Red Deer Minute: Road Upgrades, City Manager, and Hospital Diversions Continue

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

This Week In Red Deer:

• City Hall will be quiet this week as there are no Council or Committee meetings scheduled.
  
  
• It’s road construction season in Red Deer. The Kin Kanyon parking lot is expected to be closed until June 20th while crews make improvements. Several other large projects are underway with $14.6 million in planned upgrades, most of which will require lane closures and bring about driving delays. The Taylor Drive micro-surfacing project, spanning from 77th Street to Kerry Wood Drive, and a pavement rehabilitation project from 22nd Street to Avery and Lees Streets, are the two largest.
  
  
• Opportunities for input on the permanent shelter location are still ongoing. Red Deer’s Mayor, Ken Johnston, says residents won’t be on the hook for additional shelter costs. He is optimistic that costs will not exceed the $7 million already allocated from the Province. Johnston’s biggest concern is the location, so be sure to make your voices heard.

Last Week In Red Deer:

• Alberta Health Services reported a total of 103 general surgery cases diverted from Red Deer Regional Hospital. What was called a “temporary” diversion has been ongoing for the last five weeks. The cause of the diversions is being reported as a shortage of clinical assistants needed to support the surgery program.
  
  
• A brand new grassroots school choice organization held an event in Red Deer as part of a 23-stop education tour. The Alberta Parents’ Union is an organization of Alberta parents advocating for the best possible education for all Alberta students - whether that be public, separate, francophone, alternative, charter, independent, or home education. A well-attended event took place on Saturday, and plenty of discussion was had about issues in the education system as well as potential solutions.
  
  
• A new City Manager was appointed in a unanimous vote at last week’s Special City Council meeting. After a nation-wide search that resulted in 40 people being interviewed for the role, Tara Lodewyk will begin her term on July 1st, 2022. She has been serving as the interim City Manager since the retirement of Allan Seabrooke in May of 2021.

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