Community and public services committee meets on April 25, while urban planning committee is scheduled for April 26, and executive committee is on April 27. Here are some of the key items on the agenda this week:
- Snow and ice control, an ongoing debate in Edmonton, is up for discussion at community and public services committee this week. Administration has determined that the city's equipment and resources are insufficient to meet most current service levels, and it is proposing two options to establish new baseline service levels. Both options are aligned with the City Plan's intention to create 15-minute districts, and achieve a 50% split between vehicle-use and other modes of transportation.
- Councillors will hear about the current homelessness and encampment situation in the city, and how administration plans to address it. Some of those actions include expanded day shelter services and hours of operation at Bissell Centre, additional drug poisoning response teams in downtown and Chinatown, and increased access to public washrooms throughout Edmonton.
- A bylaw to designate the Canada Permanent Building as a municipal historic resource is ready for the first of three readings. If the bylaw is approved and upon completion of the project phases, the city will pay the owner up to $112,620 for rehabilitation of the building. The historic building had a tough few recent years, after sitting empty and then facing several failed attempts to revive the space.
- The city's investment funds — worth $3.4 billion as of Dec. 31, 2021 — "matched or outperformed their benchmarks" last year, according to the investment committee's 2021 annual report. The Ed Tel Endowment Fund paid $41 million in dividends to the city during 2021.
Here are some of the other notable agenda items:
- An update will be provided on the infill roadmap initiative, and councillors will hear about how remaining work integrates into other projects and initiatives. Twenty-two of the initiatives have been completed, and the remaining three continue to be part of ongoing City Plan projects. The infill compliance team will also provide its annual report, which noted a downward trend in the number of complaints received related to infill construction even as the number of projects has increased.
- Current sidewalk maintenance processes and the framework used to develop the new proposed sidewalk maintenance strategy will also be presented. The new steps will involve reviewing the conditions of sidewalks, requesting repairs, and determining the importance of sidewalks based on location, how socially vulnerable the area is, and the locations that are not being reconstructed in the future. Phase two of the new strategy involves refining budget implications for inclusion in discussions about the 2023-2026 budget later this year.
- A report requesting that council approve the environmental impact assessment required to replace the Mill Creek Bridge will first go to urban planning committee this week. If all goes as planned and it is approved by both committee and council, construction will begin this summer, and be completed sometime next summer.
- Executive committee will be asked to approve the acquisition of lands in Heritage Valley from Alberta Infrastructure to support LRT construction from Century Park to Ellerslie Station as part of the Capital Line South Extension (Phase 1) project.
- Edmonton Arts Council will present a request for grants and investments for 170 organizations this year, across three streams. The total amount recommended is about $9.5 million and this shift in support is part of implementation of the Connections & Exchanges plan.
City council will also hold a non-regular meeting on April 27 to receive annual reports and work plans from several boards and committees, as well as one on April 28 to discuss the 2022 property tax bylaw and several community revitalization levy rate bylaws. There will also be a verbal discussion about the Edmonton Police Commission at a special city council meeting on April 28.
Meetings are streamed live on city council's YouTube channel.
Photo credit: Mack Male/Flickr