December 14 Council Meeting: Virtual Christmas Events, Crime Prevention Videos for Business, Not a “Ghost Town”

Yesterday afternoon was the last Langley City council meeting of the year.

Council received an update from Kim Hilton, Director of Recreation, Culture and Community. She noted that limited indoor recreation options are available at City facilities with information posted on the City’s website.

She also highlighted some of the virtual Christmas events that are occurring this year, including the Elf on the Shelf Countdown to Christmas, Holiday Lights Virtual Tour, and Langley Youth’s 12-Days of Christmas Giveaway Contest.

To help celebrate Christmas Eve, the City is asking people to jingle bells for 2 minutes at 6 pm outside to help spread some holiday cheer.

Dave Selvage, Manager of Community Safety, presented a video series produced by the RCMP Langley Detachment about Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design. This is an initiative of the City’s Crime Prevention Task Group. The City will post a series of 5 minutes videos to its YouTube page to highlight what businesses can do to help reduce crime. Some examples include tips on cleaning up tagging/vandalism and securing outdoor areas such as around garbage, organics, and recycling bins. The videos were kept short, recognizing that many business owners are extremely busy, especially this year.

Council enthusiastically endorsed this series and to work with the RCMP, Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce, and Downtown Langley Business Association to spread these videos throughout Langley. I will post a link to these videos once they are up.

Langley City council also approved staff to apply for a grant from the federal government’s COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Program to cover the cost of a $486,00 project to implement flood mitigation along 46 Avenue between 206A Street and 207 Street in 2021. This area has been subject to flooding over the last several years. If the City does not receive the grant, construction of this project will occur in 2022.

The area along 46 Avenue that is subject to flooding.

Councillor Wallace presented a motion declaring a climate emergency in Langley City. This motion will be discussed at a future Council meeting.

Councillor Martin brought up the topic of Cloverdale-Langley City MP Tamara Jansen calling our community a “ghost town.” Members of council refuted that claim. After a robust discussion, council agreed to send a letter to the MP asking for an explanation of what she meant by “ghost town” and to meet with City council.

While 2020 has been a challenging year for businesses, our community is resilient. This weekend, I walked around both Downtown Langley and the Langley Bypass. I noticed lineups on the streets and full parking lots. We can best support our business community this holiday season by shopping local.