The dispatch

West Vancouver needs improved emergency dispatch services, says Mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones.

At council on Monday, councillors received the North Shore Police Services Review, a study that evaluated police services across all three municipalities.

The review has spurred a number of initiatives, including examining options for a shared use of detention facilities and enhancing the effectiveness of crime analysis resources.

"It's been a process that allowed the three North Shore municipalities to work together," Goldsmith-Jones said of the year-long review.

The waive

West Van council voted to waive the need for a public hearing on relocating a barrier-free accessibility ramp from the east side of Mulgrave School to the west side.

The private school requested the move because the new location is directly adjacent to a well-lit parking lot, is in a more visibly prominent area and avoids conflict with the sports field.

The waste

West Vancouver garbage fees are not increasing this fall, but they may go up in 2010, the district's manager of engineering services Phil Bates told council on Monday.

"We have not changed our rate since 1998," he said.

Sharp rises in costs of contracted waste collection and fluctuating world markets for recyclables have prompted a review of rates for fall of 2010, but district staff told council there are sufficient reserves in the Solid Waste Utility to cover increases in the third and four quarters of this year.

The meeting

On Wednesday, Oct. 7, the District of West Vancouver is holding a town hall meeting. The open meeting will take place at the West Vancouver Seniors' Activity Centre at 7 p.m. The centre is located at 695 21st St. in West Vancouver.