Red Deer Minute: Chambers Reopen, Shelters Overloaded, and Union Agreement Finalized

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

This Week In Red Deer:

• There are no Council or committee meetings at City Hall this week. The next Council meeting will take place on July 18th. When meetings resume, members of the public will be able to attend in-person again, for the first time in two years. Meetings will still be live-streamed for those who prefer the virtual option.
  
  
• Red Deer's hot weather has returned and what better way to beat the heat than to visit one of the city's pop-up spray parks. The spray parks are the result of a partnership between Red Deer Emergency Services, Municipal Policing Services, and the Red Deer RCMP. The parks are expected to 'pop up' in the city every Thursday for the months of July and August, visiting eight neighbourhoods in total.
  
  
• If spray parks aren't your thing, adults can head down to the Ross Street Patio for a pint or two. According to the chair of the Downtown Business Association, the transition of the Ross Street Patio into an Entertainment District has been a great success. Do you agree? Have you had an opportunity to visit the Patio yet?

Last Week In Red Deer:

• The City of Red Deer has ratified a new collective agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 254, the union that represents 45 employees in the Electric Light and Power Department. The new agreement includes wage increases of 2.25% for 2022 and 2.5% for 2023.
  
  
• Local shelters have reached capacity limits in recent weeks while City Council continues to iron out all the details regarding a permanent shelter location. A site evaluation matrix approved last week provides direction for selecting the site, laying out five criteria, 22 sub-criteria, and the weighting assigned to each. Things like adequate land size, impacts to businesses, proximity to schools, and budgetary implications are being considered.
  
  
• Last week's weather had many on edge after a tornado was spotted east of Red Deer, near the village of Alliance. Red Deer was under a tornado watch as numerous small funnel clouds were spotted throughout the afternoon. Tornado warnings have since been downgraded, but in Alberta, we always need to be on the lookout for unexpected and severe weather.

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