Last weeks + Regular Council Meeting January 21, 2025
2024 wrapped up with reasonably quick budget deliberations & 2025 is already a busy one! As I serve my last few months on Council, I’ll be winding down this blog, but I’ll still be trying to get the word out about how people can make a difference in their community on some of my other online platforms. Just last week, I tried to answer the question “What’s the slowest, most expensive way to get something fixed in the city?”, which appears to be a hit - I received a few direct messages from CAOs across the country thanking me for my post! (Answer hint: I think electeds are here because we *love* helping people, so it’s not always as fun when we’re not directly involved in the fix - It’s a nice dopamine hit when we’re helping & that’s hard to give up.)
Last weeks highlights
Youth Advisory Committee: It was sad to say goodbye to outgoing members in December, but was a delight to welcome new ones in January! This new group is very motivated to learn more about how the city operates and how they can make a difference in their community.
Committee Appreciation evening: It was great seeing the volunteers serving on committees & boards for the city at our annual appreciation event. Turnout wasn’t great, I suspect because December is so busy for most people, but I’m hopeful that we’ll see more folks at these events when terms shift from starting in January to September.
Homeland Housing Board Meeting: As always, it’s a delight to meet this group out in Morinville. We’re still hoping to see the St. Thomas Street housing project approved for funding by the province in 2025.
Dinner with MLA Nally & Getson: Most of Council met with these MLAs in the new year. It will be interesting to see the impacts to municipalities when the 2025 provincial budget is released in the next few weeks.
Council Strategic Planning: As with every year, Council met with the City’s senior leadership team for a couple days of discussing our priorities. While everything from our discussions is in-camera, I can say that the staff who are tirelessly supporting us through our last 8 months and preparing to advise the next elected council are among the very best. Their dedication, along with the interest of this Council in working hard through our last months while setting up the next set of elected officials for success, makes me excited about what’s ahead for our community.
Jensen Lakes Library branch 5-year anniversary: It was a pleasure to help celebrate the 5-year anniversary of the St. Albert Public Library’s Jensen lakes branch as Deputy Mayor! It’s especially meaningful to me, as a member of the 2017-2021 Council that approved funding for this project, to see how this branch has grown over the past five years.
Agenda highlights
Transit Garage Expansion Borrowing Bylaw ($13.5M, 1 st Reading)
This is getting the borrowing bylaw on the books, to move forward with the transit garage expansion project that was approved as part of the 2025 budget. Of note is that this project is approved for $10.8M and the borrowing bylaw is a bit higher to allow for flexibility if Council decides to increase this due to unforeseen circumstances. It’s likely that we’ll see this back for 2nd/3rd ready on April 1.
“Liggett Place (StAT Transit Garage specifically) has been at capacity since 2015. Steady upward trend in transit service hours over time has increased annual kilometers driven, and thus increased our maintenance component.”
Lakeview Business District Servicing Borrowing Bylaw ($78.375M, 2nd & 3 rd Readings)
My best guess is that Council will approve this bylaw to support moving ahead on the Lakeview project. This is an eye-watering sum, but has been a key aspect of our strategic priorities this term and I’ve heard no opposition to this project so far.
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.
