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Open Data Catalogue : drinking fountains data : January 2016
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- Cartographic material
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11 digital files (CSV, XLS, JSON, DWG, KML, SHP, HTML) : 171 KB
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Administrative history
The Board of Parks and Recreation has its origins in the granting of the 950 acre military reserve at First Narrows to the City for use as a park. The new park, named in honour of the current Governor General, Lord Stanley was formally opened in 1888. To control the operations of the park, Council appointed a Park Warden and a Park Committee to oversee the development and management of the park. In 1890, the Committee was replaced by a permanent elected body, the three person Board of Park Commissioners. The by-law which created the Board (no. 96) gave the Commissioners absolute control and management over the park system. It was expected to expend monies voted to it by Council and had the power to enter into contracts and pass by-laws. In 1896, the Board passed its first by-law "for regulations and government of the parks of the city," and appointed a Park Ranger. In 1904, the Park Ranger's title was changed to Superintendent of Parks. Although they were not defined in writing until 1929, the duties of the Superintendent were: to act as the administrative head and business manager and report directly to the Commissioners; to keep the minute books and books of account and generally supervise all employees; to prepare budget estimates and annual reports. In 1980 the title was changed to General Manager. Over its history, the Board has maintained the following functions: administration; beaches, pools and bathhouses; building services and maintenance; design and management of park development; engineering services; income operations; management of Zoo, Gardens and Conservatory; overall management; park forestry; parkland acquisition; parks maintenance and construction; poundkeeping; recreation and; relations with the public. Through several administrative reorganizations and evolving City priorities, the emphasis placed on the execution of these functions has changed. At incorporation, the acquisition of park land was paramount. Recreation programs became a strong priority between 1911 and 1935, reorienting the character of the Board in assuming a service function rather than concentrating on the acquisition of parkland. The relations with the public function became a strong focus for the Board, beginning in the late 1960s and continued to be a central focus in the 1990s. The Board is currently organized into the following divisions: Administrative and Revenue Services; Finance; Environment and Operations; Planning and Development; Recreation Services.
Over its history, the Board has been known under a variety of names:
- Committee on Works and Property (1887-1888);
- Parks Committee (1888-1889);
- Board of Parks Commissioners (1890-1955);
- Board of Parks and Public Recreation (1956-1973);
- Board of Parks and Recreation (1974 ).
The following individuals have served as Superintendent of Parks (subsequently General Manager):
- John Hurst, 1888-1889 in the position of Park Warden;
- Henry Avison, 1889-1896 in the position of Park Ranger;
- George Eldon, 1896-1903 in the position of Park Ranger, 1904-1910 in the position of Superintendent of Parks;
- A. Balmer, 1910-1913; W. S. Rawlings, 1913-1936;
- Allen S. Wootton, 1936-1943;
- Philip Bateman Stroyan, 1943-1960;
- Stuart B. Lefeaux, 1960-1979;
- Vic Kondrosky, 1979-1980 as Superintendent of Parks and 1980-1997 as General Manager;
- Susan Mundick, 1997-.
For a more detailed history, please consult the finding aid to the Board of Parks and Recreation fonds in the Archives' reading room.
Name of creator
Administrative history
Since its foundation, Engineering Services (or, as it was referred to until 1995, the Engineering Department) has been the largest department in the City administration, providing many of the City's mandated functions for developing and maintaining the City's infrastructure of roads and bridges, waterworks, sewers and sanitation.
The Vancouver Incorporation Act required the appointment of an engineer, and the City did so under Bylaw #1 (1886). Despite technological changes, the department has remained remarkably consistent in functional responsibilities: over the years, the Engineering Department/Engineering Services has been responsible for the construction and maintenance of streets, lanes, sewers, water works, and bridges, as well as for traffic management, sanitation, garbage collection, and parking. With the rapid growth of the city, the Department’s role changed from a supervisory role (overseeing and inspecting the work of contractors) to having full-scale operations divisions.
The City Engineer first reported to the Board of Works (1886-1956), then to the Board of Administration (1956-1974), and subsequently to the City Manager (1974-).
There were a few instances of major reorganization in the history of the Engineering Department. Following a departmental review by external consultants in 1954, the department underwent a major restructuring of its organizational framework. Formerly, divisions had been based on the type of operation each performed. The review called for three basic divisions. One major division was for administration and design and the other for operations. Each of these divisions would oversee the different functions as they related to design or operation. A third division for traffic management continued to exist in the same fashion as before the rearrangement. This structure remained in place for only a few years.
Another major reorganization occurred in 1966 when the Electrical Department was incorporated as a division within the Engineering Department (impetus for this change came from the formation of the Permits and Licenses Department which took over inspection activities while Engineering took over engineering and works aspects.)
The following individuals have served as City Engineer (from 1995, the City Engineer was also referred to as “General Manager” of the then renamed Engineering Services):
• John P. Lawson, 1886-1890;
• Henry B. Warren, 1890-1891;
• Thomas H. Tracy, 1891-1905;
• William A. Clement, 1905-1911;
• Frederick L. Fellowes, 1911-1924;
• Charles Brakenridge, 1924-1946;
• Charles A. Battershill, 1946-1949;
• John C. Oliver, 1949-1956;
• Randolph M. Martin, 1956-1971;
• Gordon H. Lawson, 1971-1974;
• William H. Curtis, 1974-1991;
• David Rudberg, 1991-[2004]
• Tom Timm, [2004]–2010
• Peter Judd 2010–2015
Functions, occupations and activities:
The broad range of functions of the Department has included:
- Streets and bridges design and maintenance, including snow/ice removal and sanding;
- Sewerage and drainage planning and maintenance,
- Water supply and distribution,
- Refuse collection and disposal,
- Transportation planning and traffic management, including accommodating for special events,
- Street lighting and utilities,
- Inspection responsibilities (until the creation of the Permits and Licenses Department),
- City planning responsibilities (under the direction of the Town Planning Commission) until the creation of the Planning Department in 1954,
- Street Decoration (in conjunction with the Street Decoration Committee) since 1954.
Custodial history
Scope and content
File contains datasets showing locations of permanent and temporary public drinking fountains. File also contains Open Data Catalogue html page that described the datasets; page includes data attributes and data accuracy and currency information. Datasets are as they appeared on January 20, 2016.
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Use of data is governed by the Open Government Licence - Vancouver. See series description for details.
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Copyright: City of Vancouver; expiry: 2067