Red Deer Minute: Canyon Coaster, Engagement Results, and the Shelter Short List

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

This Week In Red Deer:

• There will be a City Council Regular Meeting today at 10:30 am. There are several land use amendments on the consent agenda which will be dealt with at the beginning of the meeting. Then, Councillor Lawrence Lee will bring forward a notice of motion to direct the Mayor's Office to address major telecommunications providers about the fact that neighbourhoods in Northeast Red Deer have gone more than 10 years without adequate cellular phone coverage. There will also be an in-camera discussion about the permanent shelter site.
  
  
• Today, at 5:00 pm, there will be a meeting of the Public Art Commission. The meeting will be held in-camera to discuss an artist concept and budget for a pedestrian tunnel mural. On Wednesday, there will be a meeting of the Audit Committee at 1:00 pm. The Committee will receive the debenture report from June as well as the April variance report and reserve analysis. On Thursday, there will be a meeting of the Council Agenda Review Committee at 12:00 pm to provide a draft agenda for the August 29th Council Meeting.
  
  
• The City will be handing out gold stars to those who did a great job with their blue cart recycling. Nope, we’re not joking. Recycling Council of Alberta Ambassadors, post-secondary students hired to support waste reduction projects, will be snooping in your blue cart to look for offending items. If they find any styrofoam or plastic shopping bags, no gold star for you. You’ll get a reminder note about how to sort your waste properly instead. Next week, they'll be making sure you use the low-flush option on your toilet.

Last Week In Red Deer:

• The two-step review process for identifying a permanent shelter site has been completed and site-based information has been collected. Based on Council’s Site Evaluation Matrix, 96 potential sites were identified, and these have been narrowed down to 12. Council will discuss the list at today’s meeting, but site locations and information will not be shared publicly. A decision is expected by August 29th, though it could be delayed if additional information about the short-listed sites is required.
  
  
• More than 1,600 people participated in the "Shape your Red Deer, chart our community’s path to 2040" public engagement. From April 24th to June 10th, the City asked Red Deerians what they liked about the city as well as their long-term vision for Red Deer in the year 2040. Long-term wants identified were: access to nature, more free community events, and a vibrant, clean downtown. The data is being used to create Council’s 2022-2026 strategic plan, as well as the City’s Vision 2040 plan. The report on engagement findings can be viewed online.
  
  
• Alberta's first alpine "coaster", the Canyon Coaster, officially opened in Red Deer and has been a hit as Red Deerians have been lining up for their chance to experience the ride. The Coaster, which is located at Canyon Ski Resort, saw more than 500 rides on its opening weekend. It offers guests a 1.4 km ride that drops 134 meters along the route, at speeds controlled by the rider, up to a maximum of 40 km/hr.

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