Photo by Curtis Galbraith

By Curtis Galbraith

City Hall

Highlights from Monday’s meeting of Grande Prairie City Council

Mar 12, 2024 | 6:00 AM

Besides the stormwater utility idea, there were several other things discussed at Grande Prairie City Council’s meeting Monday. Those included the following:

Bear Creek Folk Festival funding

Council approved a total of $80,000 in funding for the 2024 edition of the Bear Creek Folk Festival. That will include $50,000 from the City’s Sponsorship Fund plus another $30,000 from council’s strategic reserve fund.

Festival organizers had applied for $80,000 from the Sponsorship Fund, but council recently approved changes that capped the amount one event can get from that fund at $50,000.

Organizers also say ticket sales and volunteer sign-ups are already at the level normally seen in July.

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Seasonal Sorrow

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Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

Council also approved motions to have administration report back on the possibility of the city buying things like tents, stages, and fencing that could be rented out to community events and to look at connecting the Borstad Hill area in Muskoseepi Park to electricity, rather than bringing in generators for events.

Priority list

Council approved its priority list; things it wants to push other governments to have in Grande Prairie.

Key priorities include: electricity distribution costs, more hospital care supports like a proposed catheterization lab, more funding for medical response, federal and provincial money for housing, and support for Northwestern Polytechnic.

Other priorities on the list include improved rail service, provincial changes to photo radar and having immigration biometric scanning brought here. Currently, immigrants who come to Grande Prairie have to travel to Edmonton for screening of things like documents.

Downtown budget approval

Council approved the 2024 budget for the Business Improvement Area, better known as downtown. The total budget of $302,500 is the same as last year.

It includes $51,000 for beautification and $10,000 for special events with the rest for administration, salaries, promotion and member affairs.

Grant funding

Council also approved a total of $67,500 in grant funding.

That includes the following:

• Festival Funding
  • Grande Prairie Boys Choir in the amount of $14,000
  • Grande Prairie & District Music Festival Association in the amount of $5,000
  • GP International Street performers Festival Association in the amount of $14,000
  • The Centre for Young Parents in the amount of $14,000
  • The Centre for Creative Arts in the amount of $7,500
  • The Troyanda Society of Ukrainian Culture and Heritage in the amount of $11,250
• Arts Development Operational Funding
  • The Grande Prairie Music Society in the amount of $5,000
  • The Peace Region Independent Media Arts Association in the amount of $5,000
  • The Centre for Creative Arts in the amount of $5,000
  • The GP Artists Guild in the amount of $3,000
• Sport Hosting Grant Funding to the Grande Prairie Curling Centre in the amount of $1,000

New mental health doctor

Mayor Jackie Clayton told council about a meeting with a psychiatrist thinking about coming to Grande Prairie, adding that the doctor later signed papers to do just that.

The city says it has met with ten doctors thinking about coming to Grande Prairie and shown them around the city. Nine of the ten have now agreed to relocate here.