St. Albert city council's first regular meeting of 2024 has a jam-packed agenda, including debate on first reading of a $20.8 million borrowing bylaw for Millennium Park, re-debating whether a new fire hall planned for the north side will be a modular or conventional build, and an in-camera discussion about Edmonton Global.
First reading of the Millennium Park borrowing bylaw comes just over a month after council approved a new design of the future downtown park space.
The park's actual cost is expected to be about $16.6 million, but city staff has included a 25 per cent contingency amount, which raises the budget to $20.8 million. Council would need to approve any spending over the original $16.6 million project budget.
If council passes the borrowing bylaw on first reading, second and third reading won't occur until early April.
Coun. Killick eyes conventional fire hall build
A new fire station planned for the city's north end may not be a modular build after all. Coun. Mike Killick has brought forward a motion that, if passed, will see the city spend an additional $3 million to ensure the fire station is built the same as every other station in the city.
Modular buildings, or prefabricated buildings, are structures initially built off-site then transported and set in place.
In November 2022, council approved a modular construction design for the new fire hall, coined Fire Hall No. 4, in order to save on project costs, but in January last year, council passed a motion (brought forward by Killick) asking administration to seek design proposals for both modular and conventional designs.
At the time, Killick told the Gazette he was concerned the city was moving forward with a modular building that might need to be replaced much sooner than a conventional building. In the quest to save money in the short term, Killick argued, the city might spend more in the long-term.
Fire Hall No. 4's overall budget is $16.3 million, which council passed a corresponding borrowing bylaw for in 2020. Some of that funding has already been spent to purchase the necessary land, which cost more than expected and was the initial reason why administration brought forward the idea of a modular build.
The new fire station is scheduled to open in 2025, but a report to council last January said if council decides to move forward with a conventional building, the station may not open until 2026.
Edmonton Global discussion
St. Albert city council will also be meeting in-camera on Tuesday to have a discussion about Edmonton Global, which five municipalities in the region unanimously voted to start withdrawing from last month.
Edmonton Global is a regional economic development and investment attraction company funded by 14 municipalities, although five have voted to start the two-year withdrawal process.
If the five municipal councils (Devon, Fort Saskatchewan, Parkland County, Strathcona County, and Sturgeon County) don't change their minds at some point over the next two years, Edmonton Global's membership will be reduced to nine, including St. Albert.
Edmonton Global's senior manager of communications, Sherri Bouslama, told the Gazette the company is hosting a shareholders meeting on Thursday, which St. Albert Mayor Cathy Heron will attend, to “discuss a path forward for regional collaboration in economic development.”
Heron deferred the Gazette's interview request until after the shareholders meeting. She said last month she was confident remaining a member of Edmonton Global was the right decision.
Bouslama also said that Edmonton Global representatives are planning to meet with each municipal council involved in the endeavour before the end of March to give politicians the chance to ask questions about the work the company does.
Edmonton Global is scheduled to present to St. Albert city council on Feb. 6, Bouslama said.
