City Manager Allan Seabrooke (rdnewsNOW file photo)

By rdnewsNOW staff

message to residents

City Manager shares update on Red Deer’s COVID-19 response

May 4, 2020 | 11:52 AM

City Manager Allan Seabrooke on Monday shared the following update to residents regarding The City of Red Deer’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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It’s been just over seven weeks since we activated our Emergency Operations Centre in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in our community. Much has happened in that time, and I would like to share with you what The City has been doing to protect residents, update you on the critical services we continue to provide, and shed some light on our plans for the future.

Protecting residents

The health and safety of our residents, employees and visitors continues to be our top priority. Consideration of the well-being of all residents is a driving force in the decisions we are making as we continue our local response to the pandemic.

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Here are just a few ways The City of Red Deer has amended operations to protect residents and staff, under the direction of Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health:

• One of the most significant changes came within our Recreation, Parks and Culture area with the closure of playgrounds, indoor and outdoor recreation facilities and the cancellation of programming. We know Red Deerians dearly miss these amenities, but these closures are critical to prevent the spread in our community.
• In mid-March, there was a phased closing of City offices and buildings, eventually resulting in many employees working from home by the end of the month. As a result, we quickly shifted our focus from in-person customer service to online or phone, and we continue to operate a call centre to answer all City-related questions.
• Within our Transit operations, we reduced transit frequency as we saw demand decrease by up to 60 per cent. We have also blocked certain seats to maintain physical distancing and have enhanced cleaning practices. And as last Friday, boarding and exiting of conventional buses is restricted to the rear doors to better enable physical distancing and provide increased protection for drivers.

We’ve also been working hard to implement measures to support residents and businesses who may be struggling financially throughout this pandemic:

• On March 19, we announced the option to defer water, sewer and waste collection utility bills until June 15, 2020.
• At the same time, we announced suspension of parking fees until further notice, which included metered parking and daily lots in the downtown, and metered parking near the hospital.
• Most recently, we announced the extension of Property and Business Improvement Area (BIA) tax deadlines to September 30.

In addition, we continue to support vulnerable populations. Working with the Government of Alberta and local partners, a temporary shelter space was set up to provide housing and social supports. The local state of emergency allowed us to set up this facility in just five days, which otherwise might normally take about six months. Our Emergency Social Services team continues to work with community partners in providing critical support for the homeless and other vulnerable groups.

Providing critical services

While many of our operations have changed, we continue to provide critical municipal services including water and wastewater services, waste collection, emergency response, electric utility infrastructure maintenance and road maintenance including street sweeping and pothole filling. This work ensures you as residents can continue to live their daily lives, but also ensures we are managing and protecting our infrastructure for the long-term.

Our employees are doing more than just keeping the city running; they are also working to ensure amenities are ready to welcome you when the time is right. Staff are continuing to perform essential facility maintenance, inspecting playgrounds, removing rink boards, sweeping trails and cleaning up winter litter and debris.

Looking ahead

While no one can predict when we will start to emerge from this crisis, it is still important to plan for the future. We want to be positioned for financial sustainability, we want to ensure our amenities and infrastructure are ready, and of course, we want to ensure our residents are safe.

We have had to make hard decisions today for a stronger financial future, which included making changes and adjustments to both our services and staffing. These decisions are exceptionally difficult, but necessary as we navigate the days ahead and plan for a time when we can return to providing the program and services residents want and need.

As I mentioned, we are busy preparing infrastructure and amenities for an eventual return to operations, but staff across the organization are also developing plans for how we will deliver program and services as the restrictions set out by Alberta Health change and evolve in the coming months. We know this will be a phased approach, and want to assure you that we will be prepared every step of the way.

We will continue to follow guidance provided by the Chief Medical Officer of Health, and will implement all necessary measures to ensure the health and safety of residents.

In closing, I want to sincerely thank all Red Deerians for your patience and understanding as we navigate this unprecedented time. There is no rulebook for this situation, and we have had to make some hard decisions. We know this has been difficult for everyone, and we aren’t at the finish line yet, but by working together we will emerge from this stronger and more resilient.