Residents give city council report card halfway through term

At the near midway mark of city council’s 2017 to 2021 term, the Gazette decided to take a closer look at how well residents feel council is living up to their mandate. What follows is a series of Q&A interviews conducted with five residents who attended Council in the Park Sept. 28 to meet city councillors. Answers have been shortened slightly – but not changed – for the sake of space.

We interviewed five residents:

• Brenda Sponchia, age 41, Erin Ridge resident, lived in St. Albert nine years
• Darrell Roth, age 76, Oakmont resident, lived in St. Albert 30 years
• Natasha Read, age 31, Erin Ridge North resident, lived in St. Albert three years
• Walter Kiriak, age 86, Erin Ridge North resident, lived in St. Albert five years
• Wendy Nelson, Oakmont resident, lived in St. Albert 19 years

Two years into this current city council’s term, overall how effectively do you think things are running at city hall?

Sponchia: Honestly, I really love St. Albert, I love the community feel and I feel like I’m really happy with that. It’s just certain things where – it’s mostly the development that I’m having an issue with, then kind of in the odd placement like things that you weren’t expecting, like that shouldn’t be built there, are being built. We purchased our home thinking we're in a quiet residential neighbourhood. If we wanted to live in that kind of setting, I’m sure people would agree, they would’ve moved to a high rise downtown. That’s not what anybody would think would ever be put in St. Albert, let alone a residential neighbourhood.

Roth: I think pretty well. Yeah, it’s pretty good. What we don’t like to see is millions of dollars spent on art, especially from some other province. Ours, we have 80 (artists) that’s over here, so I think we should be consulted.

Generally, right over there, which is the (St. Albert Seniors Association), we could’ve used a big hall. Now we’ve got the asparagus trees with the rose in front, the Indigenous Healing Garden there.

Read: I just feel like we are not being heard as residents. Even when we do bring up situations, or things that are important to us, there’s already an answer, or they say it’s already been said, it’s already been done.

I feel they probably won’t get our vote next time, like I feel they’re very up front in saying we are for you guys in the community but then later on it's already been said and done and no one really wants to talk to us, I guess.

Kiriak: It was fairly well (and) I didn’t see any problems. Just like council should be, until we got into the development on 50 (Edinburgh Court) condos. And we found out the access was going to go down our street in front of (Lois E. Hole School). That’s when we got concerned about getting access from elsewhere.

Nelson: I’ll say it needs improvement. I think council hasn’t been handling very many things effectively. They may be getting along with each other but they’re not listening to the citizens of St. Albert. (The city’s) set up to not work efficiently, and our taxes keep going up, now they want to do a utility corporation and it just seems like they’re going down the wrong track and it’s a runaway train.

In your opinion what issues has council dealt with effectively? What issues could have been handled better?

Sponchia: I’ll be very honest, I’m not super political. You’re researching, you hear the issues, if there’s something I feel is wrong I’ll go and speak to it. As far as everything else has been handled, I think that it’s been fine. Overall as far as the community goes, I’m very pleased with St. Albert.

Roth: Generally speaking, the garbage and things like that are good. There’s less confrontation in meetings and things. They seem to all be getting along and doing the job, trying to get stuff done. Positive attitude.

They talked about this – the housing – like they wanted high density. Okay, first of all, when you do that you should be thinking of the roadway – how are people getting in and out? Last case is up by Boudreau and Bellerose, they want to build high buildings. That’s great – they better run a train (like a monorail) in there so people can travel.

You’ve got to look after the travel first for people before you start piling them into a corner somewhere.

Roth also mentioned suggestions around having two left-turn lanes at the intersection of Bellerose and Boudreau, having flashing red lights at some intersections throughout the city during off-peak hours and more free-flow lanes. He talked about the closure of Coal Mine Road and the city not having a replacement in place.

Read: Like I said, I’m not really political I guess in my city. It sounds terrible but ... I just would say, I don’t know, for our taxes being as high as they are, I just feel they need to be addressed for more safety reasons or reasons we are discussing for our tax money to go to, instead of just basically making the place just look pretty.

Just (50) Edinburgh Court, and I guess just the overall traffic of St. Albert. Nothing really makes any sense or anything of the way you drive in St. Albert.

Kiriak: I thought they did well because St. Albert is a little bit nicer than other cities, especially areas in Edmonton. And they have facilities ... I think it’s a nice city. The concern that we had is about getting the homes landscaped. Because we live in a neighbourhood ... there’s some neighbours that are not doing this. We did contact the city about that, and they kind of said there’s nothing we can do. So, it’s at a limbo right now.

(On 50 Edinburgh Court), apparently the site has been approved, and it’s been approved like four years ago. Four years ago, we were not even in the area, we weren’t even there, so we couldn’t have a say. So now that we wanted (a) say, well it’s too late. And I think here, I can see the city is doing their own planning and they seem to plan and there’s no decision, no appeal so to speak.

Nelson: No answer. It’s concerning to me that I can’t think of something positive, because I like to look for positive things.

There are lots things. They didn’t deal with the plebiscite question of the recreational needs in the community, the ice arena, pool (and) library situation. They’ve put in franchise fees and smart water meters. People are very, very concerned about how things get done here. And then of course the increase in taxes, and the increase in borrowing.

St. Albert is currently struggling to find cash to make up for an approximate $16-million shortfall in its repair, maintenance and replacement budget. Council has looked at some strategies to deal with this issue, including a temporary 1.5-per-cent subsequent tax increase for three years. It is also currently investigating creating a municipal utility corporation, which the city says would offer “non-traditional utilities,” including perhaps waste-to-energy technology it is currently piloting. Are you supportive of a municipal utility corporation?

Sponchia: When you’re speaking to the idea of waste to energy, or having alternative forms of energy, I think that’s a great idea. If this city can make a profit off that, that’s great too.

As long as, I’m sure it would be done environmentally responsibly and do their due diligence.

Roth: Those are positive things to look at, definitely. But we don’t need any taxes raised to experiment with things like that.

I did come up with some idea here, way back I think when (Mayor Cathy Heron) had first come in. That’s to allow people to put a solar panel roof over their garage pad, it takes away the snow shovelling in the winter and they’ve got power from the grid right off the canopy covering your garage pad. That’s for seniors that can’t shovel snow anymore.

Read: I think, I actually wouldn’t mind that if our city would generate money on their own instead of just relying on taxpayers to fund it, as long as it’s not going to be another thing we’re paying extra for.

Kiriak: I’m not really supportive of a city going into private development. I think private purse people or companies other than the city are usually more effective, usually more cost saving than the city. Because in the city, what happens is that it starts small but then it gets larger and larger and to a point where it becomes ineffective.

Nelson: I’m not supportive of it. The city is already having enough challenges taking care of what we’ve already got, with repair and maintenance. Why take on more responsibilities, especially in areas that are new and unproven?

I’d rather see more efficiencies happen with reducing expenditures rather than looking at more tax increases. Reducing extraneous services and even freezing or reducing salaries, to be comparable to the private sector.

Higher density housing is the way of the future, now that minimum density standards for developments are laid out by the Edmonton Metropolitan Regional Board, in an effort to limit urban sprawl and protect valuable agricultural land. This means St. Albert must increasingly turn away from single family housing and look more to developing up. Are you supportive of growth in St. Albert, and how do you think it can be accomplished in a sustainable way that is respectful of existing residents?

Sponchia: I’m okay with progress, even like the Shops at Boudreau and stuff like that. I mean, dealing through the construction was a nightmare, but I mean they have their place, they’re cute little boutique shops and stuff like that. And they’re a good fit for the neighbourhood. I don’t know that high density housing is – it’s just not, and it’s not zoned to be.

Maybe put it in a more appropriate setting, maybe don’t throw it in the middle of established neighbourhoods. Like maybe create new neighbourhoods.

Roth: That goes back to my other statement there, you’ve got to provide the transportation into these places first. If you haven’t got a roadway, then you up and take away a road like Coal Mine Road and then everyone is driving through the residential to get to the north end of the business places from out of town. It’s exactly what they’re forced into now. And the people that live in these residences, they didn’t expect that when they moved in.

I support growth, but you’ve got to do things in the right order. You can’t put up a 28-storey building with no roadway into it.

Read: I’m supportive of growth in St. Albert if it’s going to be put into St. Albert. I guess if they’re going to build buildings, it would be more businesses to get more money and revenue into St. Albert. If you’re going to build more residents, I think you need to build more businesses too, there needs to be a bit of give and take.

If they want to build more and build up or build out, I just feel they really need to make the city sustain it. Have the infrastructure for it.

Kiriak: I am supportive of agriculture and I don’t like good soil being used up for development. So in that sense, I think if the city is going to be sprawling, it should be on land that is not suitable to agriculture. Growth – there’s got to be growth. I think you can’t stop growth. But they should kind of limit and not use good farmland.

Now as far as growth going up, that’s usually, that should happen in sort of the main sections. Like the centre sections of cities. Not opposed, but probably growth should happen storey by storey, not all of a sudden, 30 storeys up.

Nelson: Yes, I’m in favour of growth in St. Albert as long as it's planned well. Higher density housing is usually zoned in areas that are appropriate for it, such as places that are close to public transit and shopping.

The developers are looking to change the zoning for higher density so that they can make money, as developers do. But that doesn’t work for the citizens of St. Albert because the people who already purchased their homes in their neighbourhoods did so with the understanding of the existing zoning.

What should council focus on for their next two years?

Sponchia: I did not realize the financial struggles they were having, so maybe researching ways to get revenue streams ... Definitely listening more to the people, because it’s sad things come into your eyes when things start to affect you. I’ll be honest because that’s what happened, but I hear this isn’t the first thing people have been upset about.

Roth: Control the spending and don’t spend it foolishly. Like the asparagus plants on the corner of the next (traffic) circle over. Other than marking the lanes and putting in flashing lights when they can, not force people the agony of having to wait. Help them with their traffic problems.

Read: I would like them to focus on listening to the people that are already living here and paying their taxes. Listening to us about the safety of our children, and most of the time we’re not just like saying no we don’t want these condominiums because it’s more people. We’re not saying that, we’re saying the safety of our children or other reasons why.

Kiriak: I actually think they should (give) a little bit more say to people before a decision is made.

Nelson: I think they should focus on reducing costs (and) becoming more efficient. Regarding capital projects, that they should be prioritized as far as the needs of the community is concerned, rather than what developers want to do.