Red Deer Minute: LiveBarn Launch, Homelessness Report, and No Trustee Byelection

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

This Week In Red Deer:

• Today, there will be a meeting of City Council. The meeting will begin at 10:30 am with a closed session to discuss an update on the permanent shelter. Once the meeting opens up to the public, Council will discuss the "End of Pilot Report" for the e-scooter pilot program, as well as whether or not to remove the "municipal reserve" designation from a former railway strip in Riverside Light Industrial Park. Council will also discuss the process for holding a Non-Statutory Public Hearing as they haven't held one in a while. There is one scheduled on February 15th to hear from the public regarding removing the Overdose Prevention Site. Second and Third Reading will be given to updates to the Emergency Services Department Fees and Charges Bylaw to allow for charges when events require these services on standby.
  
  
• On Tuesday, at 5:00 pm, the Red Deer & District Family and Community Support Services Board will meet. The Board will receive a report on the 2023 Year End Financials, which show a surplus of $136,733. There will also be a discussion regarding a regional project to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the Board, while the Central Alberta Poverty Reduction Alliance is requesting $100,000 for a campaign to "build support for a living wage among businesses". Why exactly should taxpayers be funding a political campaign? Surely Council has better things to spend our money on? If not - maybe they should give us our money back.
  
  
• The City’s recreation areas, pools, and community spaces are now open for booking for the fall 2024 and winter 2025 season. Community associations, sports partners, businesses, and the general public can submit requests for their meetings, league spaces, and special events.

Last Week In Red Deer:

• The Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce’s Task Force on Homelessness has completed its interim report and is seeking public feedback. To compile the report, the Task Force reviewed various municipal approaches to homelessness, conducted on-site visits to 17 agencies supporting individuals facing homelessness, and interviewed government officials, social sector agencies, and community members involved in social services or homelessness initiatives. Red Deerians can read the report and provide feedback online until February 16th. Recommendations will be made to Council in April.
  
  
• The City has announced that it will be participating in LiveBarn, a subscription service allowing people to watch events at four local arenas - Servus Arena, Collicutt Centre, G.H. Dawe Community Centre, and Kinsmen Community Arenas. Users can also watch events live or on demand for 30 days from any LiveBarn-installed venue across the United States and Canada. 
  
  
• The Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools Board of Trustees unanimously voted against holding a byelection to fill the vacant seat left by former trustee Monique LaGrange. The Board said that the byelection would cost almost $100,000. As our friends at the Alberta Parents’ Union have pointed out, the City of Red Deer will soon be holding a by-election to fill a vacancy after the death of Councillor Dawe, so a by-election for Red Deer Catholic could easily take place at the same time to save money. In fact, the APU has started a petition demanding that parents receive representation.

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