Brodhead sees work with seniors, transit among biggest accomplishments

This story is one of a series focusing on St. Albert council members' accomplishments and challenges and what their priorities are for the remaining year.
Coun. Wes Brodhead is now serving in his second term as city councillor, and has seen many projects taken from the idea stage through completion.

It's not surprising then that he sees several big ideas and as-yet-unfinished projects as being this council's biggest accomplishments after serving three years of its four-year mandate.

Right up at the top of the list, Brodhead said, is Project 9. The large sewer line will cost $40 million, with $30 million being funded by debt, but is required in order for the city to keep developing.

“We've always been a community that liked to minimize our use of debt, and with Project 9 we examined that,” he said.

In keeping with the theme of thinking differently about how to build the city and pay for it, he said council's approval of the Amacon project to build high-rise residential at the old Grandin mall site was likewise “a win.” It required forward thinking and a re-imaging of what kind of city St. Albert is, he said

“Any time a business wants to invest half a billion dollars in your community, you have to take a look at it,” Brodhead said.

He also mentioned the long-term planning the city has done as being a significant success, as many planning documents based on a 50-year vision for the city have been finalized under this council.

Brodhead also pointed to several personal priorities that he has been able to push for during this current council. After campaigning on support for seniors, he said he was pleased to be able to see the completed renovation of the St. Albert 50+ Club, now known as Red Willow Place, and to break ground on the North Ridge Lodge Phase 2 expansion, which will mean 42 more seniors' housing spaces in the community.

“That's 42 units and many might say that's not enough, but 42 is more than many communities are getting,” he said. ‘I'm personally proud of that.”

Likewise, public transportation has been a big priority, and he noted he's happy to have been a part of pushing for regional transit at the Capital Region Board and advocating for provincial support.

“I'm not the only one beating at (the transportation minister's) door, but I'm proud of my part in that,” Brodhead said.

He also recognized this council has faced its fair share of challenges, saying that while a certain degree of conflict on a council is healthy for democracy, some issues have dominated discussion and caused distractions.

The fallout of former city manager Patrick Draper hiring then-councillor Gilles Prefontaine to a senior administrative position, for example, created a significant rift among councillors.

“For some they were unable to get past it, and it was an example of what they considered to be a systemic problem that needed to be fixed,” Brodhead said.

That in turn helped to foster friction between council and Draper, and council ultimately voted to part ways with him in a decision made public May 15 this year.

Brodhead said that decision set the stage for the July 4 motion to request an inspection by the Minister of Municipal Affairs. While he supported the motion he wasn't happy that St. Albert had to call in the minister to resolve its own issues.

“It's one decision, quite honestly, I'm embarrassed about,” he said.

But looking forward to the final year in the term, Brodhead pointed to several priorities he hopes to see – and believes can be – accomplished.

The biggest one, he said, is to keep up with the work on long-term planning in general, and specifically with the Transportation Master Plan and the Land-Use Bylaw, rather than worry about the small stuff.

“We get distracted by the minutiae of administration,” he said. “I think our meetings are long because we get distracted by the minutiae of what we deal with.”

Brodhead also pointed to one specific capital project as a top priority – a new branch library – noting that this has been something the community has been requesting for nearly two decades.

Lastly he said fostering a good working relationship with Sturgeon County and coming to an agreement on joint boundary growth was something that it was realistic to think could be finished by the time the October 2017 election rolls around.

“I think a document defining the growth between St. Albert and Sturgeon County into the future will be a good thing,” he said, noting there appears to be appetite to do this on both sides of the table. “I'm going to push for that.”