Regular Standing Committee Meetings January 13, 2019
CLSC Agenda Highlights (9:30am)
Community Information and Volunteer Centre Grant Funding
CIVC is requesting interim funding for their Sidekicks and Community Tax programs for 2020. I expect this request will be supported unanimously, although I was under the impression that the tax program was already being offered elsewhere. Administration is also recommending that we update our grant policy to allow Big Brothers & Big Sisters to take over the Sidekicks program while still having access to the same grant programs. I already have a motion being considered at a later date relating to permitting a non-St. Albert organization to apply for this type of funding when they are providing services in St. Albert*, so I would expect that any amendments to policy would happen in conjunction with this motion should it pass, rather than as a stand-alone change.
*The motion is to allow WildNorth to apply for funding, in line with a recommendation by the EAC:
Backyard Hen Program Report
There are 13 homes with hen licences, there has only been one neighbour complaint (which was largely dismissed), and 20 people attended the backyard hen course offered last year with only 4 attendees applying for licences.
Fire Services Amending Bylaw
Administration is proposing changes to our Fire bylaw to “… align the Bylaw with current industry best practices, safety concerns, and the Safety Codes Act.” Interestingly, it’s proposed that the bylaw is amended to increase the maximum permitted diameter of a backyard fire pit from 61cm to 90cm, and the minimum height decreased from 45cm to 40cm. Another proposed change is that Tank Work, meaning “the placement, installation, erection, dismantlement, destruction or removal of a tank used for the storage of gasoline or any other flammable products” will no longer be permitted.
I also found it interesting to learn that “a fire for the burning of brush within the City with the prior permission of the Fire Chief” is permitted. I’m not sure who does this or why, but I am curious about the smoke impact to possible neighbours or number of complaints we receive about this issue. There was no review of these amendments by our Environment department as far as I could tell, but there may be Environment staff in addition to Fire staff on hand to answer questions.
Sturgeon River Watershed Management Plan
The Sturgeon River Watershed Alliance has provided this report for our information. One of the stated priorities relating to St. Albert specifically is to “reduc<e> the impact of urban development around Big Lake and its tributaries (including Atim and Carrot Creeks) through collaborative municipal efforts for stormwater management, low impact development, etc.”.
There are no action items related to this report, but my expectation is that it will inform our plans for development near the river, including policies within our Municipal Development Plan and Land Use Bylaw.
Dog Licence Fees for Seniors ($32,300)
This Council motion would see the fees for dog licences decreased by 50% for seniors for a 1-year trial. For dog owners who pay on time and have a spayed/neutered animal, this would equate to a savings of about $19/year/dog. The $32,000 cost of the reduction is proposed to come from one of our reserves. Additional costs would be for updating our computer and application systems to add a different fee for certain users and to capture owner age information. I assume there would also be costs for advertising the pilot, staff time for inputing/verifying ages, and managing refunds/complaints when a 65+ resident pays the full rate in error.
My opinion so far: I don’t understand the purpose of this pilot and I think all dog owners should contribute to the costs of dog ownership within the city. Our licence fees help cover costs like dog parks, education campaigns, poop pick-up contractors, and municipal enforcement. Ultimately, this would mean that residents (including seniors who don’t own dogs) would be subsidizing this discount. As a dog owner, I’m happy to pay my part and from what I’ve heard, so are other dog owners of all ages.
CGISC Agenda Highlights
Transit Routes
With the completion of the Campbell Transit Centre and Park & Ride on track for September 2020, our transit routes have to be updated to accommodate the move from the Village Landing transit centre. Without route changes, the switch to the new station would be expected to cost an additional $1.1M/year in operating costs, with the partial year in 2020 expected to cost $384,300. If changes are approved, local routes will be extended to the new site, trips to Edmonton will be reduced from every 15 minutes to every 20 minutes, and software will be updated to improve dial-a-bus services.
Free Local Transit for Seniors ($44,700)
During the 2020 budget deliberations, Council approved a motion to waive fees for local transit to all persons who are considered low income. This was in addition to the free service for youth that has been in place since last year. This new motion is to consider extending this program in a 1-year trial to all seniors, regardless of financial ability. It’s not mentioned in the report, but the cost to allow all residents to ride at no charge on local transit would be around $200,000/year.
Birthing Centres
This motion is to consider allowing birthing/midwifery centres in residential areas. Currently, St. Albert does not allow any businesses in residential areas, except for home businesses (where the owner lives at the residence) without employees.
The Lucina Centre in Edmonton is an example of a birthing centre in a residential area:
This is a brief and incomplete overview of our meetings, 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 (9:30 and 1:30pm respectively here) or attend in-person (3rd floor of St. Albert Place, hang a right getting out of the elevator). Full agenda packages can be found on the stalbert.ca website.
