Last weeks highlights
The last couple of weeks have been some of the busiest of the year - it’s an exciting time!
A Conversation with Minister of Natural Resources, Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson: Thank you to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce for hosting this event, where we heard about the investments and strategies that will help Alberta as an energy leader through decarbonization. It’s exciting that we have the people, knowledge, and infrastructure to be global leaders in non-carbon energy.
Edmonton Global Shareholder AGM Meeting: I attended the first half of this meeting on behalf of Mayor Heron. We elected the new chair and vice-chair, and heard a lot about the opportunities of hydrogen and global decarbonization.
Homeland Housing: We held our regular board meeting, where we heard that covid outbreaks continue to be managed and that the agreement with the City regarding the donation of lands continues to move forward.
Agenda highlights
10-Year Growth Plan Update
A few weeks ago, Admin asked Council to provide any recommendations for projects to be removed from our 10-year plan. The following cuts were proposed, which means that we’ll debate the removal of each. This does not mean that these projects are being funded/unfunded, but rather that Admin would be instructed to stop any planning activities related to these projects.
Servus Place Fitness Expansion
Civic Plaza (This was planned for in front of St. Albert Place)
Perron Street Pedestrian Improvements
Grandin Road Improvement
St. Anne St. Pedestrian Improvements
St Thomas St. Median Improvements
Tache Street Green Corridor
Fire Hall #1 Options
Admin is recommending that we schedule a public hearing for September 19, 2022 to consider allowing the old Fire Hall 1 site to be sold and requesting that the municipal reserve designation be removed. My guess is that there will be limited discussion during this meeting as the public hearing provides the most impactful opportunity to hear from stakeholders regarding support for or opposition to this recommendation.
Alberta Provincial Police Service
Admin is recommending that St. Albert make our position clear to the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General regarding the current plan to replace the RCMP with a provincial police force. Municipalities across Alberta have expressed that they would like to see this project halted, which is reflected in Alberta Municipalities and RMA advocacy. I’ve been open about my disappointment with the quality of consultation for this project, and an apparent lack of consideration for the high costs and impact to service quality.
Erin Ridge North ASP - 1st Reading
This is to schedule the public hearing for an amendment to the ERN ASP for June 7, 2022:
“The proposed amendment will:
• adjust the boundaries of one medium density residential and one high density residential site, so that they better align with the road network,
• remove a small low density residential parcel adjacent to the high density site,
• redistribute the low density units along the local roadway, and
• realign one local road, moving it slightly south.”
This is a brief and incomplete overview of my activities as a councillor and Council 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. Residents can register to speak if they have information to present to council. Full agenda packages can be found on the stalbert.ca website.
