(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

WEA, REPORTS, AND MUCH MORE

City council tackles full agenda in regular meeting

Dec 3, 2024 | 12:56 PM

A heavy agenda was set out for Red Deer city council Monday, including a housing development strategies report, changes to the Executive Limitations policy, and decisions around the Westerner Exhibition Association (WEA).

Regarding the WEA, council passed first reading of a bylaw amendment to an existing $19 million loan agreement that was initiated in September 2021, when the City paid out the WEA’s loan from CIBC for the exhibition hall at the grounds.

The amendment would suspend the interest and principal payments on the loan until directed to resume by city council, and was proposed in an effort to give the WEA time to achieve greater financial stability.

Second and third readings are expected to return to council in January 2025.

Council also received a report reviewing the Relationship Framework Agreement between the City and the WEA, which was signed in October 2021. The report communicated satisfaction by the city that the agreement is working as designed, with only minor updates identified for 2025 for clarity and practicality.

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Another report was made to council regarding housing asset development recommendations, which emphasized strategies to address affordable housing and homelessness challenges in the city.

Highlights of the report included prioritizing zoning and permitting processes, exploring financial incentives, identifying surplus land, and reducing barriers through regulatory changes, alongside new funding applications to boost housing supply and affordability.

Additionally, city council made changes to the Executive Limitations policies which guide the city manager’s directives in her efforts to meet council’s goals.

Councillor Victor Doerksen proposed the following two amendments to Council Policy EL-D-2.0 Financial Sustainability by adding to “…the City Manager will not allow:”

• Administration to use any reserves other than for their intended/specified purposes
• Administration to let financial reserves not be covered by specified financial assets

The amendments passed unanimously at 8-0, with Coun. Lawrence Lee absent.

Coun. Bruce Buruma said the amendments “aligned perfectly” with an outstanding motion he made during budget debate regarding a review of the Reserve Contribution and Utilization policy. He later withdrew the motion in question as he felt this move addressed those concerns.

City Manager Tara Lodewyk commented that regulations like these are commonplace and saw no issues in making the change from an administrative perspective.

In addition to Buruma’s withdrawn motion, there were four other motions from councillors to consider that had been postponed during budget debate last month.

• Coun. Chad Krahn proposed delineating the cost of RCMP services on tax bills; the motion was defeated.
• Coun. Buruma proposed an update to the Community Services Master Plan; this was postponed again and is expected to return in January 2025.
• Coun. Kraymer Barnstable put forward a motion related to reviewing the City Facilities Booking Policy; the motion was defeated.
• Coun. Krahn proposed improvements to the variance reporting format; this motion passed unanimously.

Krahn’s resolution directs the audit committee to enhance variance reporting by considering:

1. An improved reporting format: this could include historical comparisons with at least two prior years in each budget category, providing a detailed breakdown of variances by department, and incorporating a narrative section explaining the cause of significant variances and corrective actions taken.
2. Improved presentation: this asks that all variance reports, including quarterly updates, are presented to the full city council, in addition to the audit committee, for greater transparency and informed decision making.

Finally, city council approved postponing the Red Deer Recovery Summit Conference from Q1 to Q2 of 2025 as part of the consent agenda.

Two public hearings also took place in the evening.

First, city council passed second and third reading of ARP and Zoning Bylaw amendments to rezone a residential parcel from low density to medium density to encourage development. The parcel is across from a park and close to transit and the downtown area, which the city says makes it suitable for higher density than it was originally zoned for.

The city only received two notices of concern around the rezoning, both from residents outside a 100 m radius around the parcel. City officials said these concerns were regarding things like height and sight lines, which can be addressed in the development permit stage of the application.

Many community members showed up to share their thoughts on the second public hearing item regarding addiction recovery and homelessness initiatives.

Read the full story here: Council approves Zoning Bylaw amendments, sets stage for expanded detox and shelter downtown