After several delays over the course of a year, council approved a new procedural bylaw at the Jan. 9 meeting. “These are just the rules that govern our meetings,” said Coun.
After several delays over the course of a year, council approved a new procedural bylaw at the Jan. 9 meeting.
“These are just the rules that govern our meetings,” said Coun. Tim Osborne, who proposed the third and final reading of the bylaw.
Among other things, the bylaw increases the amount of time between a public hearing and its associated administrative report being made available publicly from the current three days to 17. The bylaw also establishes how committee appointments are made and states how council seating arrangements will be established.
The bylaw review was initiated in part due to a motion made in July to keep public hearings open for a longer period of time between second and third reading of a bylaw for residents to have more opportunity to assess administrative reports and provide feedback to council on contentious issues.
The City of St. Albert shouldn't be in the land-holding and land-development business, Coun. Bob Russell said.
He made a motion to have the city contract a commercial realtor to have city-owned lands in the area designated as the Employment Lands appraised and listed for sale.
He said the city owns roughly 20 acres in the area, east of Ray Gibbon Drive between Giroux Road and McKenney Avenue. A previous valuation done for a family with land in the area and provided to the city assessed it at roughly $5.5 million – though Russell took issue with that valuation saying it falls far short of a proper appraisal.
“I don't think owning it makes a lot of sense except for possible land we might use for municipal purposes, but frankly that might not be that much,” Russell said.
Coun. Sheena Hughes moved to postpone the decision, however, until administration can provide the cost of an appraisal and council can decide whether to have it appraised before deciding whether to list the land for sale.
An inter-municipal effort to build a mixed-use sporting facility at St. Albert's southern border is one step closer.
Council approved a motion at the Jan. 9 meeting work towards a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the City of Edmonton and the St. Albert Soccer Association to see if it's feasible to build a large indoor/outdoor facility just north of Anthony Henday Drive adjacent to South Riel.
“We're formalizing our intent to work towards something,” development services manager Gilles Prefontaine explained.
Coun. Wes Brodhead, who brought forward the motion, emphasized this process is still in the early stages and at this point he's just hoping for discussion.
“My intention with the soccer association and with administration, is let's see what an MOU would look like, and bring it back to council for authorization.”
The soccer association has proposed that a facility could be built on land currently in Edmonton, but which would need to be serviced by St. Albert, for a facility to help meet regional demand for a full-size indoor soccer field.
Coun. Sheena Hughes is crying foul over amended terms of reference for the Regional Commuter Service Task Force, a committee overseeing a bilateral regional transit initiative between St. Albert and Edmonton.
She said the updated terms of reference state that councillors appointed as alternates will not be allowed to attend meetings unless the designated councillors are unable to attend.
As an alternate, she argued this severely handicaps her ability to understand the process, and said it feels like a deliberate move to keep her out.
Hughes, who has been a vocal critic of the regional transit initiative, was unable to get appointed to the committee after a lengthy dispute at council's most recent organizational meeting Oct. 24, 2016.
“To specifically state I am forbidden from attending unless someone else doesn't show up, is an abuse of the process,” she said.
Brodhead and Coun. Cathy Heron, the councillors appointed to the task force, said they would raise the issue at the next meeting.
“To me this is not over until that action is properly discussed,” Hughes said.
