Red Deer Minute: Budget Passed, Outdoor Rinks, and Polytechnic Funding Ask

Red Deer Minute: Budget Passed, Outdoor Rinks, and Polytechnic Funding Ask

 

Red Deer Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Red Deer politics

 

This Week In Red Deer:

  • This morning, there will be a City Council meeting at 10:30 am. The meeting will start with a closed (private) session where Council will discuss a land matter and receive a verbal update on the permanent homeless shelter. Once the meeting opens up to the public, there will be discussions around approving the Downtown Business Association’s (DBA) annual budget. Also on the agenda are bylaw amendments to increase utility charges as per the recent budget.

  • On Wednesday, the Municipal Planning Commission will meet at 9:00 am. On the agenda are three proposed pad sites for oil wells. While the City is not the approving authority for this project, there is an opportunity to provide an objection, which the City is not recommending.

  • Red Deer's outdoor rinks and ice surfaces are now open for the season! Did you know that Red Deer has 77 outdoor rinks in total? Only 76 are open this year though, as Anders storm pond is closed this year to help alleviate an unwelcome odour.

 

Last Week In Red Deer:

  • After six days of deliberations, the City of Red Deer passed the 2023-24 Capital and Operating Budgets. This includes a tax increase of nearly 9% over the next two years (4.61% in 2023 and 4.12% in 2024). This is not far from the initial ask from Administration but unfortunately doesn’t come with any improvements to City services. Many residents are having to do more with less right now, so why can't the City? Why do they think it's some kind of achievement to do the same with more?

  • Red Deer Polytechnic made a significant ask of the Provincial government. The institution is looking for $16 million in funding to expand their Centre for Innovation in Manufacturing (CIM-TAC). The Centre helps entrepreneurs and small businesses manufacture prototype ideas with equipment that the business would not otherwise have access to. The funding would go towards new equipment to significantly expand their capacity, beyond the 80 projects served in 2021.

  • Mark Oleson, the CEO of Westerner Park, announced that he will resign as of July 2023. His accomplishments include a new events management system, a new financial management structure, a partnership with the City of Red Deer, and the establishment of the Westerner Foundation.

 

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