St. Albert city council returns to action Monday evening after a five-week hiatus.
This first meeting following summer break will see a continued push toward a bylaw allowing the city to borrow $15.9 million for the third stage of Ray Gibbon Drive.
This issue has so far generated little feedback from the community, said Mayor Nolan Crouse.
One of the heavy issues on the mayor’s mind is a report calling for 700 to 900 acres of light industrial land. Council received the report in July but will publicly debate it for the first time on Monday.
Over the coming months, council will deal with land use issues, a number of proposed developments and the future of ambulance service.
“We have very difficult issues to deal with,” Crouse said.
Feedback over recent controversies is dying off, according to his e-mail inbox, Crouse said, although he’s receiving the odd comment about his highly publicized letter chastising Prime Minister Stephen Harper for employing negative campaign tactics.
“I had a guy stop me on the street yesterday and thank me for writing the letter,” Crouse said.
The Starbucks controversy has gone quiet, he said.
This Monday’s meeting will not include a re-opening of that controversial decision, which council approved July 4. That decision, to invest $280,000 in a city-owned Starbucks location at Servus Credit Union Place, prompted an outcry from residents and business owners alike.
Coun. Malcolm Parker said the complaints are still coming his way.
He’s been investigating the deal in the hope of finding a way out for the city but doesn’t have any news for hopeful opponents of the deal.
“I’m working on some stuff but I won’t be bringing anything forward on Monday publicly,” is all Parker would say about his efforts.
He’s still hearing from a lot of people that are opposed to the decision but isn’t sure how widespread it is.
“My sense is there’s a significant group in the community that are opposed to it,” he said. “It’s not just 50 rabble-rousers.”
