City council will meet on Monday with a continuation scheduled for Wednesday. A council services committee meeting and public hearing will take place on Tuesday.
Key items on the agenda include:
- Prairie Sky Gondola announced a Cree name for its project on Aug. 12, saying that âsowahonân — which translates to "crossing of the river" — was chosen in a traditional naming ceremony last April. Coun. Aaron Paquette was critical of the announcement over the weekend. "Today I witnessed a corporation take advantage of what is normally considered a sacred ceremony, a ceremony that many Indigenous people do not have access to due to the impacts of colonization, in the most cynical way possible and without certain permissions," he tweeted. "It is unsettling." Proposed land agreements between the City of Edmonton and Prairie Sky Gondola will be considered after executive committee heard from dozens of speakers last week about the project, many of whom spoke in opposition.
- The discussion about funding for the Healthy Streets Operation Centre will continue, with a motion on the floor that if passed would increase the Edmonton Police Service and Community Standards and Neighbourhoods Branch budgets by a combined $15 million over the next two years.
- A sanction hearing will be held following integrity commissioner Jamie Pytel's determination that Coun. Michael Janz violated council's code of conduct when he retweeted a tweet referring to police as "pigs" earlier this year. Janz posted an apology on Twitter about a month after the retweet. "I do not recommend sanction or further action with respect to the Complaints," Pytel wrote in her report. "In my view, this resolution is proportionate and appropriate."
Here are some of the other notable agenda items:
- Community and public services committee recommends that funding for the C5 North East Community Hub be increased by $200,000 per year for a total of $2 million over the 2023-2026 budget, with a funded service package to be prepared for budget deliberations this fall.
- Administration supports the establishment of a new Central McDougall Urban Village Zone for the lands north of Rogers Place between 101 Street and 106 Street. The proposed development would consist of a mix of mid- and high-rise buildings ranging from six to 25 storeys containing a maximum of 2,500 new residential units, and a new public park of at least 2,000 square metres.
- Charter Bylaw 20181 would allow for the adaptive reuse of the historic Hangar 11 building as a mixed-use development that could contain up to 316 residential units and additional commercial and recreation services.
- Charter Bylaw 20223 would replace four single detached houses on the northeast corner of 99 Street and 90 Avenue in Strathcona with an eight-storey mixed-use mid-rise building.
- Bylaw 20174 would allow for the development of row housing at 108 Avenue and 107 Street in Central McDougall, including at least seven three-bedroom units suitable for families.
- Borrowing bylaws will be considered for three-stream communal collection, the 50 Street CPR Grade Separation project, planning and design for a new southeast transit bus garage, the Capital Line LRT extension from Century Park to 41 Avenue SW, and several other projects.
- Coun. Jennifer Rice has requested new sit-stand desks and chairs, which requires approval from council services committee as the total cost — $3,010 — is more than the $1,000 limit the committee chair can approve. The 2022 Common Furniture Budget for council services committee to allocate is $11,278.
- The draft 2023 calendar for council and committee meetings is ready for review. Most meetings will take place Monday to Wednesday, with meetings during Ramadan scheduled to end by 9pm. Administration recommends it be approved on Oct. 17 once finalized.
Council will also deal with several pending motions laid over from its last meeting before the summer break.
Meetings are streamed live on city council's YouTube channel.
Photo: Coun. Michael Janz, shown here speaking to reporters after city council's inaugural meeting on Oct. 26, 2021, will face a sanction hearing this week. (Mack Male/Flickr)