Mayor Derek Corrigan gave his annual State of the City address to a sold-out crowd at the Hilton Vancouver Metrotown on Thursday afternoon.

The address, hosted by the Burnaby Board of Trade and sponsored by Digital Payment Technologies and the SFU Community Trust, detailed the city's progress over the past year.

Corrigan started by speaking about the city's proposed social sustainability strategy, which is currently making the rounds in a series of public consultations.

He then covered a number of developments in each of the city's neighbourhood centres, focusing mainly on Metrotown, Brentwood and Edmonds.

Other subjects the mayor addressed included the city's fiscally responsible track record, cultural initiatives, parks and recreational projects, and environmental and transportation initiatives.

He also touched on last year's address, which focused on Burnaby as a creative city, and said that aspect of the city's development has continued as well.

The title of this year's address was Engaging the Community We Serve.

Corrigan also commented on the upcoming departure of Darlene Gering, president and CEO of the board, saying word of her decision to move on was one of the very few times such news has moved him to tears.

The full transcript of the mayor's address is available below:

Engaging the Community We Serve

Mayor Derek Corrigan

Thank you for taking the time to join me here today at the Board of Trade's State of the City luncheon. I welcome this annual opportunity to discuss our City's achievements, challenges and opportunities. My annual disappointment, though, is that I can't talk about all of our plans and accomplishments. There just isn't enough time. Anyone who would like to join me for a few hours after lunch, however, is welcome to hear what I miss saying.

Last year, I spoke at this address about Burnaby as a Creative City and my firm belief that innovation and imagination are critical to the growth, development and sustainability of great cities worldwide. Since then, Burnaby's commitment to pursuing creative opportunities has resulted in the completion of many successful initiatives and the launch of several new programs and plans.

In many areas, we have found new ways to engage - with citizens, businesses and visitors. Creative solutions require collaboration. You can't be creative if you're not having a dialogue to determine what people want their City to be - today and in the future. In a city, creativity emerges from the tensions inherent in many individual and disparate points of view. Today, as I talk to you about our year's accomplishments and plans, I'll also focus on how we get there - through collaboration, consultation and engagement.

One of our greatest achievements this year is our Social Sustainability Strategy - and when I say "our", I am speaking about the role played by many of you here today, because the strategy's development was collaborative. With significant opportunities for public involvement built into the plan, it drew on the energy, creativity and innovation of hundreds of Burnaby citizens and businesspeople, including a 25-member, blue-ribbon steering committee. Several of you are here today and I'd like to thank you for your contribution.

A draft of the strategy is now complete. If you haven't already contributed, I encourage you to go to our website and have a look at the draft on line - or get a hard copy from our Planning Department - then speak to me or one of our Social Planners to share your comments and suggestions. You can also complete our on-line survey. And there's one more open house - April 11, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., at Bonsor Recreation Centre.

The strategy is, of course, not the beginning of Burnaby's focus on Social Sustainability, it is a roadmap that builds on the City's existing goals and its positive social attributes and assets. For several years, Burnaby has been formally working toward its goal of becoming a sustainable community through the implementation of a trilogy of Economic, Social and Environmental sustainability strategies - a Sustainable City initiative to create a sound policy direction for the future and provide a foundation for the continued strengthening of Burnaby's overall well-being, enhancing our status as a liveable, vibrant and sustainable community; a place that facilitates an engaged and active citizenry, a healthy economy and a strong respect for the natural environment.

One important issue for social sustainability is affordable housing, and I'm pleased to say that the City has a longstanding reputation for supporting the development of affordable housing. Burnaby Council has never wavered in its determination to make every effort to have the provincial and federal governments live up to their responsibility to fund the creation of a safe, affordable home for every citizen.

In Burnaby, our legacy of commitment to creating affordable housing opportunities can be seen throughout the City. We have offered a number of innovative programs to increase the opportunity for the construction of affordable housing. Council recently initiated the Community Benefit Housing Fund which has provided grants totalling over $327,000 to non-profit groups, such as the South Burnaby Legion and the Marguerite Dixon Society, to assist them in building new units.

To date, the City has independently raised more than $2.3 million in funds committed under the Housing Bonus Density fund and has created 19 units of housing though our Density Bonus Program in our town centres. It is a partnership with our innovative and successful development community that provides them with the opportunity to build more floor space in their projects in exchange for providing Burnaby with needed community amenities such as affordable housing.

Burnaby will continue to press the federal and provincial governments to use the Hastings Street Urban Renewal Site in a creative and imaginative way for a major affordable housing initiative. This parcel of land, which has been vacant for decades, would provide an excellent opportunity for our senior levels of government to expand much-needed housing within the Heights neighbourhood.

What we always keep in mind is that no matter what we're planning, it's not just about today. While we're doing great things to enjoy now, we're simultaneously looking at what more we can do to build on our strengths for the future. Some of the things you do for children, for example, don't see results for 20 years.

We embarked on our first Sustainable City initiative with the Economic Development Strategy 2020 a few years ago. It was developed with the input of more than 100 local industry leaders, representing 23 sectors of the local economy. It was a committee that I was privileged to chair. The goal of this strategy was to make Burnaby the preferred location in the Lower Mainland for a broad range of economic investment. And we are clearly succeeding in this goal.

Burnaby is the home of world-stage corporate players in technology, two high-calibre post secondary educational institutions, two rapid transit lines, strong sector clusters in industries with high growth potential, and an outstanding array of community amenities.

With Burnaby's award-winning Economic Development Strategy in hand, the City has a clear vision of what it is trying to achieve, a sound understanding of Burnaby's economic prospects for growth, and practical strategies aimed at fostering businesses across industry sectors.

Following the release of the Social Sustainability Strategy, the City will begin developing the Environmental Sustainability Strategy. Similar to the first two, the process being proposed for this strategy will be to use an exemplary Steering Committee to engage recognized leaders from the environmental sectors and a 'Community Dialogue' approach to provide the broadest possible opportunity for community input.

As with the first two, I will chair the Steering Committee to ensure the Strategy is consistent with its predecessors.

Overall, we have embraced the sustainability framework as a way of evaluating ourselves. Our inspiration is creativity and innovation, while our goals are clear and attainable.

Burnaby's financial position remains very strong, boding well for the future of our businesses and citizens. We are the rock solid foundation for business in our community. We are debt-free, with a relatively low taxation rate. As a result of our sound fiscal management, we are positioned to lead the region's economic recovery and to continue to prosper even while other cities are searching for funding options, reducing services and delaying projects.

Our Civic Investment Fund allows us to reduce our tax draw and to ensure an ongoing high level of service to citizens and businesses. Burnaby has focused on ensuring that our investment fund maximizes, to the legislated extent possible, our returns on invested cash. Our diversified investment approach provided a 5.10% return in 2010. This correlates to $33 million generated by our investments. In 2010, the Civic Investment Fund provided $7.3 million to the operating budget and lowered the required tax levy by 3.56%. Any unspent funds are re-deposited into our reserves. This is the kind of policy that makes Burnaby an economic success story by any measure.

Burnaby's financial reserves, which are in excess of $518 million, and our prudent financial practices are the envy of cities across Canada. In fact, recent accounting changes have required all cities to follow the same kind of methodology that we use in order to assess their long-term financial health. Because we only "borrow" internally, we have the flexibility to react quickly in any situation. For instance, the recent economic downturn has given us the opportunity to advance major civic building projects, such as the projected $43 million investment for a new Edmonds Aquatic and Community Centre.

In addition, our policies for the use of gaming funds to support our capital project initiatives and reduce financial impact on residential and business taxation, further enhance our financial stability. We have never used our gaming funds to subsidize our operating budget, but we consistently undertake capital projects that reduce the need for operating increases.

This year, we have seen a steady increase in development activities, from very large, complex, mixed-use to smaller urban village projects.

Even with the major challenges of our extraordinary growth, Burnaby's Planning and Building Department sustained its high standard of service. In 2009, the Urban Development Institute released a member survey which announced that "the best planning department based on competence and ethical professionalism is the City of Burnaby".

I would also like to point to the local NAIOP Development Cost Survey, which has recognized that the City of Burnaby has set its Planning and Building permit fees lower than most other municipalities in the Lower Mainland. Burnaby has the lowest municipal development fees and one of the fastest municipal permit approval times for new project applications.

Another important way in which we're ensuring Burnaby is well-positioned to seize opportunities in a global economy is through our ongoing work with the Burnaby Board of Trade and our mutual development of relationships with our friendship cities around the world. Working closely with the Board, we continue valuable, productive relationships with: Kushiro, Japan; Mesa, Arizona; Tai-Jung, Taiwan; Zhongshan, Changshu, Dongli District, Tianjin, and Dalian, all in China....and we recently signed an agreement with Hwaseong, South Korea.

As a direct result of these relationships, Burnaby has hosted a number of trade delegations. Investors and business leaders have been given tours and presentations by City staff to highlight Burnaby and its economic development opportunities. Many productive business relationships have grown out of these contacts. Our visit to the Shanghai World Expo earlier this year, for example, led to discussions regarding using B.C. lumber to build modular housing at a factory to be built in China.

Another reason we're well positioned to attract international business attention is the leading-edge companies that already call Burnaby home, including trail-blazers in bio-technology, power-technology, and electronics. Just two weeks ago, Dr.Michael Hayden, a Xenon founder and Chief Scientific Officer, received the Canada Gairdner Wightman Award for leadership in medical science in Canada.

As it said in the news release about this award, "The Wightman Award is another major honour for Dr. Hayden, having previously been awarded the Order of Canada and Order of British Columbia, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's Health Researcher of the Year Award, LifeSciences BC's Genome BC Award for Scientific Excellence and the Prix Galien Canada... with more than 600 publications, he is the most cited author on Huntington's disease in the world." At Xenon, he has also identified genes associated with a number of rare disorders, leading to novel approaches for treating cardiovascular disease, anemia and pain.

Looking at our population, Burnaby is growing and our demographics continue to shift. All of our planning must respect this context. Today, we have a population of about 223,000, making us the third-largest municipality in B.C. According to the 2006 Census, more than 58 languages were spoken in the homes of our residents. In total, more than 100 languages are now spoken by Burnaby residents and business owners. The City firmly believes that the diversity of our population enriches and strengthens our community.

To support the city's growth and to ensure we do our part to accommodate regional growth, we have focused on increasing densities in key areas. And in the past five years Burnaby has seen one of the greatest development periods in its history. In 2008, Burnaby reached a record building value of close to $800 million, with $1.3 billion of projects under construction through 1,500 active permits. As with all communities, we saw building permit values drop in the City in 2009 - to $422 million. In 2010, we saw permit values rebound to $540 million. This growth in development activity is a reflection of the strength of our local economy and the confidence investors are showing in Burnaby.

In order to further encourage compact communities, this year, Council approved amendments to the Zoning Bylaw to provide for Supplementary Community Benefit Bonus Density within the City's designated Town Centres, creating a new zoning provision for our high-density zoning districts.

The bonus program enables the City to secure services and amenities that enhance livability. Since its 1997 adoption by Council, the City's original density bonus program has achieved extraordinary community amenities. The four town centres have gained significant civic facilities, including childcare centres, non-profit space, affordable/special needs housing, environmental enhancements, community police offices and park improvements. It also relieves pressures to densify single- and two-family neighbourhoods and allows us to maintain and protect more than 25 per cent of the City's land area as park, conservation area or open space.

Speaking of Burnaby's Town Centres, much has happened this year in each of them - and in some of our other development focal points.

Metrotown has matured to become one of Metro Vancouver's prime urban centres and a magnet for economic investment. Two recent projects point to our City's successful partnerships with the development community.

Sovereign - a 45-storey mixed-use tower consisting of 202 residential units on 26 storeys, 169 hotel rooms over 13 storeys and a three-storey retail podium - is located at the prominent corner of Willingdon and Kingsway. It is a key part of our town centre plan.

The City worked with Bosa to provide the site development design changes that would maintain this property's strategic commercial value, including hotel support for Burnaby's motion picture, high tech, corporate and tourism industries. Clearly, the collaboration was a success. When this project went on the market last month, its 202 residential units sold out, with a lineup of over 600 potential purchasers. This event surpassed the single-day sales record for Burnaby and bodes well for the future of real estate development in our City's downtown core.

The Bosa project includes 6,100 square feet of non-profit space to be owned by city hall, almost 60,000 square feet of retail space and a 28,000-square-foot fitness facility. It was built to LEED silver standards.

Our focus on making Burnaby a "Creative City" is leading to the development of lively, diverse streetscapes and public places, including the proposed "Metroplace" development at the Metrotown SkyTrain station. This landmark 46-storey residential tower is proposed to include street-fronting commercial on Beresford Street and townhouses on Telford Avenue. The development would use additional residential floor area provided by the supplemental community density bonus program and would be distinguished by a creative and innovative approach to design, including the City's first "art walk".

This development symbolizes the "Creative City" concept, as it would contribute significantly in terms of commercial uses, new residents, public realm improvements and community services.

Several other new developments of note were initiated - and many substantially completed - in 2010. These include:

* The Jewel II - a 21-storey residential apartment with 98 units at Beresford and Wilson.

* The Empress - a 45-storey mixed use tower with a hotel and 202 residential units at Willingdon and Kingsway

* The Concord-Pacific Development - a 21-storey residential apartment tower on Nelson Avenue

* Polygon Development - a residential high-rise and townhouses (245 units) located between Bennett and Nelson, which will use amenity bonusing to provide a new seniors' centre for Metrotown residents.

Brentwood continues to accommodate much of the City's growth. Construction of the Millennium Skytrain Line included three town-centre stations that serve as the focus of transit-oriented development. The Brentwood Town Centre Development Plan recognizes and capitalizes upon this significant transportation corridor by designating its highest, most efficient land uses within walking distance of the stations.

Redevelopment interest in Brentwood remains strong, as indicated by several major development applications approved and advanced in 2010-2011. Among the largest of these projects is the Appia Developments application for the southwest corner of Lougheed and Willingdon. This project would include three high-rise residential towers with 644 units and a 324,000 square-foot, 12-storey commercial office and retail building. We are also looking forward to the new plans for Brentwood Mall that will fundamentally "re-shape" the key element in Brentwood Town Centre.

In the Lougheed Town Centre, the Burnaby North Road Business Improvement Association continues to bring local Burnaby and Coquitlam merchants together to raise the area's profile through beautification projects and to respond to issues of mutual concern.

The proposed Evergreen Line rapid transit corridor, from Lougheed Town Centre to Coquitlam Town Centre via North Road, is in the conceptual design stage, and City staff are liaising with the provincial team to address land use and transportation issues.

Many opportunities remain for future development and intensification of lands around the Lougheed SkyTrain station and the Lougheed Mall property.

Just a few months ago, the Cameron Children's Centre, a new 4,900-square-foot daycare at Cameron Street and North Road, officially opened, making it the fifth city-owned licensed child care centre. It was built and fully equipped and furnished by the developer Ledingham-McAllister, in exchange for receiving additional density. It will provide care for eight infants, 12 toddlers and 24 pre-schoolers and is operated by the Lower Mainland Purpose Society for Youth and Families on behalf of the city.

UniverCity at SFU is continuing to develop as one of the most exciting, successful, and environmentally sustainable new complete communities in the entire region - indeed in the entire country. A neighbourhood of 1,300 apartments and townhomes, UniverCity is now home to 3,000 residents, with a town square and a commercial high street already developed, as well as the new Highlands Elementary School that opened last fall. The City of Burnaby contributed $1.4 million to Highlands, partnering with the School District to add community space and an expanded gym.

Construction continues despite the economy, and last year council approved the third phase of the community plan, including innovative comprehensive green building requirements and incentives. Currently under development is UniverCity's new Childcare Centre, which when competed will be the greenest building in the country and is aiming to be the first to meet the Living Building Challenge. Two new residential developments - "Origin" by Porte Development and "Nest" by Mosaic Homes - are now under construction, with a third project by Liberty Homes currently in the design process.

In February, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities honoured the City of Burnaby and SFU Community Trust with the 2011 Sustainable Communities Award in the inaugural category of Integrated Neighbourhood Development, which recognizes excellence in environmental responsibility.

Most recently, the Canadian Institute of Planners selected UniverCity for the 2011 Award for Planning Excellence in the category of Neighbourhood Planning. The SFU Community Trust will formally receive this award at the 2011 CIP Conference in St. John's Newfoundland on July 11th 2011.

To date, the development of UniverCity has generated a $25 million dollar endowment to fund teaching and research at SFU. The Trust and SFU have estimated that the project will eventually generate an estimated $150 to $170 million dollars for the endowment.

Significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions at UniverCity are being achieved in a number of ways and SFU Community Trust is working toward the creation of a Neighbourhood Energy Utility to provide heat and domestic hot water to new UniverCity developments. The NEU will ultimately reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent.

With regard to energy use, the average home in Metro Vancouver uses 22,744 kilowatt hours of energy per year. In comparison, the average home at UniverCity uses 16,916 kilowatt hours per year, almost 13 per cent less than the average Metro Vancouver home.

New UniverCity development requirements will ensure that buildings will be 40 per cent more water efficient and at least 30 per cent more energy efficient than if these buildings were constructed following standard Building Code requirements.

Another addition to the development guidelines adopted in 2010 is the Green Building Bonus section. This Section provides density bonuses for green buildings that exceed the minimum requirements and provide enhanced management strategies, efficiency or alternative energy systems. UniverCity's phase-three zoning places UniverCity and the City of Burnaby at the forefront in sustainable community development.

The Edmonds Town Centre continues to develop as a vibrant, mixed-used community. Construction of the new public Library, adjacent to the Esprit mixed-use development, has transformed the intersection of Kingsway and Edmonds and accentuates our vision of a revitalized town centre.

In 2010, the City's ongoing commitment to integrating environmental protection and enhancement was realized through the Reflections development. This residential apartment tower was developed adjacent to Byrne Creek Ravine Park, providing the opportunity to complete this park acquisition through a land exchange and to implement the rehabilitation of this urban waterway.

We are also investing in our own civic facilities to further enhance our community's livability. The city has entered the construction stage of the new Edmonds Aquatic and Community Centre to be located on the existing Eastburn site in Richmond Park. This new facility - which was designed based on a community-focused consultative design process - will have a six-lane pool, two gyms and a 7,500-square-foot exercise facility. Concept plans have also been completed for a community plaza at Richmond Park.

While the new Eastburn Centre is being constructed, the City is using the former Edmonds Library branch as a temporary neighbourhood recreation centre. The City was able to pre-buy practically new workout equipment from VANOC at the conclusion of the Olympics, and equip a much larger workout space in the temporary facility at a significantly reduced price.

Initiatives to rejuvenate the Edmonds Street corridor continue with a major planning initiative under way for further community input. The completion of the Toscana and Bella mixed use projects will represent a model for future development in the Edmonds Street plan.

Also in East Burnaby, the City will initiate a new program to prepare an updated Cariboo Heights Community Plan. This new plan will seek to bring a creative approach to future development, incorporating modern sustainable planning and design in order to maximize the opportunities these lands will provide to the community and further protecting and enhancing the environmental assets of the adjacent Brunette River Conservation Area.

The progress of Burnaby's industrial development program can be seen in the Big Bend area, with 8.5 million square feet of industrial and warehouse space and two million square feet of office floor area currently constructed or approved. In addition, there are two million square feet of industrial/warehouse floor area and 500,000 square feet of office floor space currently in the development approval process.

The Commercial Precinct has two large-scale commercial developments north and south of Marine Way, contributing approximately 700,000 square feet of retail space to meet the needs of the growing employment in the Big Bend.

Significant development opportunities remain at Marine Way and Byrne Road, which would complete the successful revitalization of this mixed-use area.

The New Haven Development Plan by Amacon is continuing to proceed with high-quality office and industrial development. The new residential component of the plan, known as the McGregor, which incorporates one of Burnaby's historic estates, sold out its first phase.

I know golfers in the room will be excited about some of our new initiatives. We've significantly improved our golf infrastructure over the past 12 months, with the construction of: a new 60-stall driving range at Burnaby Mountain; a spectacular new clubhouse at Riverway; and a $1.4 million investment in drainage works resulting in vast improvements in winter course conditions.

Construction of the impressive new Clubhouse at Riverway is complete and it will open in May. The building is approximately 11,500 square feet, and has a "west coast" design, making extensive use of wood and stone elements that integrate beautifully with the surrounding buildings and landscape. The building has a restaurant/mixed grill and bar and lounge services that can be converted into banquet facilities to accommodate up to 225 guests. This will enable the facility to host tournaments, banquets and other special functions.

I encourage all of you to take a look at Riverway for your corporate seminars, business engagements, golf tournaments...and weddings! Maybe a business meeting in the morning, followed by an afternoon golf tournament? It's a beautiful facility and it's right here at home.

And at Burnaby Mountain Golf Course, ranked by Golf Digest as "one of the best places to play in North America," construction was completed on the new driving range. The new state-of-the-art, two-level building features 30 driving bays on each floor, including a teaching and instructional area. The new facility also has a storage and maintenance area with capacity for large fleet of golf carts.

We've also added ten thousand-square-feet of green surface, which includes a chipping area for instruction. And the first phase of paved cart paths was completed to improve operational safety and enjoyment for our riding customers.

Another significant initiative is the Virtual City Hall project, which will provide citizen-centered services through a new internet design that enhances the citizen experience and the opportunity for online business services

The design for the new website is framed around three strategic pillars ("find, do and engage") which focus on: enabling easy access to information; providing systems to conduct routine business transactions online; and engaging with both resident and business audiences. The project got under way in the fall and several information- gathering mechanisms were used to help capture the vision for the future Virtual City Hall, including both internal and external surveys and focus groups.

To design the site, we looked closely at the kinds of services we provide. Wherever possible, we'll make these services available on the website, with the goal of making information easier to access. For example, we currently get as many as 9,000 garbage-collection-related calls each month. If nothing else, I promise you that virtually everything our citizens want to know about garbage will be front and centre on our new site! And we're also looking at providing other information enhancements that we hope will help you start your day off right - like on-line traffic webcams to help you plan your morning commute.

We'll launch this new site early this fall.

Our libraries have always been focal points for community engagement. We are very proud of our facilities, in particular the beautiful, new Tommy Douglas Library in the Edmonds Town Centre. In April of last year, Burnaby Public Library was awarded the B.C. Library Association's Award of Merit for Building Projects, recognizing outstanding achievement in a library building project.

The building was designed in response to community-expressed needs for enhanced gathering and study spaces, collections, and technology. It is being used very much as it was envisioned.

And while the Tommy Douglas Library has received a lot of attention this year, overall in our libraries, there were more than 3.5 million in-person and virtual visits in 2010, and more than four million items were loaned.

The libraries play a huge role in celebrating Burnaby's creativity and diversity. In October - with what's called "My First Language Kits" - they launched a new family literacy initiative, designed primarily to reach new immigrant families with young children. Available in 25 languages, these kits provide parents and caregivers with materials and information to support home language development and cultural identity in the early years.

Speaking of community gathering places, I'm very excited this year about significant changes that are about to take place at our City's heritage jewel, Burnaby Village Museum and Carousel.

We will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Museum by eliminating the admission fee for the 2011 season, so more people can enjoy the village, the refurbished tram, the ice cream parlour, the carousel, and new attractions being developed at the site.

Approximately 140,000 people attended Burnaby Village Museum in 2010. We hope that number will increase to more than 300,000 when it opens free-of-charge, starting in May.

Our City has been investing in the historic buildings that comprise the unique and valuable Deer Lake Park heritage precinct. This year, we are going to continue to invest in this asset by restoring buildings and providing more opportunities for visitors to explore and discover our unique history and heritage. We will expand public opportunities by partnering with community groups to open the beautiful 1913 mansion, Deerholme, to the public as a new attraction and amenity. This city asset, which has been leased as a residence since 1979, is now available for us to imagine new creative opportunities as Deer Lake Park becomes an even more popular destination for day trips and tourism. Our Heritage Commission has also been working on a new heritage interpretation plan for expanded public signage, websites and walking tours of the lake that will take park visitors back to our City's pioneer days.

The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts hit a significant milestone in 2010, celebrating its fifteenth season. The Centre also formally established an "Artists in Residence" program, with a call for submissions in the spring.

Annual cultural festivals continued to attract large crowds to Shadbolt and Deer Lake Park, including the twenty-second Annual Rhododendron Festival in May, the twenty-sixth annual Discovery Day Festival and the twenty-second annual Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Performance in Deer Lake Park in July.

The Burnaby Spirit Square opened in July at Deer Lake Park. Work included expansion and improvements to the festival lawn and plaza adjacent to Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, fencing, resurfacing of roads and paths, and improvement to electrical services and drainage. In addition, Thomas Cannell's basalt stone family was completed and installed. Burnaby now has one of the most beautiful concert venues to be found anywhere.

The very successful Eleventh Annual Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival took place on Saturday, August 14, and this year's Festival looks as though it may be the best-attended ever. With KD Lang as the headliner, tickets for this year's festival are selling faster than ever before. Get them while you can!

And there's a great additional benefit this year for visitors to Deer Lake Park and Shadbolt. Visitors will be able to wander the grounds of Deer Lake Park directly into Heritage Village free of charge.

Elsewhere in our parks, many additional new creative initiatives are under way to enable increased citizen participation and enjoyment.

We are raising awareness of the City's new Festivals Burnaby program, which Council approved earlier this year. Council committed $670,000 annually over the next three years to assist community groups in developing events throughout the City.

We are planning the return of the Giro di Burnaby to the Heights in July 2011. And play-on, Canada's largest street hockey tournament, will also return to Burnaby in June, after a successful debut at Burnaby's Metrotown last year. After our great success with the World Police and Fire Games, we are hosting the 2012 Seniors' Games next year - and we hope that business will take an active interest.

We will focus on Central Park as well, starting with trail network improvements, including enhancement of the Trail of Hope, a major trail loop. Next, we'll continue planning improvements to the Northeast sector to provide more community-oriented amenities for park users, including a new track around Confederation Park.

And, as always, citizens are working with us to ensure our trails are well maintained. Two Volunteer Trail Maintenance Days held this year on Burnaby Mountain were a huge success, with 64 individuals contributing 379 hours of volunteer time.

With the departure of a major tenant at Swangard Stadium, the City is developing an increasingly diversified client list. Outdoor giant screen movie nights, Kabbadi tournaments, and celebrations such as the Fiji Festival are bringing people to the Stadium, along with traditional events like the BC High School Track & Field Championships, the 24-hour relay and the Harry Jerome Track Classic.

Finally, we are excited about the completion of the new wood sports floor at Bill Copeland, which will see its first game played this weekend. The new floor will not only provide a premium playing surface for lacrosse, but will give us the opportunity to attract a much greater range of events, such as basketball, martial arts, badminton, table tennis, gymnastics, trade shows and other dry-floor activities in winter and summer.

In Burnaby, we take great pride in our outdoor environment. Our OCP and related policies and programs have successfully promoted smart growth and sustainability. Our City's many communities are self sufficient, shaped by transit, connected by greenways and sensitive to ecosystems.

Our environmental awareness initiatives also continue to be successful. Burnaby's annual Environment Week was held last year from May 31 to June 6. The main event was a festival held at the City Hall plaza in conjunction with the Farmers' Market. Other activities included the annual Environmental Awards Reception at Burnaby Lake Pavilion, library displays, our staff Commuter Challenge and an Environment Week Edition Car Trunk Sale at Bill Copeland Sports Centre. World Rivers Day took place at Burnaby Fraser Foreshore Park, this year in partnership with BCIT and the Outdoor Recreation Council of B.C. Approximately 1,200 people attended.

The Southpoint Drive Rain Garden project is a green engineering initiative designed to promote natural infiltration of stormwater as a means to improve water quality and reduce erosion while creating an attractive community amenity. This project has transformed 2,300 square metres of paved surface into a public amenity located adjacent to Taylor Park, a reclaimed landfill site that was transformed into a community park several years ago. This project serves as an excellent example of the success that can be achieved through partnerships - in this case, between the City, Byrne Creek Streamkeepers, Taylor Park Elementary School, and Adera Development.

In March 2010, the City commenced dredging in Burnaby Lake, after extensive research, proof of concept, field calibration and testing on the use of ground-penetrating radar technology for turtle detection in the lake. As you likely also know, no turtles were found in the lake during dredging. They were too smart to stay near the dredging and moved upstream until we were finished.

The dredging program is proceeding well and, when complete this spring, approximately 180,000 cubic meters of sediments will have been removed from the lake bottom. A large percentage of the lake-bed sediments removed was tested and found to be contaminated with elevated levels of metals and hydrocarbon. During the dredging operations, tons of debris and waste were found, including car and truck tires, plastic bags and sheets, bottles, pop cans and metal objects. All of these items were removed from the lake bottom for proper disposal.

The dredging provides multiple benefits to the ecosystem of the lake and future on-lake recreational opportunities. Clearly, the project is a significant environmental initiative. It was envisioned by the City more than 10 years ago and will leave Burnaby Lake with improved water quality, better fish passage, enhanced wildlife habitat and a world-class facility for rowing, kayaking and canoeing activities.

In concert with the dredging of Burnaby Lake, plans are proceeding in the Central Valley precinct. The City and the Aga Khan Development Network are continuing to plan and design a new family-oriented park at the 13-acre site on Sprott Street just west of Kensington Avenue. Material dredged from the Burnaby Lake Rejuvenation project is being placed on a site at Kensington and Joe Sakic Way for future recreation amenity development.

I take particular pride in the fact that we recognized that the cleaned Burnaby Lake dredgate would make perfect fill for nearby playing fields. Not only did this save us untold soil-transport trucking costs and the impact on the environment, but it will also enhance our playing field surfaces.

The automated single-family garbage collection program, implemented in 2009, provided the perfect tool to facilitate the implementation of the food-waste program in 2010. The food scrap program was initiated in May and, since then, the City has seen a significant weight increase in the yard waste and food scrap stream. It is estimated that food waste accounts for about 35 per cent in weight of the total waste stream. The food scrap collection program reduces the City's waste disposal cost and assists the City in moving closer to the regional waste reduction goal of 70 per cent by 2015.

In 2011, the City will build on these programs and begin diverting organic kitchen waste in the multi-family sector. A pilot project, with six multi-family complexes, is being well received by residents. Final results of the pilot project will be presented to Council in June, along with recommendations on next steps. Looking beyond the multi-family kitchen waste diversion, the City will be moving toward organic collection in the education and commercial sectors.

On the energy conservation front, many City facilities have been retrofitted to conserve energy. Retrofits were undertaken to building lighting, air conditioning and heating controls, boilers replacement, and so on. Results of the monitoring show that these energy saving measures have yielded an average annual energy cost saving to the City of approximately $530,000.

This year, we will move forward with another phase of the Energy Performance contract to implement further energy saving measures. A partnership program with BC Hydro will allow the City to explore external funding opportunities and to advance its energy efficiency initiative in a cost effective manner.

The 17 acres of City-owned land near Still Creek Drive and Westminster Avenue is planned as the City's new centre of environmental excellence. The proposed facility will include an area where residents and businesses can dispose of recyclable and compostable materials and learn about how to make their community greener, healthier and less chemical dependent. Part of the site will be protected as a habitat zone for the Still Creek corridor. The centre will also have an operations component for the City's garbage, yard waste and recycling collection division as well as the parks maintenance and forestry services. The design of the facility will demonstrate environmental leadership, as it will focus on sustainability, energy efficiency, greenhouse gas reduction, water use efficiency, stormwater best management practices, environmental education, and use of recycled building materials.

And speaking of infrastructure, the City initiated the design for a new $3 Million water pump station in North Burnaby to replace the existing aging Curtis/Duthie pump station. The new station will improve water supply and system reliability for 10,000 residents and provide an emergency backup supply of water for SFU campus and UniverCity residential areas. Construction of the pump station will commence in early 2011.

One of the most critical elements required for advancing all initiatives in our city is making sure that we can carry out all of our activities in a safe environment. We are fortunate that Burnaby is a very safe City. But this fact does not allow us to be complacent. There is always room for improvement.

Creative approaches to policing have improved the safety of our City. The Burnaby RCMP detachment is fully committed to our Crime Reduction Strategy, which focuses on targeting crime hotspots and prolific offenders in an intelligence-led manner. As I mentioned last year, we realized impressive results in the early implementation of this strategy. I am pleased to report that as of January 1st of this year, we have seen the crime rate in this City drop from 82 to 68 Criminal Code offenses per 1,000 of our population. This is below the provincial average and demonstrates how we are continuing to make Burnaby even safer for our citizens.

This approach also focuses on crime types which have an immediate and observable effect on our community and, once again, the results have been impressive. Break and enters to businesses have dropped by 36 per cent. Break and enters as a whole have dropped by 20 per cent. Auto theft is down by 16 per cent and theft from autos and robbery are both down by over 20 per cent. Our crime reduction initiatives are working. And again, a big part of the success is rooted in engagement. Every citizen, police officer and civilian support employee is a part of Crime Reduction - and their dedication is proven by the results. As we move forward into 2011, the Burnaby RCMP will continue to develop the Crime Reduction Strategy to build on strategic partnerships with Mental Health and Addictions, Parole and Probation Services and Crown Counsel. As "Partners for a Safe Community," the Burnaby RCMP works closely with these agencies and our citizens, not only to ensure our safety, but also to provide options for those who find themselves involved in crime.

Policing priorities will continue to focus on the issues that our citizens consistently tell us concern them most: Youth, Traffic Safety, Drug Interdiction, and Property Crime. As a result, communication continues to be a priority for Chief Superintendent, Rick Taylor.

The Burnaby RCMP public website is in full operation, and citizens can access information on a wide range of the services offered, as well as crime prevention and public safety information. I'm also very pleased to announce that the very successful Business Watch program will expand to all areas of the City in 2011.

Finally, I cannot say enough about our volunteers, who number over 1,000 citizens. They participate as Auxiliary Constables, in Speed Watch, the Citizens Crime Watch, the DARE program and staff the Community Police advisory committees and the Community Police Offices. Their commitment goes beyond these programs and they can be seen throughout our city acting as the eyes and ears of our Detachment.

The Burnaby Fire Department continues to keep pace with the growth throughout the City, providing highly trained firefighters dedicated to ensuring the well being of our citizens and visitors, and the protection of their property. And Fire Station Seven, built to LEED Silver standards with post-seismic functionality, is serving us well, as are the new personnel.

The Department is currently in the process of digitalizing resource information as part of our fire apparatus mobile computer project, which quickly and efficiently provides on-scene emergency operations information to fire crews. And our Fire Prevention Division continues to offer fire safety and prevention education to citizens and businesses. Our program for elementary school children has been instrumental in getting fire safety information into homes.

Burnaby Firefighters continue their long-standing community support. Of recent note are the Healthy Snack and CPR programs for students.

On January 26, 2011, City of Burnaby staff, residents and businesses joined over 400,000 British Columbians in the "Great British Columbia ShakeOut", an earthquake response Drop, Cover, and Hold On drill.

As we all know - and as has been a high-profile topic since the recent tragic earthquake in Japan - in Canada, the coast of British Columbia is the region most at risk from a major earthquake. More than 1,200 earthquakes are recorded in the province each year and an earthquake capable of causing structural damage is expected to occur once every 10 years. In a densely populated urban area, even a magnitude "six" earthquake could do extensive damage. A strong earthquake close to population centers would likely be the most destructive natural disaster this country could experience.

In other parts of the world, such as Japan, an increased awareness about what to do during an earthquake has been proven to reduce injuries and deaths. It is important that everyone prepare for a major earthquake by understanding the risks in their region, making an emergency plan, and getting an emergency kit for their home, office and vehicle. I hope all our businesses are making preparations for self-sufficiency for the first few days of any catastrophic emergency. We're ready - are you?

As enormous an issue as it is, I haven't talked too much about transportation today. I want to assure you that's not because transportation is not a focus for the City! Burnaby is looking forward to initiating a Transportation Plan update in 2011. Under a new plan, the City will generate creative and environmentally sustainable initiatives to manage the City's transportation needs and new infrastructure.

I will mention now, though, that in 2010 the City completed the installation of an emergency vehicle traffic signal pre-emption system to provide Fire and Police vehicles with a green light when responding to emergencies. This system will help improve response times and reduce potential collisions with other vehicles. The GPS-based system has been installed at every signalized intersection within Burnaby and can also be used to monitor the activity and response times of individual emergency vehicles.

In closing, I want to thank you again for taking time out of your busy schedules to hear about many of our city's current plans and recent achievements. Burnaby has been recognized by the national press as one of Canada's most financially successful cities with outstanding services and competitive tax rates. But what keeps us truly vibrant and sustainable is our highly skilled and diverse community of dynamic thinkers, creators and implementers, many of whom are here today.

And out in the community, we have hundreds of citizens who help make Burnaby a city that is emulated and admired. This year, many new Local Heroes - people who represent diverse interests and backgrounds, and who have contributed to the community in a variety of ways - were celebrated, with more than 200 recognized since 1997.

In addition to these individuals, several groups of individuals help make our city great, namely those who contribute to our neighbourhood associations, such as the Kingsway Imperial Neighbourhood Association, the Burnaby Heights Merchants Association, the Edmonds Business Association and the Burnaby North Road Business Improvement Association, and dozens of not-for-profits who make sure that we never lose sight of how we can make our city even better.

I am honoured to be the Mayor of the City of Burnaby, proud of our many achievements and anticipating an exceptional 2011 for Burnaby citizens and businesses. I look forward to working with you in the coming year, as we launch many important new programs that will help enhance Burnaby's status as a creative, innovative, sustainable City. On behalf of Council, thank you for your attention this afternoon and for your role throughout the year in making Burnaby a great place to live, work, learn, play - and do business.