It’s been a whirlwind week. Last Friday morning, Mayor Heron called a Special Meeting of Council to handle decisions relating to St. Albert’s COVID-19 response. Please see updated information about our response on the stalbert.ca website.
Agenda highlights
Most of the items discussed at Committee last week, with recommendations that passed unanimously, are on our Consent Agenda. This means that unless a member of Council pulls an item, we will approve recommendations regarding updates to offsite levies, the leased space at 43 St. Thomas Street, and the Capital Growth Plan without additional discussion.
FCSS Program Funding Policy
The FCSS program is a provincial-municipal partnership providing funding “for eligible… not-for-profit community organizations for the delivery of preventative social services to the community”. Municipal funding is technically 20% of this grant, but we have been exceeding our portion for years. This update is to amend the policy to:
“Require… organizations that receive funding to have clear policies governing staff and board members, including but not limited to conflict of interest, nepotism, code of conduct and terms of office, and that the organizations' Board and staff have the skills, experience and training to ensure the health of the organization; and
“Change… eligibility criteria <to> allow agencies outside of St. Albert to receive funding to deliver programs within St. Albert. This amendment to the FCSS Program Funding Policy will allow organizations in the region to respond to a community need that is unable to be met by current St. Albert organizations”.
We will also consider whether to provide “$45,000 from unallocated 2020 FCSS Program Funding… for the delivery of the Sidekicks Mentoring Program in 2020 to an organization who submits a satisfactory application that meets all FCSS Program Funding requirements”. I’ve heard nothing but good things about this program, which has been funded through FCSS for years, so I suspect this recommendation will pass without significant comment. (Big Brothers Big Sisters of Edmonton and Area have been in discussions to open a St. Albert branch to continue this program.)
Strategic Plan & Corporate Business Plan
Council held our strategic planning session earlier this year and the unapproved plan, including the CAO’s Business Plan, is now available to view within the meeting’s agenda package. The plans will be on the City website after they are formally approved on Monday.
Northridge ASP Amendment (1st Reading)
This is to set the date of the public hearing for an ASP amendment to add the undeveloped land north of the existing Northridge area, and west of Jensen Lakes to the plan. If this passes on Monday, the hearing will be on June 15, 2020.
Land Use Bylaw Amendment & Riverside Area Structure Plan (ASP)
A couple of weeks ago, Council directed Admin to prepare revised amendments that would remove an added school site from the new Riverside ASP and keep it as a park site. Administration, however, is recommending that we retain the option of allowing a school site at this location. On Monday, we will consider 2nd and 3rd reading of the bylaws that would change various land use designations in the ASP and update the ASP, which includes the potential to designate the second school site rather than keeping the original park site.
Erin Ridge North ASP Amendment - Public Hearing
UPDATE: On Friday, we cancelled this public hearing & will reschedule at a later date.
The developer in Erin Ridge North has submitted a request for an amendment that would have a section of Erin Ridge North changed from residential use to commercial. However, “the Applicant has been in contact with Administration and has asked that Council be advised of the Applicant's desire to put the entire approval process on hold for the time being, for business reasons”. Admin is recommending that we adjourn the public hearing and reconsider the request at a later date if/when the applicant is prepared to bring it forward.
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. I encourage everyone who is able to tune in the the live-stream of the meeting (2pm 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.
