Red Deer city council held their regular meeting on Monday focusing on various reports.
The following are council briefs for March 4:
RED DEER LOCAL IMMIGRANT PARTNERSHIP (LIP)
The City will no longer act as the funding organization for the Red Deer LIP for 2025-2030.
The LIP works to improve the integration of immigrants by strengthening the community’s ability to better address needs of newcomers. Their current fiscal agent is CARE for Newcomers.
In October 2023, the Central Planning Council of the Red Deer LIP requested the City of Red Deer take over the role, believing it would strengthen growth opportunities for the initiative, enhance their credibility and visibility, and increase access to mainstream institutions and economic stakeholders, among other benefits.
City administration would create a new grant-funded position in The City’s Community Development section to serve as the Red Deer LIP Coordinator.
READ: City collaborates as funding partner with Red Deer Local Immigration Partnership
However, on January 9 the City says they received a letter from Frank Bauer, Co-Chair of the RDLIP Central Planning Council, stating they retracted their decision.
Administration says a member of the Central Planning Council, who was absent from all previous meetings regarding the RDLIP fiscal agency change, came to the December 2023 meeting and expressed non-support. As the Central Planning Council works on a consensus model of decision making, they reversed their decision.
Administration instead provided CARE for Newcomers with a letter of support to seek funding in the 2024 National Call for Proposals to sustain ongoing initiatives of the RDLIP, by the February 1 deadline.
LAND USE BYLAW REPORT
City council accepted the “What We Heard & What We’re Recommending Report” presented by Administration as part of the Land Use Bylaw (LUB) Review Project.
READ: Red Deerians invited to influence changes to the Land Use Bylaw
The project, which aims to increase flexibility and adaptability in land development decisions by reducing unnecessary regulations, is in Phase 1 which focuses on public participation. The City says they consulted with more than 300 engaged citizens, 60 businesses/developers/realtors, 50 youth and 30 newcomers through numerous engagement opportunities from 2021 to 2023.
The City says the proposed LUB changes were well received by the public, with many providing feedback particularly on residential regulations for backyard and house suites, duplexes, mature neighbourhoods, building heights, tiny homes, mixed use / live-work use, and more.
The following components are being updated:
The LUB will return to council on March 18 for first reading.
COMMUNITY SERVICES MASTER PLAN
City council provided direction to begin work on a multi-year Community Services Master Plan in 2024.
The report was asked by council during the 2024 Budget this January as the current Master Plan is over 28 years old.
The document will include a suite of plans, focusing on recreation, community development, parks, and public works. It will also inform the allocation of future resources, capital amenities planning, asset maintenance priorities, future community partnerships, guiding principles, and more.
The plan is expected to cost $550,000 over two years and will be funded by sponsorship revenue of $250,000 as well as reallocated funding of $300,000 from within existing operational funding at the City Manager’s discretion. The City says they have received multiple sponsorships for various opportunities. After allocating all necessary funds r4equired for servicing these contracts, administration placed unallocated funds received as Deferred Revenue until an appropriate and timely use is determined.
The City says the sponsorship revenues were unexpected as they were received from previous work in negotiating sponsorships for various community amenities.
The project is expected to initiate around May 2024, with the help of external experts, and be completed by Fall 2025 in time for budget 2026.
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