St. Albert Minute: Issue 119

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

📅 This Week In St. Albert: 📅

• The Standing Committee of the Whole meets on Tuesday at 9:30 am, and one of the items on the agenda is an update on the City's Housing Accelerator Fund intensification strategies. St. Albert has been conditionally approved for up to $11.8 million in federal funding through the program, but the final $5.9 million depends on conditions that include enabling up to four housing units on typical low-density residential lots and delivering 1,550 new housing units over three years, up from the City's typical 1,248. Administration will present emerging considerations for changes to the Land Use Bylaw, including loosening low-density residential rules to allow more infill housing, relaxing rules in the commercial district along St. Albert Trail to make it easier to develop apartments and townhouse complexes, and creating a brand new mixed-use transit-oriented development district. A City survey on expanding housing options drew 585 responses - with 51% of respondents agreeing that a range of housing options and price points is needed, but with residents overall taking a cautious approach to changes that could significantly alter established neighbourhoods. Tuesday's presentation is an information item only, with refined bylaw amendments set for a public hearing and Council decision on September 15th.
  
  
• Also on the meeting agenda is a decision as to whether to recommend that Council approve an updated Asset Management Policy - the document guiding how the City manages its roads, bridges, utilities, facilities, fleet, and other infrastructure. The policy was first adopted in 2014 and last reviewed in 2019, and the update is part of Administration's push to mature the City's asset management program, shifting from reactive practices to proactive, data-driven lifecycle planning. Key changes include recategorizing assets as core and non-core, adding natural assets, and a new focus on evidence-based decision-making that balances lifecycle costs, service levels, and risk. Administration claims a mature program will improve transparency and accountability by letting the City report on the state of its infrastructure and future investment requirements, and will support long-term financial sustainability through better forecasting of lifecycle costs. The policy itself carries no financial impact at this stage. If endorsed, it goes to Council for final approval and will be followed by an Asset Management Strategy and a Strategic Asset Management Plan. 
  
  
• Also on Tuesday's agenda is a discussion about Council's advocacy priorities for 2026-2027. These will be discussed behind closed doors. The item will be presented by Government Relations Advisor Monty Killoh.
  
  
• In other City business, Council has unanimously approved an additional $1,025,000 for improvements to the Campbell Road and Boudreau Road intersection - a funding request first considered in June - after the construction tender came in above the project's previously approved budget of $5,244,727. The intersection, a key entry point to the city, ranked fifth for total collisions from 2022 to 2024, recording 64 collisions in that span, 17 of them causing injury, and the City's transportation manager estimates traffic there has grown 5% to 7% over the last 5 years. The upgrades include extended turn bays in several directions, redesigned right-turn islands to improve sightlines and slow turning traffic, and supplemental sidewalk, lighting, and landscaping work. Councillor Ken MacKay said construction tenders are coming in higher than anticipated across the City's projects, but welcomed the improvements to a corridor where he has personally witnessed collisions. The work is expected to be finished by the end of the 2027 construction season, with all lanes reopened over the winter.
  
  
• Council also voted 6-1 on June 16th to have Administration study replacing the marquee signs at the Arden Theatre and the Musée Héritage Museum with digital signage, transferring $5,000 from the Stabilization Reserve to pay for the study. Councillor Neil Korotash had originally proposed pursuing digital signage at or near St. Albert Place to promote downtown vibrancy, but stepped back when Administration reported that investigating that idea would cost $50,000 for a consultant. Councillor Ken MacKay's narrower alternative passed instead, with findings and a budget request for a sign due back by the second quarter of 2027. An actual digital sign is estimated to cost between $180,000 and $500,000, with Fort Saskatchewan recently installing one for approximately $250,000. A similar project was allocated $45,000 in 2017 but was never completed, and the funds were returned to the City. Councillor Shelley Biermanski cast the lone vote against, saying the $5,000 buys nothing but a report on what kind of signage would be useful and questioning whether downtown residents would welcome flashing digital signs.

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