St. Albert city council has disbanded a committee tasked with overseeing a now-defunct capital project program rather than revise its mandate.
Council voted 6-1 at the Dec. 12 meeting to disband the Capital Partnership Program Advisory Committee once it completes its work by the end of the calendar year, and to rescind a bylaw and policy outlining its mandate.
This comes despite a January 2016 motion to revise the committee’s terms to review potential municipal capital projects, rather than to oversee the Capital Partnership Program as was its initial mandate.
“Administration now believes that repurposing this committee … is not in the overall best interest of the corporation,” Build St. Albert director Monique St. Louis said.
In March 2015 council directed administration to end the program, just months after a bylaw establishing its mandate came into effect. Then in late 2015, council suggested the committee could be repurposed to help assess or review some municipal capital projects.
Council also approved a motion in May 2016 directing a large-scale review of task forces, council committees and steering committees to be completed in the third quarter of 2017, casting doubt about the committee’s future.
The program was initially designed to offer community groups – such as not-for-profit societies, charities or academic institutions – the opportunity to apply to the city to get one-third of the funding covered from the municipal coffers to develop a new facility if the project met certain eligibility requirements.
Mayor Nolan Crouse, the only council member to oppose shelving the committee entirely, expressed frustration that instead of coming back with an updated terms of reference, as council had requested, administration instead recommended disbanding the committee entirely.
Interim city manager Chris Jardine explained there just wasn’t a clear idea of what this committee would have been doing, so it was best to shut it down.
“I think the best way of describing it is we haven’t figured out what a go forward is, so to just keep them hanging around while we figure that out isn’t in anybody’s best interests,” Jardine said.
“It feels like we gave you direction, and you haven’t done it,” Crouse replied.
Coun. Cam MacKay said he appreciated the quality of work the committee had done, but said ultimately the program didn’t serve the purpose council had initially hoped.
“The Capital Partnership Program was envisioned to be something that would draw in grants from other levels of government,” he said. “It really never came to fruition. There was no money there to do anything.”
Coun. Bob Russell said he liked the idea of the committee, and of having it review capital project proposals when they arise, but noted it should come back before council if and when it’s required rather than keeping a committee formed without any work to do.
The committee will be disbanded once it finishes reviewing the last business case it’s responsible for, which is for a Community Performing Arts Theatre Project. Those tasks are expected to wrap up by the end of the year.
