Mayor Nolan Crouse said he isn't backing away from his desire to improve the city's downtown.
Crouse has been careful to avoid making any spending promises after the recent release of an implementation plan for the revised downtown area redevelopment plan (DARP.) That plan would cost $135.8 million over seven or eight years, according to a timeline suggested by city administration.
Crouse reacted to the report by saying it's unlikely that any of the capital projects will unfold within the next five years. He spearheaded the new DARP when he launched a downtown task force in 2009. That effort led to a series of roundtable sessions that generated many of the ideas that form DARP.
However, Crouse said his intention was never to fast-track city spending on projects.
"I'd be surprised if you found that I said we were going to spend a bunch of public money immediately," he said in an interview. "I don't ever remember ever talking about anything being schedule-driven."
The hope is to kick-start redevelopment, not by spending city money, but by laying out an updated vision for the next 20 years that will be a guide for public and private sector investment, Crouse said.
"It was about making sure there was a vision and a plan, so that over time, every time you make a move, you move toward the plan," he said.
The DARP identifies four priority projects that are pegged at $42.4 million. These are:
• Narrowing Perron Street and widening the sidewalk
• Re-aligning St. Anne Street to curve south of the courthouse and meet up with Taché Street
• Building a civic square where the central parking lot now sits
• Building a parkade
Council accepted the plan as information but didn't approve it. This means city administration will proceed with the no-cost elements but all capital projects will sit on the unfunded list for consideration during future budgets.
Daunting numbers
Crouse and several councillors expressed concern at the dollar amounts contained in the document. The unease was amplified by the fact that estimates are subject to a variance of plus or minus 50 per cent.
City administration estimates that DARP would generate between $11.5 million and $63.8 million in new property tax revenue over 20 years, depending on the level of growth experienced in residential and non-residential assessment values.
Coun. Cam MacKay did his own analysis in order to calculate the effects when inflation is left out. Even if taxes grow at the highest foreseen scenario, it would cost each St. Albert property owner nearly $4,000 over 20 years to implement DARP, he found.
"DARP might create a really nice place to go downtown, but it's not cost-neutral," he said. "We're certainly going to have to pay for it and we should be asking the public if this is what they want to pay for."
The question remains whether taxpayers want to pay what it will cost for the benefits of DARP.
"It's good to have a vision but you have to temper a vision with reality," MacKay said.
Implementing DARP raises the question of timing, whether to build the downtown to attract more residents or wait for the population to increase before spending public dollars on improvements, said Mike Howes, chair of the chamber of commerce downtown committee.
"It's the chicken or the egg scenario," he said.
