By Curtis Galbraith

City Hall

City Council highlights from Monday’s meeting

Nov 3, 2020 | 6:00 AM

Highlights from Monday’s Grande Prairie City Council meeting:

Council has officially added the trigger for when the Temporary Mandatory Face Covering (Mask) Bylaw would be deactivated. It has added the part of the law saying it will no longer be in place when the combined active COVID-19 case count in the City and County of Grande Prairie drops below 100 for 14 consecutive days. City Hall had been saying this was the case all along, but it was not officially part of the bylaw before Monday’s meeting. The old trigger had been that the City was no longer under a provincial watch status.

The MD of Greenview has written a letter to the city saying it would be going ahead on its Tri-Municipal Industrial Partnership idea on its own. This would see an industrial area established south of Grande Prairie in the MD. It had been a joint venture where the City and County would share any municipal tax revenue the facility would generate. It had been put on pause earlier this year. The letter from Greenview says in September, the TMIP Committee had “pointedly asked” how this would go ahead. That letter adds that Greenview appreciates all the work the city had put in and returned seed money the city had contributed. Specific reasons for this decision were not included in the letter.

Council has approved an idea to allow businesses impacted by the plan next year to do Phase 4 of the Downtown Rehabilitation and Streetscape project to get a grant of up to $200,000 to improve the part of their business that faces the back alley. Work on Phase 4 is expected to start in the spring. This will take place on 100 Avenue between 98 and 100 Streets. The road will be dug up so water and sewer lines can be upgraded. The road, sidewalks, curbs, and the aesthetics of the street would also be improved.

Council has asked administration to bring some ideas forward about an accessibility grant program for downtown businesses to a future committee meeting. A delegation from the local Accessibility Advisory Committee had asked about having something similar to the Facade Improvement Program that would allow for para-ramps from sidewalks into places like stores and banks.

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Council has granted an extension to the Sunrise House Youth Emergency Shelter to raise some more money for its new facility. Earlier this year, the city said it would kick in $500,000 if 75 per cent of the needed funds were in place by the end of this year. A delegation from the shelter told council that so far, 62 per cent of the money was in place, with a contribution from the MD of Greenview expected to kick that up to 67 per cent. Council has approved an extension to June 30, 2021.

Council approved the idea of having the South Peace Regional Archives relocate to the Heritage Discovery Centre no sooner than 2023. The Heritage Discovery Centre is in the basement of Centre 2000. The Archives is currently located in the Grande Prairie Museum and is in need of more space.

Council has directed Administration to come up with new rules around secondary suites as requested by BILD Grande Prairie, the local branch of the Canadian Home Builders Association. This would allow for more suites to be developed, but there would be restrictions. Those include limiting these suites to houses located on corner lots, lots that are across from empty land like a public utility lot, and ones that are across the street from commercial, industrial, or high-density housing with their own parking. Crowded street parking, snow clearing, and garbage hauling have been issues in neighbourhoods with a higher density of secondary suites.

Council voted to accept for information a request from a delegation from the Veterans Memorial Gardens. A spokesperson has asked for funding help for a guard shack that would allow it to have up to nine patrols a night from a new Citizens on Patrol Group. The memorial has been a target for vandals and people looking to drink and use drugs, according to the representative. Council says it wants a chance to talk more with the people in charge of the memorial.

The 2019 tax recovery sale has been set for March 19, 2021, at City Hall. At this point, 238 properties have not paid all of their property taxes for 2019. Councillor Kevin O’Toole says a lot of these tax bills are usually paid before sale time.

Council approved the first seven members of the Youth Advisory Council. The group has room for up to 12 people. Mayor Bill Given is encouraging any young people interested to apply through City Hall. Given calls this group a chance for young people to get involved and an important tool for city engagement.