St. Albert Minute: Issue 91

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

📅 This Week In St. Albert: 📅

• There are no Council meetings this week, on account of the Christmas holidays. The next meeting will take place on January 13th, 2026.
  
  
• Council has approved the 2026 budget, which includes a 3.9% property tax increase. The $230-million budget funds 17 new operating initiatives, such as additional fire department positions, an emergency management coordinator, and a policing review. Council also approved 11 capital projects to support community growth and 27 projects for repairing and maintaining existing infrastructure. Utility rates will rise by an average of $11.38 per month, to support nine utility infrastructure projects. 
  
  
• St. Albert could exceed its internal debt limit by 2030 if all proposed debt-funded projects in the City’s 10-year capital plan are approved. The City’s current internal debt limit is $307 million, with $220 million already approved for 12 ongoing or planned projects, leaving limited capacity for additional borrowing. The 10-year plan includes $339 million in future debt-funded projects, such as community amenities, road and transit improvements, police building expansions, and public works upgrades, which could push the City past its borrowing capacity. Exceeding the limit would require deferring about $200 million in projects between 2030 and 2034 until capacity is rebuilt. Factors contributing to the pressure include faster-than-expected population growth, higher expectations for infrastructure, reduced provincial funding, and rising construction costs. City Administration will present a revised capital plan to council during strategic planning sessions in February 2026, recommending which projects to prioritize or defer.
  
  
• Council voted against pausing the sale of 13 Mission Avenue, the site of the former Northern Alberta Business Incubator and historic Youville residential school, despite calls from Indigenous residents for meaningful consultation. The motion, brought forward by Councillor Amanda Patrick, failed 4-3. Indigenous speakers suggested the land could be preserved as a park, stressing the importance of including their voices in future development plans. Some Councillors raised concerns about defining “meaningful engagement" and noted that City policy only requires public input for redistricting, not land sales.
  
  
• Renovations have been completed on the old Hudson’s Bay space in St. Albert Centre, creating an opportunity for up to four smaller stores to move in. The 93,313-square-foot space has been vacant since Hudson’s Bay closed on June 1st, and the mall’s owner hired Ansept Construction to retrofit the area by removing nearly everything except the concrete and steel structure. Mall General Manager Jillian Creech said the space has attracted significant interest due to its prime location along St. Albert Trail, though details on the types of stores or their opening dates have not been announced. In addition, the mall plans to begin work next spring on installing 12 superchargers and six conventional electric vehicle chargers, a project announced last March. 

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

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