Highlights from Monday’s meeting of Grande Prairie City Council

Grande Prairie City Council met on Monday. Highlights include the following:

• Council has endorsed sending two ideas for a new sports dome near where the old Leisure Centre currently sits to the public and other stakeholders for further consultation. One location is on a field north of the pickleball courts, east of the running track. The other is south of the pickleball courts where a ball diamond is currently located. The dome would run north and south in either case. The first idea would also include a northward extension of the current parking lot. The second would include a proposal for parking across the alley from houses near where the old Comp and Leisure Centre are currently sitting. Both facilities are being demolished.
• The City has made changes to its naturalization program. Council voted in favour of removing areas next to private residential properties and the south portion of 84 Avenue pilot from the Boulevard Naturalization Pilot Project. Residents had complained about fire safety and noxious weeds. Council also voted to accommodate FireSmart principles where possible in this project. That will include mowing areas of the ravine near Mission Heights where it is safe to do so. Residents had complained that not mowing in that area led to fire concerns, more wildlife, worries about the safety of children, and a decrease in property values.
• Council approved using $780,000 from a reserve fund to replace some of the roof at the Coordinated Care Campus. City administration says a 2021 report showed the roof over the part of the old Stonebridge Hotel where the rooms are located would need to be replaced in two to five years and doing so now would save some money.
• Council sent a funding request from Rising Above to fall budget talks. The ministry that helps people battling addictions is looking to build a new building near its current facility in the old Young Offenders Centre, located near the Composite High School. It is asking the City, County of Grande Prairie, and MD of Greenview to put a combined $1 million into the $5 million project. The building would allow the women’s housing to move onto the same site as the current location, plus add programming space. Rising Above will also launch its Rising Higher capital campaign on Friday in the Staples and Montana’s parking lot. Board member Dan Rigler will spend Friday through Sunday in the basket of a crane 150 feet above the ground to raise money for the new facility.
• A request for a 10.3 per cent increase in funding for 2024 and three per cent increase for 2025 from the Grande Prairie Public Library has also been referred to budget discussions. The total increases come to just over $172,300 for next year and just over $55,3000 for the year after. Officials from the library told council that staff numbers have steadily declined over the last 10 years by close to 10 full-time equivalents. They added that without an increase in funding, services will have to be reduced. Budget talks are set for November 15 to 17.
• Council heard a presentation from a group of 14 people representing the Peace Country Progressive Alliance. The delegation told council that they were worried that local governments do not care about queer kids. A 17-year-old presenter talked about the fear some kids have of being outed and that some already have been. They also called for a statement denouncing the ‘1 Million March for Children’, a protest held against the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity curriculum in schools. Council voted to receive the presentation for information.
• Council approved having the Activity and Reception Centre as the potential home for a new climbing wall. The city will work with the Grande Prairie Climbing Association on this idea.

Council’s next meeting is set for October 30.