This meeting is expected to be long.
Agenda highlights
MillenNium Park Update & Borrowing Bylaw
I’ve written about Millennium Park many times (August 2021, December 2022, April 2023, March 2023, August 2023…). Back in 2017 when I was first elected, this project was already on the go - In 2017, Councillor Brodhead specifically named this project as a priority for drawing more people downtown. This week, we’re getting an update on the project status and we’ll be considering a borrowing bylaw to fund the project. To add clarity to some misconceptions that are floating around:
Extensive public consultation was completed between 2010 & 2018 to inform this project.
The project was approved last year for $16.9M, and no one has proposed changing this. The borrowing bylaw being considered this week is for more due to a quirk in how we approve these - but any budget change would have to be made by Council, in public, and I don’t see any appetite for that.
Detailed designs (and the associated public consultation) have not started.
I’m excited about welcoming families - including children - to this part of downtown. Welcoming diverse groups to downtown and city parks in no way detracts from our support of other groups, including the wonderful St. Albert Seniors Club, which is provided a City-owned facility for their activities adjacent to this park. My expectation is that the park will bring added vibrancy downtown, including to the Seniors’ Centre.
I’m also aware of concerns about the environmental impacts of this park development, including animal habitat, stormwater management, etc. I agree with many of these concerns, including from members of the public who reached out to meet. What I recommend to everyone with similar concerns is that they provide feedback about their priorities after a funding source is approved and before detailed designs are commissioned. I feel strongly about these issues, and I encourage everyone with these views to participate in feedback opportunities for this project, and also for the many other projects that are not getting the same attention but in some cases have a much larger impact.
Budget AdjustmenT
Although Council approves the budget and tax requirement in December, we always finalize numbers in the spring before assessment notices go out to residents & businesses. Effectively, this means an average 5.3% tax increase instead of the 5.5% we’d approved in December. Changes are due to:
↑ $468,000 assessment growth
↓ $10,000 for the Snowflake Festival
↓ $25,000 to support the Downtown Business Association
↑ $170,000 expected transit revenue
↓ $29.300 for an IT contract we don’t need anymore
↓ $119,900 for a provincial grant for road maintenance that was unexpectedly taken away
↑ $50,000 expected Servus Place revenue
BIA Tax Rate Bylaw
Per provincial legislation, businesses may form a Business Improvement Area and direct the city to collect taxes from businesses (not property owners) within the area on their behalf. Our BIA is set to collect $200/business to support their efforts downtown. Council could pass all three readings of this bylaw at our regular council meeting, but there is a risk that a member of Council blocks third reading as unanimous consent is required for the last reading. If this happens, third reading will be completed in another meeting.
Habitat for Humanity Funding
A couple of weeks ago, Habitat for Humanity requested funding of almost $500,000 to assist with the purchase of 4 townhome units in the Midtown neighbourhood. As far as I know, there was no appetite for providing this level of funding, but one member of Council has proposed that we instead provide $100,000 for this initiative. At first glance, I was not impressed by this proposal, but I’m now unsure how I’ll vote. Some of the aspects of this ask that I’ll consider are:
The balance in the fund (that I think) we started for housing projects.
The fact that our land donation for the St. Thomas St. project is equivalent to approximately $23,000/unit, making this a comparable ask.
The understanding that a federal grant has already been secured to support families that have experienced ”systemic barriers and discrimination that has contributed to a disproportionate lack of homeownership opportunities”.
Questions I have include:
As the original ask was $400,000 more than what is being proposed, will Habitat be able to make up the difference to make this project work?
I may also ask to have the motion amended to specify that the funding is for up to $25,000 per housing unit, in addition to the maximum. This would be to introduce flexibility in case the motion passes, but Habitat is unable to purchase all four units.
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.
