St. Albert Minute: Issue 114

St. Albert Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of St. Albert politics

📅 This Week In St. Albert: 📅

• We're hosting a Pints & Politics event, in conjunction with our friends at the Alberta Institute! We're going to keep things simple and just have some casual drinks, with no formal agenda, as an opportunity for everyone to get together with like-minded people, meet some of the team, and chat about politics. There's a lot going on, so there will be plenty of conversation topics. The event takes place on Wednesday, June 10th. It’s free, but you’ll need to RSVP here.
  
  
• City Council will meet tomorrow at 9:30 am to vote on its 10-Year Municipal Repair, Maintenance, and Replacement Capital Plan - the document that sets out how much the City intends to spend each year over the next decade to keep existing municipal infrastructure in serviceable condition. The plan covers roads, buildings, parks facilities, fleet, and equipment, and is distinct from growth capital, which funds new capacity. Unlike capital that expands services, repair and replacement spending is driven by the age and condition of what the City already owns. 
  
  
• Also on tomorrow's agenda, Council will vote on a separate 10-Year Utility Repair, Maintenance, and Replacement Capital Plan covering water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure. Unlike the municipal plan, utility repair and replacement spending is funded through utility rates rather than property taxes - meaning approval of this plan has direct implications for residents' water and sewer bills in the years ahead. St. Albert's water and wastewater systems include treatment plants, pump stations, mains, and lift stations, all of which require significant ongoing spending as they age. 
  
  
• Council will also consider a renewed School Site Joint Use and Planning Agreement - the legal framework that governs how the City of St. Albert and local school divisions share land, co-ordinate facility planning, and allocate responsibility for school sites within the city. The two school divisions party to the agreement are Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools and St. Albert Public Schools. These agreements typically address which party maintains shared amenities such as fields, parking areas, and walkways, how costs are divided, what happens to school sites if a school closes, and how future school locations are identified during new residential development.
  
  
• At a May 12th standing committee meeting, Council voted to add 14 days to St. Albert's commemorative lighting calendar for St. Albert Place - the list of occasions on which the building's exterior lighting is changed to mark a specific date. Councillor Sheena Hughes moved to add Valentine's Day, Family Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter Sunday, Earth Day, Mother's Day, Victoria Day, Father's Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Halloween, the Feast Day of St. Albert of Louvain on November 21st, Christmas, and New Year's Eve. Councillor Amanda Patrick moved to remove Mother's Day and Father's Day from the list, arguing the City should be inclusive of all families. The amendment was defeated 1-6, with only Patrick in favour. A second amendment, by Councillor Shelley Biermanski, changed the purpose language in the policy from "raise awareness or promote action" to "recognize," passing 4-3. 

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

🪙 This Week’s Sponsor: 🪙

This week's sponsor is you! We don't have big corporate backers, so if you like what you're reading, please consider making a donation or signing up as a monthly member.

Having said that, if you are a local business and are interested in being a sponsor, send us an email and we'll talk!