Monday’s meetings are a bit strange in that our morning Community Living Standing Committee (CLSC) meeting is only scheduled from 9:30-11am, with a Special Council meeting starting at 11am. I’m doubtful that we’ll be able to get through the whole morning agenda in 1.5 hours, but it’s possible. With rising covid cases in the region and a recommendation from the CMOH that we minimize exposure to different cohorts and wear masks in most indoor work settings, I’m also not sure if anyone will attend in-person in the Douglas Cardinal Boardroom, where all three meetings are scheduled.
CLSC agenda highlights
Community Satisfaction Survey results
This is the presentation of the results of the satisfaction survey undertaken between October 16 and 20. “This survey was intended to review the impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic may have had on the data from the Fall 2019 Community Satisfaction Survey and further asked residents about the level of impact that the pandemic has had on their households.” Although residents continue to feel that quality of life is St. Albert remains high and that we receive good value for investment, the report (and open online report) suggest a declining comfort with maintaining levels of service through inflationary tax increases. Both reports also indicate that the pandemic is having a significant impact for many St. Albert families.
FCSS grant recommendations ($532,081)
Our Community Services Advisory Committee (CSAC) has reviewed applications for the shared provincial-municipal FCSS grant program and provided recommendations to council about how to allocate funding. Of note, St. Albert has exceeded our required municipal portion of this grant for many years - This is uncommon in the province. There is also a budget motion that will be considered in the next few weeks that could see us reduce the allocation to this program to provincially-required levels.
CSAC is recommending that the following programs receive the entirety of their grant requests:
Big Brothers Big Sisters (formerly Sidekicks - $64,229)
Stop Abuse in Families (SAIF) Youth Counselling ($41,000)
Community Village and Food Bank Community Liaison ($73,153)
CSAC is recommending partial funding for:
SAIF Youth Education ($19,000 of $34,000 request)
St. Albert Seniors Association ($73,138 of $76,463 request)
St. Albert Further Education ($23,870 of $33,832 request)
Outloud Outreach ($76,000 of $155,970 request)
Family Resource Centre Family Education ($160,157 of $162,307 request)
Community Village and Food Bank Income Tax Program ($1,534 of $6,261 request)
Outside Agency grant recommendations ($594,738)
Traditionally, these grants are the most challenging to allocate because of both need and political advocacy. This year is particularly challenging because of increased demand for some services, which makes me concerned about reduced funding recommendations for organizations like Victim Services (-$25,163) and St. Albert Seniors (-$5,111). Council has also since learned that SAIF is eligible for additional funding through this grant (possibly $50,000 for an elder abuse position). CSAC typically ranks programs in order of priority, so I will be asking for this information to help inform my decision about how to vote.
CSAC is recommending that the following programs receive the entirety of their grant requests:
St. Albert Community Village and Food Bank ($107,985)
Stop Abuse in Families (SAIF - $42,800)
St. Albert Family Resource Centre ($45,174)
CSAC is recommending partial funding for:
St. Albert Bereavement Fellowship ($7,668 of $8,000 - note: this is the maximum eligible amount)
St. Albert Housing Society ($44,650 of $63,025)
St. Albert Seniors Association ($219,285 of $224,396)
St. Albert Victim Services ($66,402 of $91,565)
St. Albert & District Further Education ($23,474 of $50,480)
Visual Arts Studio Association (VASA - $27,685 of $30,262)
Michif ($9,615 of $10,163)
CGISC agenda highlights (1:30pm)
City Manager Delegations
To reduce inefficiencies within our procurement processes, Admin is recommending that we update the policy relating to delegating responsibilities to the CAO. “Currently the spending thresholds within the directive are set much lower than is required under the related trade agreements. The impact of this is that we are preparing and evaluating many more Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and Invitations to Tender (ITTs) than are required.”
Special Council meeting agenda highlights
This meeting is in-camera to discuss “governance structure”.
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.