And we’re back! I’m fairly certain this was the longest “break” we’ve had from Council meetings since I was elected in 2017, but it was still a busy summer of other meetings, events, and reports. This fall is looking like a heavy Council meeting season.
Summer activity highlights
Homeland Housing Governance Committee: Homeland is currently doing our regular review of governance policies. As the chair of this committee, it’s been wonderful working with the CEO and committee members to polish up our board responsibilities.
Alberta Municipal Climate Leadership Council - Closing the Loop on Waste: These meetings continue to be a good reminder of the role of municipalities in influencing waste production and management. We’re a long way from a circular economy, but every move towards waste reduction brings us to a more sustainable future.
Agenda highlights
St. Albert West ASP (2nd & 3rd readings)
This is the public hearing and possible finalization of the area structure plan for the lands west of the Henday, including the Cherot neighbourhood, Lakeview Business District, and the green space wrapping around the east & north ends of Big Lake. It’s wild seeing St. Albert grow so much, and I look forward to hearing more about the handful of objections/concerns about this plan - including about a proposed bridge, reclaimed landfill setbacks, commercial area designations, road alignments, and setbacks from Carrot Creek. These concerns present an important opportunity to consider our options as we finalize the plans for these lands.
Added 2025 Election Costs ($100,000 + $200,000)
It’s that time again! Because the province is now requiring municipalities to prepare a “permanent electors” register and manually tabulate ballots instead of using the more reliable electronic tabulators that we’ve used for decades, we need to hire someone to coordinate this additional work before/during the 2025 municipal election. The amount being requested for this position is $100,000. Normally, this kind of request would come during budget deliberations, but the uncertainty involved and the volume of work requires an earlier decision. Our budget for the election will also have to increase and that discussion regarding $200,000 on top of this $100,000 will come later this fall. Right now, it also looks likely that municipal and federal elections will be held on the same day, which creates additional pressures in terms of staffing & securing polling stations - I suspect we’ll have to discuss that sooner rather than later. I haven’t heard whether the province is considering providing grants to municipalities to cover these additional expenses, but I’m hopeful, especially for municipalities that are in tighter financial positions than we are.
“The passing of Bill 20 has resulted in additional election costs which will be presented to Council as part of the 2025-2027 Business Plan and Budget. These costs, which will… be funded from the Election Reserve, include $100,000 for the creation of a permanent electors register and $100,000 to manage the hand count on and post election day (labour and space costs)”.
Master Rates Bylaw - Annual update
Every year, we approve an update to all the fees & charges levied by the city. These are everything from backyard chicken licences (+$1.50/year), to Demolition permits (+$3), to transit fees (no change), and everything in between. The only changes that I found particularly interesting/that I might ask about are:
Re-inspection Fee- work not ready/building locked, Successive failure to pass inspection & Additional inspections required as a result of the building locked or inaccessible for inspection, or failing to meet the required standard within two inspections will be charged a fee per inspection required. ($128/$130 → $250)
Infill Subdivision Inspection Fee ($500) - this looks like it’s new.
Engineering Re-Inspection Fee ($500 for drawings & $1000 for inspections) - this looks new.
Miscellaneous Site Inspection Requests & Additional time required for rectification of work not
completed as per contract, and for time related to legal disputes. ($250 & $200/h) - new?
Local transit fares for adults/seniors. No change is proposed, but I’m curious what the impact would be if we eliminated these fees like we have for youth & low-income persons.
Fowler track rental fees. (Decreasing from $36 to $240/day or $52 to $40/h for the public.)
Introducing a monthly Grosvenor pass instead of the current seasonal pass.
This is a brief and incomplete overview of our 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. Members of the public can register to speak if they have information to present to council. Full agenda packages can be found on the stalbert.ca website.