Airdrie Minute: Issue 132

Airdrie Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Airdrie politics

📅 This Week In Airdrie: 📅

• Council will meet tomorrow at 1:00 pm, and one of the items on its agenda is a new policy that would allow alcohol to be sold and consumed at Ron Ebbesen Arena during approved ticketed events. Alcohol service in the arena is currently restricted to the upstairs lounge area. Administration drafted the policy after receiving a request for alcohol service at designated ticketed events, and claims it can be put in place in a way that meets regulatory, operational, safety, and liability requirements. Under the policy, the licence holder for each event, not City Staff, would be responsible for serving liquor, verifying ages, monitoring consumption, and providing security, and would need a City-approved operating plan before service begins. The City could also require changes to an event's security arrangements. Administration expects no direct budget impact, with the costs of licensing, security, insurance, and event operations falling to the approved operator.
  
  
• Council's agenda also includes ratifying a letter of support Mayor Heather Spearman signed on September 28th for Big Hill Haven's application for $500,000 in provincial funding. The money, from the Government of Alberta's Emergency Family Violence Services Grant Program, would establish Big Hill Haven's Shelter Without a Shelter service in Airdrie for 12 months. The service, which the organization has delivered in Cochrane for five years, would offer outreach, risk assessment, safety planning, court support, and short-term safe residential options in the community for adults and families experiencing family violence. The model's long-term goal is to combine short-term accommodation in community-based units with intensive outreach, so families can stay connected to their schools and supports. Council is also being asked to ratify a second letter, supporting Accueil Francophone de Rocky View County et d'Airdrie's application for provincial funding for an infant and child development initiative.
  
  
• Council will receive verbal update on the acquisition of a replacement event structure for the Airdrie Festival of Lights Society. On September 15th, Council approved up to $200,000 from the General Operating Reserve to support the Society's purchase of the structure, which the Society said it needs for the continued operation of the Festival of Lights. The funding is subject to a funding agreement satisfactory to the City's financial and legal services, with any City contribution to be paid directly to the supplier the Society identified. That motion carried 5-1, with Councillor Simisola Obasan opposed.
  
  
• The Province announced that it will seek private-sector proposals this fall for high-speed rail from downtown Calgary through Red Deer to downtown Edmonton, including service to Airdrie and both cities' international airports. The announcement did not say where Airdrie passengers would board, how often trains would run, or what form service to the city would take. Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen said the project's cost and the size of any provincial contribution are still unknown, though the Province expects the winning proposal to require minimal financial investment by the Alberta government. The Province's Passenger Rail Master Plan estimated $38 billion in construction and vehicle costs for a broader higher-speed Edmonton-Calgary network, with an accuracy range of plus 100% to minus 50%, but that figure is not an estimate for the project announced. The same plan found that portions of highways through Airdrie lack the right-of-way to carry passenger rail without significant community impacts. No federal funding was committed, although the project will be referred to the federal Major Projects Office. Premier Danielle Smith said proponents are expected to propose their own timelines, but that she believes the roughly 350-kilometer line could be built "a lot faster than 2035".
  
  
• An Airdrie-backed resolution calling for a portion of provincial budget surpluses to fund municipal infrastructure passed with 90.7% support at the Alberta Municipalities convention in September, after Mayor Heather Spearman presented it. Airdrie, Leduc, Lethbridge, Cochrane, and Okotoks moved the resolution, which asks Alberta Municipalities to push the Province for a framework directing part of each surplus to critical municipal infrastructure, with projects prioritized by need and readiness for construction. It did not name a percentage, though its supporting material used a 25% allocation as an example, which would turn a $1-billion surplus into $250 million for municipal infrastructure. Spearman said the resolution answers a challenge from Premier Danielle Smith for municipalities to suggest how extra provincial funds could support infrastructure, noting that municipalities own and maintain about 60% of the province's roads, pipes, and other infrastructure. She said Airdrie has more than $1 billion in capital projects planned over the next 10 years, not all of which may proceed on the current timeline because of funding constraints. Among them are roads and underground infrastructure for the city's new health-care facility, work tied to its new recreation facility, and potential grade separations at Canadian Pacific railway crossings. The vote does not create a funding program or guarantee any money for Airdrie.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

The Province is seeking private-sector proposals for high-speed rail between Calgary and Edmonton, with a stop somewhere in Airdrie. Would you use high-speed rail if it offered regular service between Airdrie, Calgary, and Edmonton?

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