Regular Council Meeting May 16, 2022
If all members of Council are well Monday, this meeting will mark the first time that all seven of us have been in a room together since last year. This will also likely be a very long meeting as we have a number of public hearings, a discussion about 911 dispatch, and discussion about a grant policy that failed to receive support at the committee level last week.
Of note: With over 1200 pages in our agenda report for this meeting, it’s easy to get a sense of how much background work is required to get a proposed decision in front of Council. Our staff are incredibly professional, thoughtful, and meticulous in their advice to Council - and it shows.
Agenda highlights
911 Operational Review
This is a discussion of the provision of parts of St. Albert’s emergency dispatch needs. The timing of this discussion is driven in part by the mandatory requirement for 911 services to have technological upgrades by March 2025. Of note, none of the options being considered impact ambulance dispatch. There are a few parts to the background information for this discussion:
The external/independent MNP report which importantly considered “public safety and service delivery to residents… during the review and while contemplating recommendations for the future delivery model”.
The Administrative response regarding 911 dispatch to the MNP report.
The options that the admin report outlines include:
Status quo/keeping fire dispatch in-house and separate from police. Because of mandated changes to our communications systems, this option would cost about $675,000 in the first year and an additional $100,000+/year in operational costs in subsequent years.
Amalgamation of our police & fire dispatch. In this case, the operators would be located at the RCMP detachment. With this option, it’s likely that additional space would be required, but it’s unclear of the cost for an expansion. Technology & operating costs look the same as option 1, but I might be misunderstanding the report. Operators would also need higher-level security screening in this option, but we’d also likely see an increase to service levels.
Contract out services, with 5 different options depending on which services (primary, secondary, fire, and police dispatch) are contracted out. With this option, their is a perception that there would be a decrease in service levels, but data from another municipality suggests that it might decrease ‘call to dispatch’ times. The costs would depend on the option selected, but includes the loss of about $174,000/year in provincial funding.
Get into the business of selling this service to other municipalities. With Parkland, Strathcona, and many others already offering this service, it appears that this market is already saturated. Costs would be the same as the others + additional resources to deal with the new tech & added capacity.
The recommended option is to “Contract Secondary Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) and Fire Dispatch to an External Service Provider. Primary PSAP services and police dispatch would remain in St. Albert police communication centre.” This option would provide approximately $1M in one-time capital savings and approximately $340,000/year in operational savings, even after the loss of the $174,000 provincial 911 grant. If we decide to explore this option, our staff have advised that “further detailed review and confirmation of costs, impacts and timelines will be necessary”.
Grant recommendations
Through our resident advisory committees & then through one of Council’s standing committee’s, the following grant awards are being recommended.
Africans & African Descendants Friendship Club’s Taste of Africa event ($5,000)
St. Albert Latin Cultural Association’s St. Albert Latin Festival ($5,000)
Friends of Holy Family Catholic School Society’s Slide Replacement Project ($6,227)
St. Albert Bicycle Motocross Association’s Track Upgrades and Expansion Project ($50,000)
St. Albert Daycare Society’s Replacement of Commercial Dishwasher ($9,788)
St. Albert Gymnastics Club’s Equipment Replacement ($50,594)
St. Albert Rugby Football Club’s Parking Lot Refurbishment ($27,103)
Yan Ge Zhang to attend Nathan Cao Art Studio ($500)
Hailey Benedict to attend Canadian Country Music Week ($500)
Cavelle Beauchamp to attend Fierce for Five summer dance intensive ($400)
Grant Policies
Last week, the recommended changes to our grant policy failed to pass at committee in a tie vote. It is my understanding that Councillor McKay will bring them forward for a vote at Council.
2022 Alberta Municipalities Resolutions
This fall, we’re proposing to endorse resolutions which would result in advocacy through the Alberta Municipalities organization related to:
An equitable gaming model, so all non-profits can have access to the same gaming revenue as those in neighbouring communities. Right now, St. Albert organizations average $8,100/casino worked compared with $39,000 in Edmonton.
Expansion of the provincial Temporary Rental Assistance Benefit, so residents don’t have to leave their communities to access support. I’ll be St. Albert’s champion for this resolution.
A fair, stable & predictable revenue sharing agreement with the province. Right now, municipalities “receive approximately 8 cents of every tax dollar generated by all orders of government, yet are responsible for over 60 per cent of public infrastructure and are limited in their ability to raise needed revenue other than through property taxes”. In light of this, we are advocating to the province for stable funding increases in line with provincial revenue growth.
Health Clinic on Sturgeon Road (1st reading)
This is to schedule a public hearing for June 20 to consider allowing a health clinic at 38 Sturgeon Rd.
Seasonal Outdoor Patios
If this passes, it will make seasonal patios a permanent fixture for St. Albert.
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.
