By Curtis Galbraith

City Hall

Highlights from Monday’s meeting of Grande Prairie City Council

Dec 14, 2021 | 6:00 AM

Highlights from Grande Prairie City Council’s last meeting of 2021 held Monday night.

Fire Hall

Council has voted in favour of putting the old downtown fire hall up for sale for a second time. A Request for quotations to find a realtor will go out through the Grande Prairie Association of Realtors. The appraised value of the building is $1.2 million. The building is currently home to the city’s Community Social Development and Parks developments. Technical Search and Rescue also has space there.

Parks and TSR would relocate to a new location being built in south Grande Prairie. Community Social Development would move to the Coordinated Care Campus which is going where the Stonebridge Hotel used to be.

The city had put the building on 102 Avenue up for sale in the summer of 2017 but cancelled a Request for proposals in early 2018 saying at the time the sale was not in the best interest of the city. Two buyers had come forward.

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Oct 02, 2024

Budget 2022

Council has officially approved the 2022 capital and operating budgets. There is a 1.16 per cent property tax increase. The proposed increase was at 1.55 per cent at the start of budget deliberations on December 2.

Council voted to cut the total salary budget by $500,000 and delay some projects. It also added in $500,000 to support the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital’s Key to Care campaign.

Grande Prairie Residental Society

Council has asked administration to study the financial impact of a request from the Grande Prairie Residential Society. The group has asked to have its name added to the title for Margaret Edgson Manor.

Society board member Dale Williams told council this would make it easier for the group to borrow money as it was looking to get involved in another project. That would be a new 160 suite building in Grande Prairie which would include some barrier-free housing. Williams says the mortgage is nearly paid on Margaret Edgson (EDSON) Manor.

New lights

Council had voted in favour of covering the maintenance cost and wave development fees for a new idea from the Downtown Association. The DTA wants to install 22 banded poles with the words City Centre written in LED lighting along the entrances to the core.

Administration says the fees would cost around $1,000 and maintenance, including the cost of the power, $6,000 to $8,000 annually. The Association says it needs the city’s support for a grant application. Administration needs to figure out a funding source. Mayor Jackie Clayton suggested a reserve fund.

Grant funding

Council has voted to re-allocate some grant funding that had gone unused because of COVID. This includes $40,000 in Large Scale Tourism Event Funding going into a Sport Hosting Grant for 2022-23. Another $40,000 in Arts Development Funding will be put towards Festival Funding in 2022 while $30,000 in Neighbourhood Association Funding will not be put towards what the city calls Community Building Opportunities, also in 2022.

Administration says the Sport Hosting Grant would be for events coming to the city that don’t qualify for Large Scale Tourism grants. The maximum grant per group would be $5000. The $30,0000 would go towards things that include replacing aging neighbourhood banners and grants for Neighbour Day activities.

Council corrected a mistake from its November 29 meeting. It had approved a $4,123 grant for the Highland Park Neighborhood Association under the city’s Community Improvement Grant Funding. The grant was supposed to be for the Swanavon Neighbourhood Association.