Regular Council Meeting August 19, 2019
Agenda highlights
Ray Gibbon Drive - Borrowing Bylaw (2nd & 3rd reading)
This is to allow Administration to proceed with acquiring financing for the expansion of Ray Gibbon Drive. Of note, we’ve heard explicitly from MLA Dale Nally that the agreement to share the cost of twinning Ray Gibbon with the province stands.
Solar Arrays Bylaw (1st Reading)
This is a bylaw that would “allow ground located solar collectors as a discretionary use in the Commercial and Industrial Services (CIS) land use district; and… clarify that roof-based solar collector systems (already allowed…) include ballasted flat-roof systems that have no point of attachment to a roof apart from being placed there”.
Because this is first reading of the bylaw, it’s unlikely that we’ll ask questions - this is our opportunity to reach out to the community for feedback so we can be prepared with questions when it comes back for 2nd/3rd reading. For interest’s sake, these are the roof panels that we have on our transit building - Ground located collectors look similar:
Municipal Public Utilities Bylaw (2nd & 3rd Reading)
This is the draft bylaw that will, should it be passed, allow St. Albert to form our own Utility corporation. The bylaw “will, upon final passage and approval, prohibit any person or corporation from providing a utility service in St. Albert that is the same or similar to a utility service provided by the City or by a corporation controlled by the City, except under an agreement with the City”.
Capital Funding Alternative
This motion is to have “Administration provide to Council by February 28, 2021, alternative options and alternative capital funding formulas to address the capital funding shortfall that would reduce the tax increases from 2022 going forward”.
This motion is in response to Concil’s approval of the the direction that “effective for the 2020 budget and ongoing, the equivalent of a 1.5% property tax increase be included in the municipal tax requirement and specifically targeted to capital reserves to support the repair, maintenance and replacement (RMR) of existing capital assets”.
This was to make sure that we will have the funds to support taking care of our existing infrastructure - roads, sewers, pools, buildings, etc. - and that we effectively plan for RMR needs. The reason for this planning is similar to why homeowners plan - to replace shingles, furnaces, or just to maintain their homes through painting, replacing flooring, etc. - to ensure that they aren’t left with a crumbling home or the inability to maintain their home.
In the backgrounder, Admin advise that they are “in the process of implementing a complete asset management framework (full project expected completion 3-5 year). Once the city has completed a full asset inventory and condition assessment, we will be in a better position to fully quantify and justify future RMR funding requirements.” Regardless of the outcome of this motion, “Administration will provide Council with an updated report in February 2021 that will update the status of efforts towards both asset management, and any potentials that exist for offsetting this cost with new revenues to reduce taxes”.
This is a brief high-level 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. As always, I also encourage everyone who is able to tune in the the live-stream of the meeting (3pm here) or attend in-person (3rd floor of St. Albert Place, hang a right getting out of the elevator). You can also register to speak if you have information to present to council. Full agenda packages can be found on the stalbert.ca website.
