St. Albert Minute: Response Times, Continued Partnership, and a Remembrance Day Ceremony

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

This Week In St. Albert:

• The St. Albert Remembrance Day Ceremony will take place today at the St. Albert Cenotaph. The parade, starting at 10:40 am from the Royal Canadian Legion, will make its way to the Cenotaph, where the formal ceremony begins at 11:00 am. Attendees are advised to arrive early as the schedule is subject to slight changes.
  
  
• The Standing Committee of the Whole will meet on Tuesday at 9:30 am. The agenda includes a discussion about the Regional and Local Climate Adaptation Plans, as well as a refreshed policy to streamline the permitting process for events.
  
  
• Also on Tuesday, at 6:30 pm, there will be a meeting of the Policing Committee. The Committee will discuss the Canadian Association of Police Governance Summit.

Last Week In St. Albert:

• Council has voted to continue its partnership with Edmonton Global, a regional economic development organization. The decision comes after a review of the City’s involvement in the initiative, which aims to attract business investment and foster regional growth. Despite some debate on the effectiveness and costs of the partnership, Council members ultimately agreed that staying with Edmonton Global aligns with St. Albert's economic goals. Dues for Edmonton Global are about $240,000 per year and could increase to $290,000 per year in 2025. Five other municipalities, Strathcona County, Sturgeon County, Fort Saskatchewan, Devon, and Parkland County, voted to begin their withdrawal processes from the organization in 2023.
  
  
• The local firefighters' union, IAFF Local 2130, said that St. Albert's fire response times are currently the longest in the Edmonton region. The union urged Council to prioritize the construction of Fire Hall #4 in the city's northern area, saying it would help reduce response times to the national standard of six minutes and 20 seconds. Currently, the City aims for a nine-minute response time. The new fire hall would especially improve response times in areas like Jensen Lakes and Erin Ridge North.
  
  
• St. Albert Public Schools said they want a new school site in the growing north region of the city, citing rapidly increasing enrollment outpacing population growth. Trustee Kristi Rouse emphasized that local schools like Lois E. Hole Elementary and Joseph M. Denko Secondary are nearing or exceeding their capacity, with Denko already growing at the fastest rate in the district. Rouse highlighted the provincial government’s $8.6 billion accelerator fund as an opportunity to secure funding for the new school. She stressed that immediate action is needed to avoid losing provincial funding.

-----

Donate:

Common Sense St. Albert doesn't accept any government funding and never will. We think you should be free to choose, for yourself, which organizations to support. If you're in a position to contribute financially, you can make a donation here.

-----

Share:

If you're not in a position to donate, we understand, but if you appreciate our work, you can help by spreading our message. Please email this post to your friends, share it on Facebook or Twitter, and help make sure every resident knows what's really going on at City Hall.