The application period for next year's civic committees and boards is open now until Oct. 20, with the city looking to fill more than 50 vacant seats.
The civic committees with vacancies heading into next year include the Arts Development Advisory Committee (ADAC), the Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC), the Policing Committee, the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board (SDAB), and six others.
While each committee has a unique function, most have just one meeting per month and allow residents to have a direct impact on city decision-making.
“(We're asking) residents from all walks of life to come in and provide their perspectives on areas that they are actually experts in, such as the (EAC), or just areas of general interest in and opinion on what would make St. Albert a better place to live,” Mayor Cathy Heron said.
Heron, who serves as the council alternate on the policing committee, said those who serve on that committee generally have a background in crime and crime prevention.
“They're a unique one,” Heron said of the policing committee, which is made up of six members of the public this year, as well as Coun. Ken MacKay, who serves in a non-voting capacity.
“There's a lot of learning opportunities ... so if people want to take advantage of some professional development that is offered there, that is definitely a unique part of that committee.”
Coun. Natalie Joly, who this year is the council representative on the youth and seniors' advisory committees, both of which will have vacancies in 2024, said serving on a civic committee is a great opportunity to make a difference in the community.
“I applied to (the Community Services Advisory Committee, or CSAC), I want to say back in 2014, years before I was elected, and it was such a great opportunity to learn more about what the city does and to contribute to funding decisions of the city,” Joly said.
“The volunteers on these committees can make a huge difference.”
Joly also said that the SDAB is an opportunity for citizens to be involved in the development of the community, given that SDAB makes decisions on how and why certain projects move forward or not.
The SDAB is currently made up of seven citizens and only meets every second Wednesday if need be, as meetings only take place if appeals are filed on administrative decisions surrounding development permits.
Coun. Mike Killick, the non-voting council representative on the CSAC and EAC this year, said perspective applicants should know that while the work being done by the various committees is important, it's not a time-consuming commitment.
“It's not a working committee, where you actually have to do a lot of work, it's an advisory committee, so administration will prepare all the information and they bring it forward, so really you're bringing your resident insight and knowledge and debating those issues,” Killick said of the EAC. “As long as you can spend a couple of hours reading through the material once a month, you're not really going away and having to do a whole bunch of homework.”
“It's just a great opportunity to work with like-minded people that want to give back to the city and you get to have input to many, many proposals and projects and get that public engagement before any of that information is actually brought to council for finalizing.”
An information booklet about each civic committee and board can be accessed through the city's website by visiting: https://stalbert.ca/site/assets/files/12786/2024-civic-agencies-applicant-information-package.pdf.
Applications for each and all committees can be submitted online by filling out a questionnaire on the city's website.
