This week marks a return to the Committee of the Whole meetings that were in place when I was elected in 2017, rather than the separation of Community Living and Governance Standing Committees. The difference from 2017 is that this meeting will start at 9:30am rather than 2pm.
Agenda highlights
Edmonton Global Investment Plan Effectiveness
Administration is recommending that we continue our membership in Edmonton Global, as part of our long-term investment in economic vibrancy and attracting commercial investment. St. Albert’s contribution to Edmonton Global has increased from $24,000/year in 2017 to $50,000 in 2018, to $244,000 this year. Contributions will be further impacted by Morinville’s withdrawal from the organization in December 2022, but remain reasonable compared with similar organizations across Canada, including in the Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto investment regions.
Business Improvement Area
A BIA is enabled through provincial legislation and allows municipalities to levy businesses within a particular area to invest in activities relating to activities such as marketing, visitor attraction, improvement projects, coordinating events, and crime prevention initiatives.
Administration is recommending the following:
“[That] in the spirit of fostering a vibrant downtown and facilitating the coordination of downtown businesses, [Council direct Administration] to conduct a survey of downtown businesses to determine the level of interest in establishing a Business Improvement Area for downtown St. Albert, and report back… on the results of the survey including any administrative recommendations arising from the results of the survey.”
If a BIA is created, it is estimated that the municipal cost to support the establishment of the association would be in the range of $50,000-$100,000.
55+ or Alberta Games Funding & Governance
The City has been approached to host either the 55+ or Alberta Games events. Admin is generally supportive of planning to host one of these events, but each comes with unique risks and rewards.
“Based on current administrative capacity and bid/hosting timelines, Council direction in 2023 would align St. Albert for the potential to hosts a Games in 2027 (Alberta 55plus) or 2028 (Alberta Games)”.
Alberta Municipalities Convention Resolutions
This report is background information on the resolutions for the conference of Alberta municipalities, which are all generally related to provincial advocacy. One motion being brought forward by the City of Edmonton and seconded by Wetaskiwin that stood out is regarding “Alberta’s Drug Poisoning Crisis” which we know is impacting St. Albert residents and first responders :
“[That] Alberta Municipalities advocate for the Government of Alberta to:
-Engage municipalities, people with lived and living experience, front-line agencies, and other partners as part of a comprehensive drug poisoning prevention strategy that includes harm reduction and recovery approaches and offers increased investments to address the urgent needs;
-Increase its investments into affordable housing with ongoing wraparound services as part of an integrated approach for responding to the drug poisoning crisis for homeless populations with complex challenges; and
-Immediately reinstate the inclusion of neighborhood-level data in the Alberta Substance Use Surveillance System reporting to inform a data-driven response in providing resources to sustainably implement a comprehensive drug strategy.”
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.
