Regular Committee Meetings March 9, 2020
CLSC agenda highlights
Cat licensing and roaming prohibition
Last spring, Council directed administration to bring back more information about the possibility of requiring cats to be licensed, and prohibiting them from roaming on private property. Based on comparative data about cat ownership (3% of residents), impounding rate (.4%), an owner claim rate (20%), and $38/day fee for kennelling, Admin has broken down the costs of a program based on whether the City leases cat traps for private property & uses Municipal Enforcement (ME) resources to transport trapped cats or not.
For the first option, where residents are responsible for trapping/transporting cats to the Edmonton Humane Society, the cost is estimated to be $71,700 over three years. The second option, where ME transports cats in city-owned traps, the cost is estimated to be $457,700 over three years.
Based on very high satisfaction rates with ME services, the high cost of potential changes, and the current provision for ME to seize cats in distress, Administration is recommending that we do not require licensing or prohibit roaming.
Of note: As of last fall, we have a contract with The Edmonton Human Society for kennel services for animals, including up to 12 cat kennels. I assume this is used for lost dogs and “in distress” cats that are being handled by Municipal Enforcement, but I will ask for clarification at our meeting.
Arts Development Advisory Committee Bylaw
Last year, Council directed Admin to prepare a bylaw that would replace the administrative Public Art Committee with a Committee of Council. The primary change would be that Council would be familiar with the residents who are making decisions about public art, and would have an opportunity to converse with them. We’ve also heard that there have been recruitment challenges over the last few years, where vacancies, non-resident appointments, and non-best-practice recruitment practices have been present. If this committee becomes part of the regular committee recruitment process, it is hoped that these issues will be resolved.
The role of this committee is proposed to be to provide guidance and strategic direction for Arts programs, recommending/selecting public art projects (or selecting a jury to do so), selecting award recipients for the Lieutenant Governor Distinguished Young Artists Legacy Program and the Cultural Wall of Fame. There is no mention of selecting recipients for the Artist Development Grant or the Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts/it seems that it’s being recommended that Administration continue to organize this award, but I assume this was an oversight.
On the question of whether we could remove the committee altogether in favour of having an outside agency manage public art and awards, Administration is recommending that we continue to manage Arts projects and funding internally. In Edmonton, for example, the Edmonton Arts Council manages Arts grants/awards/public art. In St. Albert, the Arts & Heritage Foundation does not provide this service.
Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts ($24,300+?/year)
This is to consider my motions about creating a policy around the Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts, and considering reducing the frequency of this event to once per term. Currently, there is no policy or guidelines for awarding residents at this annual event, which was created by Administration in response to a resident request. Administration has advised that the cost of this event is $24,300/year, but it’s unclear how much administrative time/expense is dedicated to the event. I also assume this cost includes the $1,000/recipient(?) award given to “winners” of various award categories, but that is unclear from the report.
Administration is recommending that, should we go the route of reducing the frequency, we consider a once/two-year model so that all high school students can be eligible for awards. They are also bringing up the possibility of joining this celebration with our volunteer recognition program (~$2,000/year), possibly in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development to host a higher profile event.
Leased space at 43 St. Thomas Street
For the last 4 years, the City has operated The Collective, which started as a youth-oriented outreach, counselling, and business-incubation centre. “Lease and operating costs annually at the Collective are $61,399.64… <and> revenue from the Collective 300 space annually is $7,500”.
Unfortunately, the business-incubation part of the model is not sustainable, with the storefront space often closed during weekdays. Safety concerns also precipitated the transfer of outreach/counselling services to Beaudy Place, where there was already provision of social supports services. The vacant space was then taken over by our Culture staff, but they will be vacating the space prior to our lease terminating on September 30, 2020.
The Youth Advisory Committee has some concerns about us vacating this space. These concerns were primarily related to wanting to have a comfortable space, with opportunities to hang art, with good access to parking/transit, that feels safe to meet, and that doesn’t “feel… like an office”.
WildNorth access to grant programs
This it to consider my motion to provide an avenue for WildNorth to access grant funding to help continue servicing St. Albert. This motion was in response to an Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) recommendation “to provide support to WILDNorth through annual ongoing funding through the City’s operating budget rather than to continue to support WILDNorth through the EIG program”.
The EAC has recommended funding through the Environmental Initiatives grant program for the last couple years, but feels this is not the ideal funding stream for a service that has been in operation for decades. The reason that I would prefer not to fund WildNorth directly/permanently is that all of our other outside agencies (the food bank, St. Albert Seniors Association, Stop Abuse Against Families, VASA, St. Albert Housing, etc.) have to apply for grant funding through an open/transparent process, and I don’t believe that making an exception for one group would be in the spirit of transparent governance/responsible financial stewardship.
As an example of the work that WildNorth provides in St. Albert, this owl was brought in to a Wild North facility over the Christmas holidays with an injured wing. After a few weeks of care, including antibiotics, this “feisty” raptor was released back into her original territory. My family was delighted to be invited to this release, and we continue to be thrilled every time we spot her when we’re out walking:
CGISC agenda highlights
Off-site levy bylaw
At least every three years, the city reviews our off-site levy bylaw, essentially the levy we charge developers for “all or part of the capital dollars needed to construct new infrastructure required to support growth”. Right now, this levy covers costs related to expanding infrastructure related to the provision of water, to handle sewage, to manage stormwater, and roads. We are now permitted by provincial legislation to also include costs related to recreation facilities, fire and police, and libraries, but we have not included these in the bylaw. Some of the proposed changes would provide more flexibility in the timing of the levies applied to developable land that is being used for private recreational amenities, like the private lake in Jensen Lakes.
Growth capital plan
Administration is recommending the removal of 10 projects from our 10-year plan, which would result in a reduced demand for staff time to keep these projects updated/on the table. The projects include:
Permanent snow storage site (~$4m), until a location is identified.
North park & ride transit centre (~$17m), until the regional transit body provides more direction.
Public Works fleet services garage expansion (~$3.5m). It appears that different shift cycles for staff would provide the flexibility needed to continue with the current fleet size.
Public Works Tree Chipper ($60,000). It appears that we can rent/cover the cost through the operating budget.
Urban Forest Canopy Enhancement & Management ($500,000). I’m not quite sure what this would mean, since admin has advised that this would be accommodated through “development and operations” with a “target %” delay. This is one of the projects that I’m most hesitant to cut, considering the importance and value of our forests. I’ll be asking a few questions about the proposed continuation of the project/accommodation.
Transit Tech upgrade ($90,000). This would be accommodated through operations and 3rd party support - I’ll ask for more information about what this is at our meeting.
Servus Place expansion (~$50m). This is for the expansion of the fitness area (~$6m), the addition of a 6th sheet of ice (~$22m), and the addition of a 25m/8-lane pool (~$22m). The removal of these projects is being recommended because the new recreation site is likely where we’ll be investing capital dollars for recreation within the 10-year plan.
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.
