Coming Up: May 2
Council meets on Monday. The most significant items on our agenda:
Delegations
Old Court House
Property Tax Bylaw
Tiny Hands of Hope
Aberdeen Building
Following is more information and my take on agenda items.
As always, any mistakes or opinions belong to me and me alone, not to Council or City staff.
While I express my current views below, I work hard to go into meetings ready to listen and with an open mind. I learn new information and participate in debate. This always informs, and sometimes changes, how I vote on issues.
If you would like to watch the meeting or read any of its supporting material for yourself, you can do so by clicking here. The City will post the highlights of Council’s decisions here.
Delegations
At every Council meeting, members of the public are welcome to address Council on any matter of interest. This week, three delegations have told us they will be coming to Council:
Maskwa Medical Service: a group of residents is working to setup a medical diagnostic services similar to the Mayo Clinic. Council funded the creation of a business case. We will be receiving an update on this business case and where everything currently sits with AHS conversations.
Chamber of Commerce: The Chamber recently worked with the City and other community partners to do work on labour needs and attraction. We will be receiving an update on this project from the Chamber.
Water North Coalition: Council will be receiving information about the Water North Coalition, with encouragement from the Coalition to re-engage by appointing members to its Board.
Grande Spirit Foundation: Requesting the City participate in a regional housing needs study.
Old Court House: Historic Resource Designation
Our old court house is beautiful. This is the building that hosts the Centre for Creative Arts, downtown between the Montrose Cultural Centre and the Legion. It is recommended that Council designate this City owned building as a Municipal Historic Resource.
Doing so may create costs when it comes time for renovations and repairs: there would be higher requirements to maintain a historic look to the building. However, the designation will also create provincial grant opportunities to fund future repairs. It is likely that this Designation will be a net cost saver to the City.
It is important to preserve our few historic buildings. I’m also a big fan of anything that allows us to get a bigger share of grant revenue. I’m likely to support this designation.
Property Tax Bylaw
Council set the 2022 budget in December. Last Council meeting, we gave it some tweaks. Now it is time to confirm this budget by passing a Property Tax Bylaw.
I’m excited that this will be the third year in a row of no property tax increases to residential properties. That means that taxes will be lower in 2022 than they were in 2017.
Here is more information about our recent tax changes:
Tiny Hands of Hope
Tiny Hands of Hope is working to build a garden in Maskwoteh Park (across Bear Creek from the new hospital). This park will be filled with flowers, art, and sitting areas. It will be open for all members of the public to be in and enjoy. However, it will also provide a focal place for families that have lost a child. It will be a place for them to grieve while honoring and celebrating lives that were lost.
This project will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Tiny Hands of Hope is doing significant fundraising and grant writing. However, it has also asked Council to support construction with approximately $55,000. On Monday, Council will be discussing this request as well as potential funding sources.
One funding source I’m interested in learning more about: Public Reserve. This is money paid by developers when they bring newly developed land online. It is governed by provincial Legislation, which requires this money to be spent on new parks and recreational infrastructure. The Public Reserve currently has approximately $3,000,000 in it. I’m likely to support us funding the project through this reserve.
Worth noting: the City is significantly supporting this project by dedicating land to it. Additionally, after it is built, City Parks will take over caring for it.
Aberdeen Building Area Improvements
There have been recent conversations at Council Committee with the owners of the Aberdeen Building (the office building directly west of Wapiti House). There have been challenges on the land relating to drainage and to foot traffic associated with Wapiti House.
Last week, a Council Committee received a report outlining what it would take to address these concerns. You can see that report here.
On Monday, Council will be discussing potential funding sources for these improvements. It will also be discussing interest in funding them.
For most private property, I believe that addressing these types of concerns should be the owner’s responsibility. But this land is different. It is immediately adjacent to Wapiti House, which creates unique challenges. Furthermore, this land was subject to a land swap with the City. in the late 2000’s. The owners traded land with the City with the expectation that significant changes would be made to the downtown road network. These changes would’ve significantly increased traffic and decreased problems in the area, but were later abandoned by the City. It seems to me that there is some public responsibility for this property.
Some of the drainage issues can be solved by a relatively inexpensive asphalt hump on 92a St. Our Transportation department can do this with existing resources. I support doing this work. But would like to hold off on further drainage decisions until we know more about how surrounding land will be developed.
Regarding access to Wapiti House: there is a proposal to change access from the west side of wapiti house to the south east corner. This requires fencing, driveway, and sidewalk improvements worth approximately $120,000. You can see them here:
I’m looking forward to Council’s discussion regarding this area.
That’s what is on our agenda for Monday. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
You can comment below. Or, you can contact me at dbressey@cityofgp.com or 780-402-4166. I'm happy to talk online or over the phone. I'm also always willing to setup a time to meet for coffee.
We also always have great conversation in the GP Round Table group on Facebook.
After Council meeting, you will be able to find highlights posted by the City here.
Thanks for reading!
-Dylan