St. Albert city council has approved $4.49 million in funding in 2026 for the schematic design for the community amenities site in Chérot, taking a first big step in the $173 million dollar project.
The project charter — accessible through the meeting agenda for council's June 17 council meeting — details that the site concept plan which was approved by council in 2023 includes indoor and outdoor recreational amenities. Some of these include a pool, a single ice sheet, and a natural turf sports field. There is also space set aside for a high school site.
The $4.49 million in approved funding for 2026, which comes from the Capital Reserve, would be directed towards detailed planning and design work. An additional $5.5 million is committed in 2027, followed by $81.5 million in both 2028 and 2029. $54.2 million is in construction costs, with a $27.1 million contingency. City staff said that as design work continues and a final cost estimate is projected, that contingency could come down.
The motion passed by a vote of six to one, with only Coun. Natalie Joly opposed.
Coun. Sheena Hughes, who brought forward the motion, originally considered bringing forward a motion to fund the full design rather than the schematic design. City staff told council that the schematic design gives you "30 to 40 per cent of the design."
Coun. Wes Brodhead expressed concerns about what they were actually getting for approximately $4.5 million. Hughes said that she shared the concerns, but this was a necessary step one.
"There will not be anything developed in the community amenities site until this step one is done," Hughes said. "We have to go through this first gateway to be able to even have further discussion about what else can be developed on this site."
She also expressed hope that there would be a narrower ballpark for how much the site will cost the next time it's brought to council.
Coun. Ken MacKay said that the best, and perhaps only, way to fund a project of this magnitude is to go one step at a time, rather than diving in head first.
"Many of us have looked forward to moving this, and there are expectations in the community that we will be moving this forward," MacKay said. He added that many residents question when they will actually start to see some development happen on that site.
"If we don't approve this funding, we're stuck in basically following the current state. And administration has a gated approach, but it's not really moving forward. This actually starts to move it a little faster," he said.
Coun. Mike Killick agreed with the assessment and said that they were in danger of "paralysis by analysis" if they didn't move forward.
Brodhead said that his biggest hesitancy was the other capital projects that would need funding in the coming years, such as infrastructure projects. He supported the motion, but added that he hopes it gives the next council some understanding on how to phase the project appropriately.
Joly voted against the motion, adding that she'd be more supportive of a motion to fund the whole project, and that the risk of baby stepping is that they run the risk of dipping their toes into a large project without follow-through. She specifically referenced council voting down the Millennium Park in 2024.
Despite her vote against the motion, she said "I am going to be the biggest champion of this project, because I am excited about getting shovels in the ground at the community amenities site."
