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. Tim Osborne, who is serving his first term on St.
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.
Tim Osborne, who is serving his first term on St. Albert city council, said he's been able to accomplish a lot since he was elected in 2013.
He identifies several personal achievements this term, both inside and outside council chambers.
In his role as councillor, he noted he's been most proud of the work he was able to do with Safe Journeys to Schools.
Osborne was the chair of the committee formed after a Grade 2 student was struck and killed in a crosswalk near a school in September 2013. The committee made several recommendations about improving traffic safety in its report to city council.
As a result better signage and road markings have created better visual cues that motorists are entering a school zone.
“You can go into some of the school zones around the community and start to see some of the changes we've made,” he said. “That's something I'm really proud of.”
Osborne also said he's proud of his efforts to establish a youth centre in the city. Several years ago during budget deliberations he put forward a motion to put money towards youth outreach.
Osborne said he believes that money helped catalyze the formation of The Collective, a multi-use facility that supports young people.
“It's such an important thing, and I think we're doing a little better of a job now responding to some of the youth in the community.”
Lastly, he pointed to his role as the city's representative on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, where he has been able to share perspectives with municipal representatives from across the country.
Outside council chambers, Osborne pointed to his commitment during the 2013 election campaign to communicate with residents in the form of a weekly blog post about what council is doing.
“It's a little thing, but I get feedback from people that they appreciate having a better understanding of what's being talked about and what the issues are.
He also said that among his proudest achievements is to be able to support the work of St. Albert Pride, and to get Pride Week recognized within St. Albert.
“One of my goals when I took office was to find those ways to help make this a more inclusive community,” he said. “When I look at St. Albert Pride, that's been a really important step.”
Osborne said he sees the biggest accomplishments of council as a whole as being improving this council's relationship with Sturgeon County council, which hasn't always been positive.
In terms of major projects, he said coming to an agreement and moving forward with Project 9 – a major trunk sewer line that will enable more non-residential growth in the city.
“We've prioritized what was important to move forward on some of our non-residential development, and made decisions that will allow us to see development that will, in the long run, start to shift some of the tax burden away from the residential taxpayer,” he said.
Osborne said the most significant challenge this council has faced is the capital funding shortfall – there are simply too many wants for the money that's available, which means tough decisions about balancing what people want with how much they want to pay for it.
“It's something that's always there, but I think it's an important one for us as we kind of figure out who we are as a community,” he said.
While he acknowledges there have been some interpersonal challenges among some council members this term, he declined to discuss that in any detail.
“At times I think this council has allowed itself to become distracted, but frankly I think we've already spent enough time talking about those things so I don't particularly feel like diving into that,” Osborne said.
For the remainder of this council term, he said there are several things he would like to see this council accomplish before residents go the polls in October 2017.
First is moving forward on the establishment of a youth council in the city, allowing council to “tap into the wisdom” of young people in the community.
“I have brought forward a motion to establish that, and we're expecting to get the terms of reference and some more detail back,” he said.
Osborne, a former library trustee, also points to the establishment of a new branch library in the city as a top priority.
“I obviously see the value in enhancing some of the services that our library is able to offer, and I hope we're able to move forward on that project,” he said.
Likewise, he has been supportive of the Healing Garden project, which came to council following the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report last year, and said despite its challenges he hopes to see something established.
“It may look different from where it started, but I strongly believe that it's an important project with a lot of meaning and significance,” he said. “I hope it's something we can find a way to move forward on.”
