Last week highlights
Special Council Meeting: Council met Friday afternoon to extend out contract with Alberta Health Service to provide ambulance services to January 31, 2024. Our contract ends on September 30 - this meeting is required to approve the extension before the deadline.
“While both parties are collaboratively working towards a new long-term agreement it was identified that additional time was needed and that an extension to the existing contract would be required.”
Agenda highlights
Q1 Policing Report
The quarterly report on policing is being presented. Of note:
For non-emergency property crimes, you can file your report online through the Alberta RCMP app on Apple or Android devices.
There were a handful of charges laid having to do with “mailbox thefts and [Break] & [Enters] to vehicles.
St. Albert’s 2022 Crime Severity Index (CSI) value was 56.9, up 7.2% when compared to the 2021 CSI value. This %increase is higher than the national increase of 4%.
Of the 70 funded positions, only 55 were actively working.
Landscaping Alternatives
This is my motion to direct Administration to prepare updates to our Community Standards bylaw to allow a greater diversity of permissible vegetation and landscaping options on their properties (including front and side yards). This came about after Council received an email last summer from a family that was being forced by St. Albert bylaws to destroy their beautiful clover-covered front yard because the flowers were higher than the 15cm allowed by our Community Standards bylaw. This is not the first time I’ve heard this experience shared in St. Albert.
[Now] what was a lush yard providing food and habitat to all urban wildlife… is… providing none of the environmental benefits and looks quite ugly. Hopefully the height rule that is clearly not geared at alternative lawns, but specifically at traditional grass, can be adjusted or removed for these types of yards in the future. As well, the requirement that 'naturalized areas' remain only in the back yard of a property.”
Shortly after Council received this message, I saw this sign while biking in Quebec City, which echoes the reasons why these types of changes are important for sustainability.
A LONG LAWN FOR GOOD REASONS Reducing the mowing frequency of this green space has several benefits: Development more favorable to biodiversity Environment more resilient to infestations and drought More abundant food sources for pollinators Reduction of heat islands ville.quebec.qc.ca/biodiversite
Snowflake Festival ($15,000)
This is a motion from a member of Council to provide $15,000 to the Chamber of Commerce for their winter festival. This would be in addition to our normal contributions (~$8-$10,000). This motion is quite unusual because we have a Community Event Grant program for these types of events (max $5,000), and because an organization would generally have to request funding - and provide the verification that funding was used appropriately afterwards. There is also normally a stipulation that events that show a profit are not eligible for funding. This is also different because the proposed funding source is our Stabilization Reserve, the reserve used to stabilize taxation at times when there are bigger swings in taxation demand, rather than the Community Event Grant Program.
Christmas Tree Sponsorship($1,000)
This is a motion from a member of Council to have the city sponsor a $1,000 Christmas Tree in the 2023 St. Albert Sturgeon Hospice Association Christmas Tree Light Up Program, funded from the Council Contingency budget which has $3,500 remaining. I have no issues with a sponsorship, but I’m concerned that if anyone pulls this off our consent agenda, Council meeting time (at about $2,400 per hour) in addition to staff time preparing the backgrounder is being used to approve the funding - Most small grants go through our Community Services Advisory Committee.
Rates & Fees Bylaws (2nd & 3rd Readings)
Every year, Council approves all the fees that are charged for various municipal services. Most fee changes are small and show an incremental increase, but a few stand out as having bigger differences, which I may ask about:
Development permits going from $1,004 to $2,500 for a couple of different types of new construction. (Development fees 2a)
Urban Design Review Fee going from $3,200 to $5,000 and the addition of an “hourly fee equivalent to consultant changes, up to $5,000”. (Development fees 8 & Planning fees 2)
MDP Amendment from $2,247 to $6,000 (Planning Fees 1)
All Facility Summer City Pass for Servus, Fountain, Grosvenor decreasing by about 40%.
It looks like the rain barrel program has been discontinued?
One member of Council is also proposing that we reduce the fee for a Servus Place Senior’s Annual Membership from $460 to $450, which would reduce revenues by about $12,000 if other fees that are calculated in relation to each other were proportionally reduced. Another motion is proposing that we remove the maximum that can be charged for EV charging stations (no $ impact).
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.
