Last week
Pride Flag Raising: It was great to see the pride flag raised once again in front of St. Albert Place in celebration of Pride Month!
Alberta Municipalities Summer Municipal Leaders' Caucus: This was an interesting touch-base with Councils and municipal administrators in the region. Particular hot topics were the Alberta government drive to replace local RCMP with a provincial police force, climate change resiliency, and the steeply reduced provincial funding for municipal infrastructure projects and the best way to implement reliable capital funding grants.
Convocation: On a personal note, I attended the convocation ceremony that marks the official conclusion of my MBA program. It was a challenge to complete this degree last term alongside my work on Council and other commitments (during a pandemic!), but I’m thankful for the opportunity. What I learned through this program helps me serve the residents of St. Albert, and I will continue to seek out opportunities to expand my knowledge as I serve through the 2021-25 term.
Agenda highlights
38 Sturgeon Road (Health Clinic)
The public hearing for the proposal to allow a health clinic at this location will be followed by a vote on whether to allow this business in a residential area, a departure from St. Albert’s historical stance to separate residential and commercial uses. Land use planning best-practices are shifting to allowing walkable “15-minute neighbourhoods” and many principles within the new Municipal Development Plan support this type of use, but with a lot of available nearby commercial space available, I suspect that this will be a spirited discussion.
City of St. Albert Council 2022-2025 Strategic Plan
Delayed because of the severity of covid outbreaks over the winter, our first strategic plan of the term is now ready to be presented. This has been the most challenging strategic planning process that I’ve been involved with in any organization, but the support from staff to prepare a plan that acknowledges the challenges expected over the next years has been invaluable. The link to the plan will be available after it is formally approved by Council.
Displaying of Solar Data ($5,000)
A few weeks ago, Council unanimously supported a proposal to publish real-time data displaying of the solar panel performance on Servus Place. To get this project live, one-time funding is “required for the installation of onsite data loggers, [and] solar dashboard development and data conversion” for facilities using solar panels.
Designation of the Lorne and Marguerite Akins Residence as a Municipal Historic Resource
As a continuation of this designation request from the property owner, the approval of this bylaw concludes the process to protect this site at 8 Burnham Ave from redevelopment. The home was for sale as recently as last week, but it looks like the sale has been completed as the listing is no longer available - As far as I know, a sale shouldn’t impact the process for this bylaw proceeding.
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.