Red Deer Minute: Holiday Giving, Garage Fire, and Affordable Housing Projects

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

This Week In Red Deer:

• On Tuesday, at 6:00 pm, there will be a meeting of the Housing and Homelessness Integration Committee. The meeting will begin with the election of a Chair and Vice-Chair. The Committee will then receive updates from the Housing and Homelessness Supports Team and the Lived Experience Council.
  
  
• If you’re in the giving spirit, there are many Red Deer charities in need of a little extra help this holiday season. Trinity Church, also known as The Centre, is looking for new or gently used winter clothing, the Humane Society needs some essential equipment, and the Red Deer Food Bank needs donations to help fill their shelves.
  
  
• The Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce is hoping the federal government won't appeal the recent court decision that rejected the ban on single-use plastics. The Chamber, emphasizing the economic importance of plastics manufacturing in Central Alberta, urged the government not to appeal and remove plastics from the toxic substances list.

Last Week In Red Deer:

• The Province announced funding of $16 million for affordable housing projects and organizations. This funding, part of the 2023 provincial budget, will support the reopening of 100 units and preventative maintenance for 300 more units. The money aims to address repair and maintenance projects such as window replacements, roof fixes, and improvements to interior environments. Locally, Bridges Community Living will receive $400,000 and the Red Deer Housing Authority will receive $500,000. The funding will go toward a new dining room floor at Pines Lodge, door and frame painting at Parkvale Lodge, and hallway and common area flooring in Barret Place, among several other projects.
  
  
• A 911 call reporting an explosion turned out not to be an explosion at all, but a fire that destroyed a detached garage in West Park. An investigation is ongoing into the source of the fire, with the focus on examining an overhead heater and a wood-burning appliance. The fire department said they have no reason to believe that anything suspicious occurred. Good reminder to ensure your appliances are functioning properly!
  
  
• It was announced that Red Deer’s Lowes will be converted into a RONA+. The Lowes store on the south end of the city was constructed in 2018. It will join the other RONA store on the north side of the city, which itself was originally a Totem Building Supplies before rebranding in 2016.

-----

Donate:

Common Sense Red Deer doesn't accept any government funding and never will. We think you should be free to choose, for yourself, which organizations to support. If you're in a position to contribute financially, you can make a donation here.

-----

Share:

If you're not in a position to donate, we understand, but if you appreciate our work, you can help by spreading our message. Please email this post to your friends, share it on Facebook or Twitter, and help make sure every Red Deerian knows what's really going on at City Hall.