Last weeks + Regular Council Meeting December 6, 2022
With budget meetings over, the last couple of weeks seem like a blur!
Last weeks highlights
Chamber of Commerce Snowflake Festival: It was great to see everyone back downtown for this event after a two-year break!
Chamber of Commerce Christmas Market: The Market is back at the Enjoy Centre for the Christmas season - it is wonderful seeing all the vendors back in town.
Frog & Toad at the Arden: Congratulations to St. Albert Children’s Theatre for putting on another wonderful production! I was incredibly impressed with the cast & crew - I love seeing these events bring together our residents.
Careadon Tour: A few of us were able to attend a tour of the new Seniors’ residence along the river, next to Canadian Tire. Increasing the availability of diverse living options has been a priority since before I joined Council, so it was eye-opening being able to see some of the new housing product becoming available.
Reimagining Non-profit Governance: A Case Study Café: Thank you to the Community Development Unit at the Government of Alberta for hosting this learning event. On Council, we work closely with all our nonprofit partners, so learning from others in the industry is critical as we adapt to change being faced in every sector.
Board Appreciation - Environmental Advisory Committee: Yes, my dog helped me bring greetings to our Environmental Advisory Committee! This dedicated volunteer group gives advice to Council and Administration - I couldn’t be more thankful of their service.
St. Albert Family Resource Centre 40th Anniversary Celebration: Congratulations to the FRC on their 40th anniversary! It was inspiring hearing the story about how they support our community, and to hear Mayor Heron and MLA Renaud give their thanks for the contribution of this organization as speakers.
Introduction to Verve Senior Living - Midtown: Thank you to Verve & Midtown for giving Council an update on the plans for a major seniors’ residence coming to St. Albert. I look forward to seeing the progress as this investment unfolds!
Agenda highlights
Tuesday’s meeting seems packed, but I suspect many of the items on the agenda won’t require much discussion as they’ve been discussed already at Committee… I’ve only added items in these highlights that I haven’t already in Committee highlights!
PROPERTY TAX RELIEF
Every year, our taxation department receives requests to have taxes or penalties for late payment waived. Administration can waive these only if they’re made an “error, omission, or misrepresentation”. Council, however, may “cancel, reduce, refund, or defer all or part of a tax” as per the Municipal Government Act. St. Albert’s Tax Relief policy stipulates that when considering requests, we must consider “Fairness & equity to all taxpayers… Sustainability of municipal revenues… Simplicity, transparency, and efficiency of the tax levy process… [and] Predictability and stability”. Permissible reasons for tax relief include compassionate grounds, but exclude a failure to receive notice, payment errors or delays, natural disasters, non-tax related charges, demolitions, and structural fires. This agenda item is to consider requests.
DARP Amendments (1st Reading)
This is first reading of a bylaw to amend our Downtown Area Redevelopment Plan, “to ensure alignment with the newer Municipal Development Plan (MDP), and the forthcoming Land Use Bylaw (LUB) Update” and to set a public hearing date for January 10, 2023. I haven’t seen the LUB updates yet, but I understand that they will be substantial - My only concern about this update as of now is that it seems like the LUB changes should come first.
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. Members of the public can register to speak if they have information to present to council. Full agenda packages can be found on the stalbert.ca website.
