Last week + Regular Council Meeting + Budget November 19, 2018
Interested in the direction of the 2019 budget, including the proposed storefront library? We’ll be asking more budget questions immediately following our Council meeting on Monday.
Last week highlights:
Internal Audit Steering Committee Meeting
Councillor Hughes, Mayor Heron, and I again met with our public members to move forward the hiring of an external auditor. We meet again the first week of December.
Métis Week
St. Albert commemorated Métis Week, an annual celebration of Métis culture and Canadian heritage with the raising of the Métis flag at St. Albert Place. It was wonderful watching Mayor Heron, along with out Michif partners raise the flag!
Municipal Development Plan Workshop
I attended the morning workshop, along with members of the public, administration, and subject-matter experts to give feedback about the plan that will guide St. Albert growth over the next decades. Please share you vision through public workshops or feedback to our consultant!
Boards and Committees of Council Interviews
Council will spend most of Saturday interviewing the generous residents who have applied to sit on the boards and committees of Council. Thank you to everyone who applied - The decisions are always difficult!
Agenda highlights:
Sub Regional Storm Water Project ($1.2M)
Administration is recommending that we move forward with plans for the Carrot Creek water basin using funds available in current reserves.
Potential Budget Question topics:
As we head into budget deliberations, many motions have already been proposed to alter the proposed budget. Some of those motions include the following, which may influence our line of questioning on Monday afternoon:
Pickleball: That $25,000 is allocated from the capital reserve to modify current facilities for additional pickleball courts.
Video montage: That CPS-06, Mayor’s Celebration 10th anniversary, for $10,000 is unfunded.
Council retreat: That CS-003 Council Strategic Planning is unfunded and postponed until the 2022 budget.
Council training session: That CS-04, St. Albert Advocacy Plan for $10,000 is unfunded.
Servus Place Environment/Energy projects: That CSS-006, Heat Recovery System for $65,700… <and> CSS-007 Smart Facility Monitoring Systems <are> funded from the capital reserve.
Ambulance equipment: That FIRE-030 Power Stretcher and Load System is funded from the capital reserve.
Enhanced 9-11 service: That FIRE-026 CAD to CAD Software is funded from the capital reserve.
Amplify Festival: That <funding> of St. Albert Amplify Youth Festival be decreased <by> $35,000 (from the proposed $100,000).
Rotary Festival: That $5,000 fund the annual Rotary Music Festival to assist with Arden expenses.
Transit study to look at partnering with junior/senior-high schools to provide bus services: That the Transit Feasibility Study funding be reduced to $60,000 (from the proposed $75,000).
Storefront library: That capital charter LIB-001 Library Storefront Access Point in the amount of $517,000 be funded in 2019 from the Capital Reserve and; That the 2019 operating allocation to the Library be increased by $279,200 related to the Library Storefront Access Point and be funded through taxes.
This is a brief high-level overview of highlights from our meeting agenda, with my personal comments sprinkled in - In no way are my opinions representative of the official direction of council or the City of St. Albert. Please let me know of any typos or errors. As always, I also encourage everyone who is able to tune in the the live-stream of the meeting (3pm here) or attend in-person (3rd floor of St. Albert Place, hang a right getting out of the elevator). You can also register to speak if you have information to present to council. Full agenda packages can be found on the stalbert.ca website.
