Red Deer Minute: Vaccine Reprimands, Transit Disruptions, and Transitional Housing Approved

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

This Week In Red Deer:

• There is a City Council meeting today at 10:00 am. Council will begin this meeting in-camera to discuss a land issue before reverting back to an open meeting where they will give first and second reading to several bylaws, including first reading to the Council Immunization Policy Bylaw. Council will also have a public hearing regarding land use bylaw amendments and a development permit for a continued temporary care facility at the Cannery Row location.
  
  
• On Wednesday, there will be a meeting of the Audit Committee at 1:00 pm. At this meeting, Council is set to receive a number of reports, including a debenture report and a report on the 2021-2022 Audit Committee Work Plan. Interestingly, the debenture report shows the total balance of debentures on December 31st, 2021 to have been $300 million.
  
  
• Red Deerians who rely on the City’s transit system should plan for possible service disruptions this week due to a steep increase in illnesses among staff. These disruptions are expected to continue in the weeks ahead with the City citing increased difficulty in differentiating cold symptoms from COVID-19.

Last Week In Red Deer:

• A small number of employees who are not complying with the City’s vaccination mandate have been reprimanded. In the fall, the City gave all of its employees the choice to either get fully vaccinated or pay for their own rapid antigen testing in order to stay on the job. The City announced early last week that it's now dealing with less than 10 employees who have made the decision not to comply with the mandate. Under the non-compliance portion of the policy, employees are subject to disciplinary action, including dismissal.
  
  
• Council unanimously approved a six-month transitional housing pilot project that hopes to assist some of the most vulnerable in getting off the streets. The project is anticipated to start sometime in the first quarter of 2022 with the aim of diverting at least 35 people away from local shelters and into transitional homes. A total of $587,000 has been set aside for the project, with funds coming from a provincial grant.
  
  
• A site originally used as a City of Red Deer Parks facility, now being used as storage, is being considered as a potential location for a permanent emergency shelter. The vision for the future location would involve the demolition and replacement of the current structure with a purpose-built shelter. Public consultation regarding rezoning will begin in the next few weeks.

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