This next week is packed as the first week back after our summer “break” and relatively light meeting schedule over the last month.
Council meeting highlights
Advertising bylaw (2nd/3rd reading)
This bylaw is an update to our policies regarding legal advertisements mandated by the provincial Municipal Government Act to allow different types of advertising to reach residents, in addition to traditional newspaper and mail-out ads. This bylaw does not apply to voluntary advertisements, like information about events, public engagement opportunities, information about how taxes are used, etc.
“The intent of the Advertising Bylaw is not to cease making use of the local newspaper for informing the public of matters for which legal advertisements are required, but rather to provide the City with more flexibility in meeting its obligations regarding statutory advertising, by permitting the use of any of these alternative methods of legal advertisement in order to tailor the medium and message to connect with specific audiences according to the type and content of the notification.
The benefits of passing the Advertising Bylaw [include]… provid[ing] options to use lower cost methods of legal advertising… [and] the ability to act more nimbly and quickly in response to time sensitive matters for which legal advertising is required.”
10-year growth capital plan updates
Starting last term, any additions to our growth plan are added by Council motion. This means that we will keep these in mind as we go through budget discussions - their addition to the plan does not mean that they are funded/going ahead, but rather that we are aware that they will be needed. The following projects are being added for the 2023 budget year:
Housing fund ($109,100)
Permitting Software ($400,000)
Grader ($590,000)
Loader with blower ($500,000)
Sidewalk machine ($175,000)
Truck plow with sander ($365,000)
Active Communities request for funding ($1.5M)
Over the past couple of terms, a new non-profit group has been planning to build a private “Outdoor Recreation and Community Hub“. Earlier this year, Council agreed to consider providing up to $1.5M in funding for their project pending the results of further study/engagement. After review of all available information, Administration is recommending that we do not provide this funding.
“In providing its recommendation, Administration has reviewed the information provided by ACA… and considered corporate work related to community recreation needs, typical community partnerships and process, and project risks. Administration notes that this amenity is ranked as a lower priority in the recreation needs assessment, it ranked in the bottom 1/3 of current projects through the Capital Prioritization Model, the planned site does not align with our mandate to support access to recreation amenities in growth areas of the City, and there is insufficient information related to ACA’s capital construction assumptions for Administration to comment on the potential risk related the connection between the Project’s functional program, construction design, construction costs, and final capital asset…
At the time of this report, ACA has not applied for any development permits and has not advanced development discussions with Administration. Administration has encouraged ACA to bring forward any proposed concepts sooner rather than later to allow timely review and comment on their proposal prior to final submission. The proposed site behind the St. Albert Public Schools Outreach building would be classified as an Outdoor Recreation Service under Part 1 of the Land Use Bylaw (LUB). The land is districted as Public & Private Service (PS), wherein an outdoor rink would then be deemed to be a discretionary land use under Section 10.2 of the LUB. As such, notice would go to neighbouring properties, and a development permit (or conditions placed on a development permit) would be appealable to the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board.”
Feasibility Report for Removal of Sediment ($100,000)
This motion, if passed, would direct Administration to look into the feasibility & costs for removing sediment from the Sturgeon River for environmental rather than aesthetic purposes. Administration has provided preliminary information which suggests that any efforts would likely damage ecological systems, would be extremely costly, would require ongoing maintenance, and would require extensive federal/provincial reviews in addition to consultation with various stakeholders.
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations ($150,000)
This motion, if passed, would direct Administration to move the locations of two planned charging stations from the Naki Transit Station to the St. Albert Place (SAP) parking lot. The current Naki location was selected over the downtown location because of the timing and costs associated with upgrading the SAP infrastructure. Admin is not recommending we support this motion because of the increased cost, the $40,000 reduction in grant funding should we remove the Naki stations from the project, etc.
Admin has also advised that we “can more easily and affordably move forward with EV charging stations” at both SAP and Fountain Park when the infrastructure at these two locations is updated in the next few years. Although Admin has recommended that we consider approving $30,000 to procure charging stations for St. Albert Place to be installed at a later date, I would be hesitant to support approving this funding outside of the greater 2023 budget discussion.
COW meeting highlights
Council is attending a public Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday afternoon to have robust discussions on two topics:
Municipal Naming
This presentation from Administration is an opportunity to better understand the engagement project launching this fall relating to a re-write of our municipal naming policy in general, and more specific engagement “to help Council determine if neighbourhoods and streets currently named after controversial historical figures should be renamed”.
2023-2025 Tax Increases
Last month, Council met in-camera to discuss this topic, and we are meeting again in public to further the discussion. Specifically, we may consider:
Increases to the electrical franchise fee;
Using our Stabilization Reserve for a 1-time reduction in taxes;
Cancellation the public art transfer ($200,000);
Cancellation or reduction of grants;
Using new assessment growth revenue to fund operating business cases;
Reducing the levy that supports the maintenance of infrastructure.
A longer-term review of services to develop a multi-year plan to reduce/remove services.
“On May 2, 2022 Council was presented with an initial 3-year budget forecast. In order to maintain current service levels, we were, at that time, forecasting a 7.2% tax increase for 2023. Since that time, we continued to assess and build our detailed budgets and now have an updated base increase of 8.2%. This forecast contemplates only maintaining services that we provide and does not include any new things that Council may add in relation to the recently released strategic priorities. It is understood that residents and businesses are facing high levels of inflation in their everyday lives and Council wants to lessen the burden of tax increases.
With the state of inflation, a typical household is having to make difficult choices around where to spend their limited resources and are critically assessing wants vs. need. With the price of groceries escalating, people may have to make the decision to cancel their monthly movie night. With gas prices at all time highs, families may have to give up their summer family road trip. While there is always the option to utilize their savings in the short term, eventually these decisions need to be made. Putting these decisions off until the bank account is empty presents great risk for the future.
Our City is in the exact same position as the average family. If we do not have the ability to generate an additional 8.2% in property tax revenues, then we need to spend less.”
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.
