Photo by Curtis Galbraith.

By Curtis Galbraith

City Hall

Letter from Health Minister among the highlights from Monday’s City Council meeting

Apr 19, 2021 | 7:40 PM

Highlights from Monday’s meeting of Grande Prairie City Council:

Letter from Health Minister Tyler Shandro:

In a letter to Council, Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro says ICU capacity at the QEII hospital has been “significantly higher” this year compared to a normal year.

The letter, which came following a request for more details about health capacity here in Grande Prairie during the COVID-19 pandemic, says while occupancy is usually between 75 and 85 per cent, it was at 93 per cent in December and 116 per cent in January.

The letter also says the highest occupancy was at 150 per cent during the peak of the second wave of COVID-19.

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The number of overall deaths (not exclusively COVID-19) recorded in Grande Prairie dropped to 332 in 2020 from 366 in 2019. Cancers, heart problems, and respiratory problems are the leading causes of death.

Council looking for reimbursement for vaccination clinic

Council has approved having Mayor Jackie Clayton write a letter to provincial politicians and officials, asking that the city be reimbursed for the cost of having the vaccination clinic in the Montrose Cultural Centre.

Clayton says the city is bearing the cost and that health care is a provincial responsibility. The city is paying for parking attendants, other workers, and having the space available.

Clayton says the city is happy to provide the space, but the total cost is not completely known.

She says the cost for the first round so far is in the area of $100,000.

Transfer of operational surplus:

After some discussion, Council decided what to do with the $2,369,000 surplus City Hall recorded for 2020. The money will go into the Future Expenditures Reserve, with some being allocated for various things.

There is $400,000 for the new recreation centre to be built in the Smith subdivision.

Another $521,000 is for some projects that may not be completely eligible for federal and provincial funding. There is $7-million worth of projects in this group, including that recreation centre, the new bike skills park in Crystal Park, and new trail linkages and bridges. The city will cover 20 per cent, other governments the rest, although some items may not be funded by those grants.

Another $200,000 will go towards a pre-feasibility study on energy systems for the Hughes Lake area. This would look at ways to provide electricity and heat for future industrial land in the area.

There was an idea to use another $600,000 to cover the cost of delaying the property tax deadline to August, but Council opted to use money from the Financial Stabilization Reserve instead.

GPS in taxis:

Council gave third and final reading to its new Vehicle for Hire Bylaw. Council approved adding a requirement that such vehicles come equipped with a GPS that comes with retrievable records that go back 30 days.