Weekly Round-up (Jan 31-Feb 4, 2022)

Another week flies by! A few highlights from my week were the community meetings with the Castle Downs Recreation Society, the Rossyln Community League, and the Crossroads Business Improvement Association.

Another week flies by! A few highlights from my week were the community meetings with the Castle Downs Recreation Society, the Rossyln Community League, and the Crossroads Business Improvement Association. It was so energizing to see the work that is happening on a local-level to make our communities and local economies strong. I also want to take this opportunity to remind folks that leagues and businesses have been impacted by the pandemic. If you don’t have one already, get your community league membership - there are so many benefits! Also, keep supporting local businesses - what local business do you love in the ward or Edmonton?

ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN RIVER VALLEY PARKS

Remember the pilot project from last summer? The pilot ran in summer 2021 and permitted alcohol consumption in several City parks with restrictions and guidelines. This week at Community and Public Services Committee the results of Alcohol in parks pilot were shared with Council. This led to fantastic dialogue! We heard from public engagement support from the project and also from folks concerned with alcohol use in parks. The discussion will continue at the Council meeting this coming Monday. What are your thoughts on allowing alcohol in parks?

PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING

This week at the Executive Committee I learned that the City is on track to open almost 500 permanent supportive housing units by the end of 2022! The Executive Committee approved the next steps for one of those projects! Using already existing infrastructure, this specific project has the goal of converting the Coliseum Inn into 98 permanent supportive housing units! I am proud to support this project and am pleased that the City was awarded nearly $11 million dollars from the Federal government for this project. This item will come before Council next week for final approval.

WASTE SERVICES CART ROLLOUT UPDATE

This week the cart roll out update was presented to the Utility Committee for information. I was pleased to see that the concerns about yard waste being pick up too early were listened to, and that those pick-ups will now be scheduled later in spring/ fall this year. Council will submit their questions on this report to Administration and will either receive information via memo or the discussion will be rescheduled.

As we head into the weekend, I want to remind all that as a community we need to work together as we face the challenges of covid-19. With news of the Trucker Convoy protesting in Edmonton this weekend, please stay safe.