Last week + Regular Council Meeting June 15, 2020
Last week highlights
Last weekends marked the first market of the season, moved over to Servus Place to give the vendors more space and to better control the crowds. The Chamber of Commerce did a great job keeping the site easy to move through & clean. I biked over & had no issues finding a spot to lock up. There are also amble parking spots for those arriving by car.
We also raised the Pride flag outside St. Albert Place, which is always a heartwarming event. This year was a bit different - we didn’t publicize the event, so it was a small gathering - but it it’s been great seeing the comments roll in talking about how this contributes to our safe/inclusive community.
The Emergency Advisory Committee continues to meet weekly. Last week’s meting was a bit of a whirlwind because the province, with no advance warning, announced that many activities that had been reserved for Stage-3 of the relaunch plan were bumped up to Stage-2/Friday. This includes indoor recreation like swimming pools, outdoor water parks, rinks, and gyms. Once we have more details about the conditions of these openings - required cleaning, increases to staff, decreases to capacity, etc. - we’ll have a better idea of the cost to reopen facilities. With current restrictions on gatherings being so low (50 for indoor and 100 for outdoor), the logistics of opening a facility like the WaterPlay Park will be interesting - I’m not sure how we can best accommodate residents if we have to limit numbers. Admin will bring back more detailed options for reopening next Thursday afternoon.
Agenda highlights
St. Albert Policing Committee Report
The Policing Committee will present their annual report.
10 Year Municipal RMR & Utility Capital Plan s
As a follow-up to last week’s CGISC meeting, Council will consider accepting the recommended capital plans with any amendments being submitted prior to June 17 and project backgrounders being presented to Council on July 6.
P3 Policy
As a follow-up to last week’s CGISC meeting, council will consider the recommendation to move forward with amending out P3 policy to address the inclusion of capital funding campaigns in terms of partnerships to build municipal facilities.
Deferred Capital Projects 2020
Admin is recommending that we continue with 15 approved capital projects this year ($22M), defer 5 projects to September/so we can reassess at that time ($17M), and defer 5 more projects to 2021 ($1.2M). My only question is about the Energy Efficiency Replace Program ($131,000) that is being recommended to be deferred to September.
“Due to the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak, and the unknown nature of the extent of this event which could potentially force the continued disruption to many programs and projects administered by the City, Administration had completed an initial review of all 2020 projects and presented the initial recommendation to Council on March 23, 2020, either to continue or defer these projects.”
Financial Shortfall Strategies
We are predicting a $7M budget shortfall in 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic. To make up this shortfall, Admin is recommending we cancel/reduce operating projects ($553,400), suspend 2020 capital and operating grant programs ($403,900), that art projects be cancelled ($154,900), and that the 2020 budget for public art ($227,100) be transferred to the general operating budget.
For grant programs, this looks like we’d be cancelling everything that isn’t spent:
For 2020 public art projects, this means eliminating the Butterfly Project ($30,000, which I believe is normally part of the Children’s Festival), eliminating the Northridge Gazebo Project ($80,000), and reducing the Diversity and Inclusion project (-$44,900), and eliminating the 2020 Public Art budget. Of note, the Edmonton Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts has done an incredible job of supporting St. Albert artists through the covid response, especially considering that these are some of the hardest hit industries (cancelled art shows, concerts, films, etc.), so I’m struggling with how all parts of this recommendation fit with our values as the Botanical Arts City. The reduction in the Diversity and Inclusion budget is especially concerning considering our repeated commitment to our values as they relate to celebrating our diversity.
Operational & Fiscal Review Terms of Reference
Last month, Council directed Admin to start an operational review. We will consider the terms of reference that have been prepared.
“The main objectives of the Operational and Fiscal review are:
• Recommend with rationale, the addition, modification or discontinuation of Services and Programs.
• Recommend, with rationale, changes to service levels or programming levels.
• Identify long-term, sustainable expense management solutions to ongoing budget challenges.
• Recommend measures to provide quality, affordable municipal programs and services in the most efficient and effective manner while maintaining responsible taxation.”
North Ridge ASP Amendment & Public Hearing (2nd and 3rd reading)
The purpose of this amendment is to expand the North Ridge neighbourhood boundary and create a second phase of the neighbourhood. Phase 1 is completely developed. Phase 2 is located north of the existing Villeneuve Road right-of-way, which forms the northern boundary of Phase 1. This amendment establishes the land uses and circulation patterns within North Ridge Phase 2.
Operating Line of Credit Borrowing Bylaw (1st reading)
Admin is recommending that we increase our line of credit from $5M to $20M at prime - 1%. This is a cash flow tactic used by many Alberta municipalities, and one that we are considering to manage unforeseen costs of the pandemic response. If this passes, we’ll likely consider 2nd & 3rd readings on August 31.
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.
From the City: “While we are in a state of public health emergency as declared by the Province of Alberta, the City of St. Albert Council meetings will be conducted… through the ZOOM platform which will… stream to this page from YouTube…. Members of the public who wish to address Council on a specific item must send an email to legislative@stalbert.ca indicating your desire to speak and including the title of the item on the Agenda that you wish to address.”