A draft of St. Albert council’s public engagement policy has been delayed as the committee responsible plans to do more public engagement this month.
Council unanimously approved a time extension request from the Community Engagement Committee at the Aug. 29 meeting.
The committee was struck in early 2016 to provide recommendations to administration and council on a new Public Engagement Policy. The committee is comprised of council members and citizens-at-large, and was initially directed to provide recommendations by September 2016 based on consultation done over the summer.
“We decided the fall would be a better time to hit more people, because lots of people are away in the summer,” explained Coun. Cathy Heron, who represents council on the committee.
Committee co-chair Kyle Whitfield laid out a busy schedule for September where the committee would solicit feedback in several ways.
An online survey will be available on the city’s website from Sept. 6 to 23. Some residents have specifically been invited to complete the survey to encourage a diversity of responses, but all residents can make their voice heard.
On Sept. 11, the committee will solicit feedback from BAM (Building Assets and Memories), a St. Albert youth advocacy group. The committee is also planning community dialogue events that will be held Sept. 17 to 19 at both St. Albert Place and Servus Place.
Additional stakeholder discussions are planned, with no firm dates as yet. The committee proposes to bring recommendations back to council at the Dec. 12 meeting.
“Our community consultation is taking place in the fall, and we need time to arrange those opportunities as well as analyze the results,” Whitfield said.
Coun. Tim Osborne, who also sits on the committee, said it’s important for all members of the public to make their voices heard on this issue.
“We encourage people to share their thoughts,” he said. “This is a topic that’s less for council to weigh in on, and more for the public to weigh in on.”
Mayor Nolan Crouse suggested there would be a challenge for the committee to bring in all of the feedback.
“There are so many elements to this, it’s just hard to imagine how to get all of this put into one policy,” he said.
Heron concluded her arguments in favour of the extension by noting that the request for an extension in no way reflects a lack of effort on the committee members’ part, and thanked them for their work.
“Most committees in the city meet monthly, and most take a break in the summer. This one has been going every week,” she said. “The final product that comes back in December should be something we’re all proud of.”
