These will be our last recorded meetings until the Council meeting on August 17. We have Committee of the Whole on July 17th, but it will be in-camera.
CLSC (9:30am)
Mayor's Task Force on Homelessness Committee Recommendations
Over the last two years, this committee has worked to review local challenges related to homelessness, and to consider opportunities to address these challenges. The resulting report is recommending that:
“An Operating Business Case be developed to be considered as part of the 2021 budget process for a Social Housing Coordinator position, to advance the social housing needs of all vulnerable groups in St. Albert.” ($98,000/year.)
“A Capital Project Charter… be developed and added to the 2021-2030 Growth Capital Plan to be considered as part of the 2021 budget process for the construction and operation of a new youth transitional home.” Suggested sites include St. Thomas Street, Village Landing, or Bernard Drive at the church site. (Approx. $650,000/year + capital costs for a 10-resident facility.)
“The Mayor’s Task Force continue to lead the coordination of homelessness prevention strategies among local, regional, provincial, and national organizations, as well as the public and private sectors.”
I’m surprised that the recommendation is to have the city get into the business of providing housing and/or coordinating housing. Although I support providing funding for this kind of initiative, I am hesitant to make the municipality the lead because not-for-profit organizations whose mandates are to provide housing and associated supports are better equipped to manage this type of facility. I’m also a bit confused about the recommendation regarding coordination of strategies with various governments and sectors. That said, I look forward to hearing more about how this recommendation came about.
CGISC (1:30pm)
Solar Farm Business Case
Administration is proposing that we explore using approximately 15 acres of our land for a solar farm as a revenue-generating activity. This would dwarf Edmonton International Airport’s 627-acre proposal, but the general idea is the same. If the committee supports administration’s recommendations, Council will see recommendations to approve $200,000 for preliminary and detailed designs, with updates being brought back to Council by Q2 2021. Maintenance is expected to be negligible, about $30,000/year, and we would see revenue of approximately $1M/year, including carbon offset & energy sales before repayments on borrowing for the initial expense. If we go ahead with this proposal, the expected payback period is 7-10 years if grants are not contemplated.
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.
