The Pulse: June 21, 2021

The City of Edmonton is advancing 18 actions as part of its Reimagine Services review to reduce costs and generate revenue in support of the 2022 budget. Administration will present its plan to city council on June 22.

"While these reviews started in response to the changing economic conditions and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the actions being presented to council are necessary in order to manage the corporation for Edmontonians in a way that ensures services are effective, efficient and relevant today and into the future," said city manager Andre Corbould in a news release.

Six of the actions will result in estimated annual cost savings ranging from $572,000 to $1.4 million for a total of $6 million over five years. Another five actions require further analysis but could lead to additional annual cost savings ranging from $1 million to $3.2 million for a total of nearly $10 million over five years.

The first action, to implement paid parking at some parks and attractions, has received the most attention since the report was released to the public on June 11.

The city said it will implement paid parking at Emily Murphy Park, Rafter's Landing, Muttart Conservatory, Fort Edmonton Park, and TELUS World of Science in spring 2022.

A number of councillors have already indicated they oppose the idea.

• Elder Taz Augustine, an Indigenous leader from Edmonton, is expressing outrage over a social media post that minimizes the impact of residential schools on survivors. The post was made by The Dorchester Review, a historical journal whose editor played a key role in drafting the province's highly criticized K-6 curriculum.
• Some legal experts are warning that the Edmonton police's Know Your Rights campaign, launched in March, contains inaccuracies.
• The first phase of the $2.4 million Strathcona Back Street revitalization project began last week. The project will transform the back alley along 83 Avenue between Gateway Boulevard and Calgary Trail into a public plaza.
• The Canadian Urban Institute released its Edmonton Activates report, which highlights made-in-Edmonton solutions to the city's challenges.
• Work on a mural honouring the late SNFU frontman Ken Chinn a.k.a. Mr. Chi Pig has begun on Whyte Avenue. Chinn grew up in Edmonton before relocating to Vancouver.
• Edmonton will host fireworks this Canada Day. The display will be streamed live online. Mayor Don Iveson encouraged Edmontonians to stay safe despite provincial health restrictions being lifted on July 1.
• Edmonton restaurants are struggling to find employees as the province reopens, reports CBC News. Meanwhile, the province has announced one-time grant funding to support the live events sector.
• Alberta doctors are expressing concern over the announcement that the province will fully reopen on July 1. They are concerned about the Delta variant, which has spread across the country.

The Government of Alberta has announced that the province-wide indoor mask mandate will be lifted on July 1, though masks may still be required in "limited and specific settings." Premier Jason Kenney has said he hopes that Calgary and Edmonton will follow suit by dropping their own mask requirements.

Edmonton's temporary mandatory face coverings bylaw, which came into effect on Aug. 1, 2020, will remain in effect until Dec. 31, 2021 unless city council decides to repeal it sooner. Council will have an opportunity to consider doing so at its meeting on June 22. Calgary city council will consider a recommendation to repeal its bylaw by July 31 at its meeting on June 21.

Mayor Don Iveson has expressed concern at the idea of dropping the mask mandate too soon, citing the advice of the Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association which has called on both cities to keep face covering bylaws in place until 70% of the city's populations have been fully vaccinated.

"They're imploring us, after 15 months on the front lines, to do everything we can to try to prevent a fourth wave, particularly driven by the variants," Iveson said.

Here's what else is coming up at city council this week:

• On June 24, city council will hold a sanction hearing following a recommendation from integrity commissioner Jamie Pytel that Coun. Mike Nickel be reprimanded and censured for a series of code of conduct violations. Nickel's lawyer, Jonathan Denis, said in a letter that allegations his client misused email addresses for campaign purposes are "patently false" and characterized complaints about social media posts as politically-motivated. Sanction decisions require a two-thirds majority.
• Amendments to the Zoning Bylaw would reduce the allowable shared surface parking spaces from three to two on certain sites to support Open Option Parking.
• Amendments to the Rossdale ARP and the Zoning Bylaw will support the implementation of the River Crossing Business Plan which city council approved in September 2019. The changes include a new policy to retain and repurpose the Rossdale Power Plant for a mix of publicly-oriented uses.
• A mandatory three stream (waste, recycling, organics) separation program for the multi-unit sector, expected to cost $29.2 million in capital costs and $91 million in operating costs through 2045, could boost the communal diversion rate by 16% to 57%.
• An independent assessment by Grant Thornton of the drainage utility transfer from the City of Edmonton to EPCOR concluded that "EPCOR has met its commitments and substantially adhered to the guiding principles as defined in the letter of intent for the transfer." The report includes a handful of recommendations for further consideration and monitoring.

Meetings are streamed live on city council's YouTube channel.

Photo: Alberta will drop its province-wide mask mandate on July 1. (Government of Alberta/Flickr)

In Episode 134 of Speaking Municipally, hosts Troy Pavlek and Mack Male are joined by Puneeta McBryan, executive director of the Downtown Business Association, to discuss the new downtown vibrancy strategy.

The strategy outlines a series of actions intended to support the recovery of downtown as a home, as an economic hub, and as a destination. The goal seems to be to get people spending time downtown again.

With that in mind, this question came up: "How can downtown actually be vibrant...if people can't poop?"

The strategy doesn't include anything about the need for more public washrooms, which McBryan said is because the city is already working on a public washroom strategy.

At city council's executive meeting on June 14, McBryan said the lack of washrooms "was one of the most immediately harmful impacts of the pandemic on downtown." She urged the city to fund more permanent washrooms.

"We know what it takes to make public washrooms viable, and clean, and successful," McBryan told Taproot. "It requires them being staffed and yes that is expensive, but that's what we now know."

McBryan said she has been researching the issue and how cities across North America have addressed it.

"Everyone has come to the same conclusion," she said. "We don't need to reinvent the wheel. We know we need (staffed) public washrooms."

Photo: Temporary public toilets in Michael Phair Park. (Mack Male/Flickr)

• The Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology is hosting a free virtual symposium that will highlight "the most recent research on SARS-CoV-2 and other viral pathogens." Join the national conference from June 22-24.
• Uniting the Prairies is on this week from June 23-24. The virtual conference aims to bring together "the top startups from across the prairies to connect with global investors and tech leaders."
• On June 23, Business Link has organized a virtual panel to discuss the resiliency of Alberta businesses, what it takes to pivot in a pandemic and overcoming pandemic fatigue. It will also provide small business owners with resources on these topics.
• Edmonton Global is hosting a panel on "how Alberta's energy sector can thrive under a Biden administration" on June 25. The event will cover "how Alberta can leverage its strengths in clean energy innovations to unlock new business opportunities and strengthen climate change resilience."

Photo credit: Emily Rendell-Watson