Red Deer Minute: New Committee, Utility Governance, and Community Investment Day

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

This Week In Red Deer:

• On Tuesday, there will be a meeting of the Housing and Homelessness Integration Committee at 5:00 pm. The Committee will discuss the methodology for the 2024 Point-in-Time Count of people experiencing homelessness, as well as an update on urban encampment responses.
  
  
• The City of Red Deer's online registration platform, Look ‘n Book, will be temporarily unavailable due to software upgrades from today through to September 26th. During this time, online, in-person, and phone transactions for activities like program registrations, facility bookings, and payments will be disrupted. On September 24th, City facilities will only accept cash for a few hours as part of the upgrade process. Full access to the system will resume by September 26th.
  
  
• Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) will host events leading up to National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th. Events begin today with an Indigenous Flag Raising Ceremony and a screening of nanekawâsis, a documentary about nêhiyaw artist Dr. George Littlechild. Throughout the week, the RDP community will participate in learning opportunities like story-sharing sessions and arts and crafts, including designing Orange Shirt Day buttons. More information, including a schedule of events and locations, is available online.

Last Week In Red Deer:

• Red Deer’s Community Investment Day celebrated the contributions of arts, culture, sports, and recreation groups that received municipal grants in 2023. The event, formerly known as Agency Day, was rebranded to highlight the positive outcomes of Council’s investments while recognizing the collaborative efforts of community partners. City staff presented on behalf of the groups to provide consistent information and celebrate the community-wide impact of these investments. Council members engaged with the groups through presentations and a meet-and-greet session.
  
  
• Council once again explored the creation of a Municipally Controlled Corporation (MCC) to improve the management of the City’s electric utility. Council has directed Administration to include a placeholder for this governance structure in the 2025 budget plans. Although no final decision on the MCC was made, Council took steps to prepare for potential changes and modernization. A full debate on utility governance will take place in November, but discussions will continue in October.
  
  
• Council has approved the formation of an ad hoc committee to focus on economic prosperity and recommend a new governance model for economic development. The committee, consisting of up to 10 members from various sectors, will be nominated by November 2024 and is tasked with submitting a report by April 30th, 2025. Council aims to use the Committee's recommendations to shape the City's future economic development model by June 2025. The committee’s budget is set at $30,000.

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