 7:32 p.m.
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________________________
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________________________
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Blanka
Zeinabova
ADMINISTRATIVE
OFFICER
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Councillor
Colleen Jordan
CHAIR
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