Last week + Regular Council Meeting March 18, 2019
Last week
St. Albert Firefighters Rooftop Campout: Once again, our firefighters are raising money for those living with muscular dystrophy and a few of us came out for the official kickoff. These guys rock!
Indigenous Cultural Awareness Training: Most of Council participated in this session where we heard from our advisors from Apakosis. We listened, we asked question, and we learned about how we can connect. For me, this session built on the Truth and Reconciliation presentation at the St. Albert Art Gallery from earlier this month, and reinforced the need to acknowledge the histories of indigenous peoples and the land on which we live.
St. Albert Public Library re-branding: Councillors Hansen, McKay, and I were able to attend an event celebrating the new branding for the library - it looks great and reflects the modern role of libraries as community hubs.
Reflecting on the role of leaders: Many of us were rocked by the events this week in Christchurch, my former home. I encourage Canadians to read Senator Simons’ statement about these events, and about our role in standing up against hate. This kind of information isn’t typical for my posts here, but it’s important.
Agenda highlights
The public part of our meeting is fairly low-key this week, with most of the agenda likely being passed on consent. Items with presentations include:
Off-site levy bylaw update
"The report summarizes the off-site levy rates updated for the 2019 construction season, and subsequent bylaw amendment to reflect the changes in rates and project lists." These are the fees we charge developers to develop land. One new point of discussion might be our new ability to add recreation facilities, firehall, police stations, etc. to the list of off-site levy projects - traditionally, we’ve only included roads, water, sewer infrastructure. (I don’t expect that we’ll add new types of infrastructure needs these this year - keeping our levies competitive within the region is still a priority.)
Second door in Douglas Cardinal boardroom (~$5,000 or ~$20,000)
One of the boardrooms that is often used for Council training sessions, public committee meetings, and staff meetings used to have two exits, I assume because this is a typical safety feature of large boardrooms. At some point, the second door was removed. During our discussions about whether to continue holding GPFC meetings in this room, the safety concern was discussed, which resulted in this motion to put the second exit back in.
Our highest profile meetings are no longer being held in this room, so I’m not sure what priority will be placed on this project. The $5000 option would replace the old interior door, but would lead into a room containing confidential files. The $20,000 option would provide a door to outside.
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.
