Riverview Sold?

Well it appears that the new boss of the site (B.C. Housing) is wasting no time in being sleazy in their ways.
Apparently a request for proposal (RFP) was asked for by them on February 23, 2015
And the bidding process was opened on March 2, with a "public" meeting a few days later on March 6.

This is how "Our" government works
 Request for Proposal (RFP) Abstract: RFP 1070-1415/78 Master Planning Consultant Services Riverview Development

On the E-bid site :  Master Planning Consultant Services Riverview Development

the above E-Bid  is shown below, in most of its entirety, since these bids, get removed eventually.

for more information contact: 
Michael Lachocki
BC Housing Management Commission
1701 - 4555 Kingsway
Burnaby, British Columbia
V5H 4V8
Phone:
Fax:
Email:   purchasing@bchousing.org


addendum #2 - Due to significant interest in this opportunity the information meeting has
been moved to a larger venue. The date and time remain the same:

Element Vancouver Metrotown (Westin)
5988 Willingdon Avenue
Burnaby BC
Tel: 604-568-3696 or 604-347-9688

room: Evergreen Ballroom A (Third floor)


Addendum #1 - The information meeting will be held: Friday, March 06, 2015 1 pm PST at
the designated location

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL


Master Planning, Infrastructure & Development Consultant Services Riverview Lands, Coquitlam, BC


Master Planning, Infrastructure & Development Consultants are invited to submit a proposal
for Request for Proposal (RFP) #1070-1415/78 for Master Planning, Infrastructure &
Development Consulting for Riverview Lands, Coquitlam, BC.

The Site:

The Lands are owned by the Province of British Columbia (Province). For almost 100 years
the Lands have been a place of healing, caring and tranquility for many BC residents who
suffer from mental illness. While its role as a home to Riverview Hospital has come to a
close, its history and legacy as a place of care and healing will remain. As the steward
of these Lands, the Province is committed to balancing environmental leadership, heritage
stewardship, and community aspirations with the needs of BC's citizens, as the future of
the Lands is considered.

BC Housing has been charged with the responsibility of leading the planning for the future
use of the Lands. BC Housing will require the services of the Master Planning,
Infrastructure & Development Consultant (Lead Consultant) to assist with the land use
planning.

Brief Description of Work

The Master Planning, Infrastructure & Development Consultant (Lead Consultant) will assist
BC Housing with developing a plan for the future use of the Lands that balances the
interests of stakeholders and is consistent with the Guiding Principles and further set
out in the RFP.

The successful Proponent will be required to develop a coherent framework plan for the
entire Riverview Lands by working collaboratively and iteratively with BC Housing and
various stakeholders. The Proponent's primary role will be to translate the development
program into a compelling but practical plan and to ensure that it can and will achieve
all the public goals, sustainability, quality of place, good urban form, environmentally
responsible delivery of all construction works, while at the same time delivering the
phasing, implementations, feasibility, financing and other development objectives.

The comprehensive list of Deliverables is identified within the RFP tender document.

The successful proponent shall accept all the above activities as one complete work
package.

Information Meeting

Date: 06 March 2015
Time: 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM PST
Location: Hilton Vancouver Metrotown,6083 McKay Avenue, Burnaby, BC

The RFP timetable is tentative only, and may be changed by BC Housing at any time.

Issue Date of RFP: 23 February 2015
Information Meeting Date: 06 March 2015 @1:00 p.m. PST
Deadline for Questions: 12 March 2015
Deadline for Issuing Addenda: 17 March 2015
Submission Date: 09 April 2015 @ 2:00 p.m. PST

Your proposal MUST be submitted using the following method:

It must be submitted electronically through MERX, the electronic tendering system used by
BC Housing @ www.merx.com/bch . Proposals submitted in any other
manner will bedisqualified. For assistance in using MERX, please watch the online Electronic Bid
Submission tutorial:  Alternatively, you can contact MERX directly at 1-800-964-MERX or visit the MERX website

First tree walk 2015

Well we did the first tree walk of the season, with only the occasional very light sprinkling of rain,  falling upon us all. A good turnout 32 souls in this photo with at least a handful more out of the viewfinder.
Sadly the arborist who was scheduled to lead the tour could not be there.  So the RHCS members present answered any questions that were asked as best they could.

This walk was done in the memory of Sue Haberger, whose loss is still deeply felt amongst many RHCS members, and her friends and family.

Tree walk group with Centre Lawn in the background

A rather poor photo of one side of the Serenity Garden, where volunteers have cleaned up considerably. Note the bare brown patch under the tree which extends into the garden, and which was until recently covered with blackberry plants.

And there is still no word from the consultants running the RenewingRiverview project
 

Hospitals filled with patients that have mental health issues

The first tree hugging session of the 2015 season will start shortly  Download a one page PDF(158K) that has the scheduled walks, also visit the RHCS website, since sometimes there are other walks not listed in the schedule.  First walk this year is dedicated to the memory of Sue Haberger, read the local newspaper article about the event:  The first Riverview tree walk of 2015 will honour the memory of Sue Haberger

Sue Haberger is second on the right, and her mother is seated, she is also now deceased.  This photo was taken at the closing ceremony event for the staff in June of 2012, where the Raging Greenies, seen here crashed the event to provide some inspirational singing devoted to the preservation of the Riverview Hopital site.  Read the previous blog article about this event.

☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

 And now for the headline article:

B.C. has higher rates of hospital stays due to mental illness than the rest of Canada
     More treatment needed, Vancouver experts say, but not in psych wards.

The article refers to a report:  CIHI releases top 10 reasons for hospitalization and surgery

And a reply to the Vancouver Sun article:  excerpt from an opinion piece in the Vancouver Sun  printed below in its entirety.

opinion:   Seriously mentally ill left out in cold

Re: B.C. has higher rates of hospital stays due to mental illness than the rest of Canada, March 5

Increasing community resources and telephone access to talk therapy may be important for people with mental illness, but it cannot substitute for a dedicated centre like Riverview hospital.

It will not address the needs of those experiencing first-break psychosis, those relapsing, and those with treatment-resistant psychosis.

Community care also cannot meet the needs of individuals struggling with complex concurrent disorders whose needs could be met if Riverview was available as a one-stop shop for mental illness and substance abuse.

Focusing on people with mild-to-moderate problems may seem like a really good way to spend smart — but it leaves our most seriously ill and most vulnerable citizens out in the cold. In the long run this will cost not only more money, but more lives as well.

ANA NOVAKOVIC

BC Schizophrenia Society, Richmond