Citycouncil
Prp-Palestine protestors were ousted from UofA by City Police shut down their gathering. Not to be deterred some of the protestors moved to Churchill Square and outside City Hall. A group then moved indoors to attend council’s meeting at 1:30 p.m. and met a stronger security presence than usual.
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi pleaded with the chamber after several requests to the gallery to remain quiet after they interjected verbally, snapped their fingers to show support, or scoffed at responses they disliked.The protesters seemed mostly concerned with the way Edmonton Police broke up the UofA protest.
After notices were sent to the owner of the building were ignored City Council voted to demolish Dwaynes Home on April 23 at an estimated cost of $4 to $5 million dollars. The building located at 102nd Street and 100th Ave has a long history and a number of deaths have occurred at that site.
Sherry Schluessel, of ProCura Real Estate Services Ltd., the authorized agent wrote in an email that numerous proposals, including suggestions for tax abatements to offset higher costs of financing, and to bring the taxes current. Schluessel also thought the City's estimate of $4 million for demolition was was too high for they had been quoted a much lower cost of $1.4 million.
What the cost of demolition will be and when it will take place is up to the City.
A growing discontent with the City's spending priorities and rising tax rates is fueling discontent amongst the electorate to giving rise "tax freeze" candidates and possibly a "tax freeze party" for the 2025 election. Until then the electorate need to remind the current council of their dissatisfaction at every opportunity. (see poll)
What started out as a 6.6 % increase in the fall, earlier in April we were led to think the 6.6% had grown to become 8.7%. Tuesday it became official that the increase would not be 8.7% as previously thought, but a whopping 8.9%. The City says the tax dollars will help pay for more services, including the new metro line to NAIT, increased bus service, and a bigger homeless camp response. The aforementioned are big ticket items, hopefully we get fuller details of the budget.
The 8.9% increase amounts to about $66.00 for every $100,000 in assessed property value. The table below gives you a picture of what the 8.9% increase will mean to your already high tax burden. Tax notices including the 8.9% increase will be mailed to property owners on May 23 and taxes will be due June 30.
Property Value 8.9% Increas
$100,000 = $66.00
$200,000 = $132.00
$300,000 = $198.00
$400,000 = $264.00
The Blatchford development was touted to be a showcase "green" development site but has not lived up to its initial hype and has become a real drain on Edmonton taxpayers. Projections were that nearly 3,000 homes built would be built by this time and to date there are only 84. This is in spite of the city already spending more than $200 million on Blatchford. Lorne Gunter lists a Its number of reasons why Blatchford does not appeal to home buyers and why it the city should look count their/our losses and offload it at a "white elephant" sale.
The largest makeover to zoning bylaws since 1960 is being considered by city council. A public hearing on the rezoning is scheduled for October 16th. Supporters have scheduled a social event for September 25th for the purpose of equipping people to speak in favor at the public hearing .
City council begins the difficult task of juggling the budget today and there are many difficult decisions they wil have to make in the process.
On Monday City Council voted to go ahead with a regional transit plan which will go into effect next year without knowing how much that commitment will cost. The latest estimate was $7.2 million for the first phase but a more exact figure won't be finalized until the fall budget is approved. Monday's vote was intended to demonstrate Edmonton's commitment to regional transit.
Monday's vote was not unanimous and in addition to the City Councillors who voted against plan Edmonton’s transit union called the regional transit plan flawed” and pointed out the city’s admission last week that efficiencies initially thought to come from the plan are no longer there.
Many unaddressed concerns remain with regards to a gondola crossing from downtown to old Strathcona will be under discussion at Wednesday's city council meeting.
#citycouncil, #Do you think City Council needs more time to deliberate the issues regarding the Prairie Sky Gondola proposal? , #proposal
In response to multiple speakers who called upon City council to make Edmonton a safer city part of the plan is for Edmonton Police Service to apply a new strategy. This is the beginning of fulfilling Edmonton's lofty goal of becoming the safest city in Canada by 2030
- There is only one meeting at City Hall this week. The Agenda Review Committee will meet Tuesday at 9:00 am, and these meetings are generally scheduled for just 30 minutes. Council will then take the rest of the week off. Just because they’re on a break doesn’t mean we will be, though. Hopefully, we will have some exciting news in your inbox this week!
- The weather is warming up and, on Saturday, the Spring Festival will take place at Manchester Square. Come with the kids and enjoy food trucks, lawn games, live music from local bands, and more. We are excited it’s no longer winter and we can have in-person events again. This event is free, but there will be items available for purchase from a variety of vendors as well as a beer garden.
- Starting May 1st, the alcohol in parks pilot project will begin again, this time with expanded locations. Between the hours of 11:00 am and 9:00 pm, people will be able to drink at 124 picnic sites in 18 different parks. While we’re happy to see people being treated more like adults, you will still be unable to walk around the park with your beverage. Why make this so bureaucratic?
