(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

NOV. 12 MEETING RECAP

Red Deer city council talks downtown governance, audit committees, and Zoning Bylaw amendments

Nov 13, 2024 | 4:54 PM

In their regular meeting Nov. 12, Red Deer’s city council got the ball rolling on potential future changes to the governance of downtown, the makeup of its Audit Committee, and approved a Zoning Bylaw amendment following a public hearing.

Downtown governance

Council voted unanimously to explore a shift in service delivery to the greater downtown area, in partnership with the Downtown Business Association (DBA), to address changing needs and challenges in the area.

Moving forward, terms of reference for a collaborative working committee and a timeline for implementing changes will occur before the end of 2024. The working committee, consisting of various greater downtown stakeholders, will then make recommendations on the issue and will be included in a report expected to come back to council in Q3 of 2025. This report is expected to inform the City and DBA’s 2026 budgets and/or proposed bylaw changes.

“It is the right time for this work,” commented Bobby-Jo Stannard, community development superintendent for the City. “We have an opportunity to explore downtown governance and work with community partners to proactively address the unique needs and challenges facing our greater downtown. Sustainability, innovation and engagement will all be key components of this work.”

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One factor the report will explore is the Business Improvement Area (BIA) levy, funds collected from downtown businesses by the City, which are then distributed to the DBA to provide services to the area.

“The businesses downtown are one of the number one drivers for our economic growth and for our operating budget as a city, so to burden them with the responsibility of paying for things that essentially the entire city uses is just antiquated, and it’s time for change,” said Brandon Bouchard, chair of the DBA. “We want to support our businesses and help them flourish as much as possible.”

Amanda Gould, DBA executive director, shared that cuts to provincial grants in lieu have reduced the organization’s revenue significantly, meaning it’s had less resources available to serve a quickly expanding part of the city. Compounding the revenue issue is the fact that the levy base can vary greatly year to year depending on changes to the business make up downtown, leading to an unstable and unpredictable budget.

The limited boundaries of the BIA and a lack of clarity in roles and expectations around this service delivery have also posed challenges, ,says the DBA.

Overall, the following outcomes have been named as priorities for addressing these challenges and shifting downtown governance:

1. Flexible and coordinated leadership
2. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities
3. Define sustainable funding opportunities for supporting downtown
4. Broaden scope to include the greater downtown area

Notice of motion

Council will consider adding two dedicated seats for citizen representatives to the City’s Audit Committee by early next year following a motion put forward by Coun. Bruce Buruma; the motion passed 8-1, with Coun. Dianne Wyntjes opposed.

The current makeup of the committee includes four spots: one for the mayor and three for councillors.

The motion directs adminstration to prepare an amendment to Bylaw No. 3576/2016 (The Committees Bylaw) to add two citizen representatives with relevant expertise to the committee by the end of Q1 2025 or earlier, which council will then vote on.

“It really does have an impact across all of our operations and therefore the composition needs to be such that it ensures success,” said Buruma in his closing remarks. “Community representatives, I believe, will add value to that; it provides broader perspectives, it answers different kinds of questions, it provides oversight, it adds local knowledge and expertise, and it supports transparency and accountability for that.”

Rationale for this bylaw update is directed to include a review of citizen representation on audit committees in other municipalities, as well as process, procedure, selection and recruitment criteria, and safeguards to ensure there are no conflicts of interest or risks to the city.

Wyntjes did propose an amendment to the motion that would have required adminstration to prepare and present a report to council regarding the change as an added formal step in the process.

“We don’t know what we don’t know in terms of some of the intricacies or challenges in other cities who have this committee. Let’s seek that out and be wise in our decision making,” she commented.

The amendment was defeated 6-3 with Wyntjes, Cindy Jefferies, and Mayor Johnston in favour. Councillors such as Victor Doerksen said the original motion already addressed these concerns by outlining what administration should include in the rationale, and saw this as an unnecessary extra step.

Public hearing

Council passed second and third reading of Bylaw 3357/UU-2024, an amendment to the Zoning Bylaw, unanimously after a public hearing.

The bylaw passed first reading on Oct. 15, 2024 and adds “Educational Institutions – Primary and Secondary” as a discretionary use to the following commercial zones:

• C-1A – City Centre West Commercial Zone
• C-2 – Multi-Neighbourhood Commercial Zone
• C-3 – Neighbourhood Commercial Zone
• C-4 – Major Arterial Commercial Zone
• C-5 – Mixed-Use Commercial Zone

The amendment was proposed to improve flexibility in the implementation of the bylaw and help external applicants with immediate development needs, the city said.

The previous definition for educational institution developments in commercial zones was described as not robust, putting an existing institution already operating in a commercial zone into legal non-compliance; this amendment rectified this issue.

There were no comments made by members of the public.