Minutes for City Council April 23, 2002 Meeting

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City Council

Meeting Minutes1

April 23/24, 2002

CITY COUNCIL MINUTES

Tuesday, April 23, 2002
Wednesday, April 24, 2002

PRESENTB. Smith; B. Anderson, J. Batty, A. Bolstad, T. Cavanagh, E. Gibbons,
R. Hayter, L. Langley, K. Leibovici, S. Mandel, J. Melnychuk, M. Phair, D. Thiele.

ALSO IN ATTENDANCE:

A.B. Maurer, City Manager.

D.H. Edey, City Clerk.*

A. Sinclair, Office of the City Clerk.*

* Attended part of the meeting.

A.CALL TO ORDER AND RELATED BUSINESS

A.1.CALL TO ORDER

Mayor B. Smith called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m.

Councillor B. Anderson was absent.

OPENING PRAYER

Reverend Stephen Kristenson, Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, led the assembly in prayer.

Councillor B. Anderson entered the meeting.

A.2.ADOPTION OF AGENDA

MOVED M. Phair – T. Cavanagh:

That the City Council Agenda for the April 23, 2002 meeting be adopted with the addition of the following items:

E.1.m.Investment Risk Minimization Strategies – IN PRIVATE.

E.1.n.KPMG’s Audit Report Related to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

E.1.o.City of Edmonton 2001 Consolidated Financial Statements.

E.1.p.Provincial Urban Strategy – Legal Considerations.

E.1.q.Memorial Ceremony for Fallen Soldiers – To be dealt with as the first item.

carried

FOR THE MOTION:B. Smith; B. Anderson, J. Batty, A. Bolstad, T. Cavanagh, E. Gibbons, R. Hayter, L. Langley, K. Leibovici, S. Mandel, J. Melnychuk, M. Phair, D. Thiele.

A.3.ADOPTION OF MINUTES

MOVED M. Phair – J. Batty:

That the Minutes of the April 3, 2002 City Council Public Hearing meeting; April 8, 2002 Special City Council Public Hearing meeting and April 9, 2002 City Council meeting, be adopted.

carried

FOR THE MOTION:B. Smith; B. Anderson, J. Batty, A. Bolstad, T. Cavanagh, E. Gibbons, R. Hayter, L. Langley, K. Leibovici, S. Mandel, J. Melnychuk, M. Phair, D. Thiele.

B.1.URGENT MATTERS - PROTOCOL ITEMS

B.1.a.Jim Fleming, President, Canadian Soccer Association (D. Thiele).

Councillor D. Thiele, on behalf of City Council, congratulated Jim Fleming, President, Canadian Soccer Association, on becoming the first Canadian to be inducted into the Hall of Fame for CONCAF, the Soccer Federation that covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.

B.1.b.Government Finance Officers Association’s Award (B. Smith).

Mayor B. Smith, on behalf of City Council, recognized the excellent work of the Finance Branch in producing the 2000 Annual Report, which supports Edmonton’s image as a large, well run corporation. For the past eight years the Government’s Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada has presented the City of Edmonton with the Canadian Award for Financial Reporting. The aim of this award is to encourage governments to publish high quality understandable financial reports. The City of Edmonton’s financial statements consistently do that. Mayor B. Smith presented R. Rosychuk and
D. Anderson with the award.

B.1.c.2002 World Curling Champions (B. Smith).

Mayor B. Smith congratulated Randy Ferbey, Scott Pfifer, Marcel Rocque,
Dan Holowaychuk and David Nedohim, the 2002 World Curling Champions to City Council. This talented team won the 2002 World Curling Championship in Bismark, North Dakota, beating the current Olympic Champions to win the title.

Mayor B. Smith, on behalf of City Council, presented each team member with an award and a gold vest.

B.1.d. Canadian Soldiers in Afghanistan (B. Smith).

Mayor B. Smith, on behalf of City Council, extended condolences to the families of the four soldiers killed in Afghanistan and the military community as a whole. Their families can take pride in the fact that these young men, together with their injured comrades, served Canada with honour.

A minute of silence was held to honour the memories of Sergeant Marc Leger, Corporal Ainsworth Dyer, Private Richard Green and Private Nathan Smith.

Mayor B. Smith, on behalf of City Council, acknowledged the letter of condolence received from M.L. Ernst-Fonberg, Jonesborough, TN, U.S.A.

B.1.e. Welcome to Students from Bishop Greschuk School (B. Smith).

Mayor B. Smith, on behalf of City Council, welcomed the three classes of Grade 6 students from the Bishop Greschuk School and their teachers Mr. Tarulli, Mr. Esch, Mrs. Tevenuik and Mrs. Dupuis.

B.2.EXEMPTIONS AND VOTE ON ALL OTHER ITEMS

MOVED T. Cavanagh – J. Batty:

That items E.1.c., E.,1.d., E.1.e., E.1.f., E.1.g., E.1.h., E.1.k., E.1.l., E.1.n., E.1.o., E.1.p., E.1.q., F.1.a., F.1.b., F.1.c., G.1.a., G.1.b., G.1.d., and the in private item E.1.m. be exempted for debate; and

D.3.STATUS OF REPORTS

D.3.a.City of Edmonton Council Team Building Session Report.

E.REPORTS RELATED TO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MATTERS

E.1.a.Appointment of New Board Member to the Downtown Business Association’s 2002 Board of Directors. 

E.1.b.Appointment of New Board Member to the Alberta Avenue Business Association’s 2002 Board of Directors. 

E.1.i.Notice of Intention to Designate the Parkview Apartments, 10612-97 Avenue and Foote Residence, 9704-106 Street as a Municipal Historic Resource. 

1. That the City Clerk be authorized to serve a Notice of Intention to Designate as a Municipal Historic Resource (Attachment 1 of the March 20, 2002 Planning and Development Department report) to the owner of the properties occupied by the Parkview Apartments, 10612-97 Avenue and the Foote Residence, 9704-106 Street in accordance with Section 26 of the Historical Resources Act.
2. That the General Manager of Planning and Development Department be hereby appointed to implement matters arising from the issuance of the Notice of Intention to Designate the Parkview Apartments and the Foote Residence.
3. That funding of $175,000 for this project be provided from the Heritage Reserve Fund.

E.1.j.Notice of Intention to Designate the Cecil Burgess Residence located 10958 – 89 Avenue as a Municipal Historic Resource. 

F.REPORTS RELATED TO COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE MATTERS

F.1.d.Edmonton Arts Council - 2002 Arts Operating Community Investment Program. 

F.1.e.Equitable Relationship – Community Services Committee Issues – Status Report – March31, 2002. 

1. Policing and Security Issues:

1. Council reaffirm its position as adopted at the January 9, 2001, City Council meeting;
2. the Mayor write a letter to Ian McClelland, Member of the Legislative Assembly, requesting him to determine whether the Solicitor General will respond to the Police Act report; and
3. the Mayor write a letter to the Solicitor General indicating Council's willingness to meet regarding these issues.
4. the Administration provide a summary of the key points and impacts on City property taxes related to Council's position to be attached to the letter;

1. Ambulance Issues:

1. Council reaffirm its position adopted at the July 17, 2001, City Council meeting regarding the City of Edmonton's Submission re. Ambulance Service Delivery;
2. the Mayor write a letter to Ian McClelland, Member of the Legislative Assembly, requesting him to determine the status of the "Cenaiko Report”; and
3. the Mayor write a letter to the Provincial Minister of Health and Wellness indicating Council's willingness to meet regarding this issue.
4. the Administration provide a summary of the key points and impacts on City property taxes related to Council's position to be attached to the letter;

1. Emergency Response Issues:

1. The Mayor write to the Edmonton Members of the Legislative Assembly providing them with an update of these strategies.

G.REPORTS RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MATTERS

G.1.c.Alberta's Water Strategy - City of Edmonton Comments. 

CARRIED

FOR THE MOTION:B. Smith; B. Anderson, J. Batty, A. Bolstad,

T. Cavanagh, E. Gibbons, R. Hayter, L. Langley,

K. Leibovici, S. Mandel, J. Melnychuk, M. Phair,

D. Thiele.

D.ADMINISTRATIVE INQUIRIES AND RESPONSES

D.1.ADMINISTRATIVE INQUIRIES

D.1.a.City of Edmonton’s 1% for Art Policy (M. Phair).

1. A brief review of the content of the policy.
2. How the policy has been applied over the past four or five years.
3. What department/who has responsibility for overseeing the policy?
4. Has there been any collaboration on the implementation of the policy with the Edmonton Arts Council or the Art and Design in Public Places Forum?

D.1.b.Traffic Violations (M. Phair).

1. What are the fines for vehicle violations, who sets these fines, when was the last time they were reviewed and revised?
2. What happens to the money that is collected for vehicle violations? Does any of it go to education or prevention programs on safety?
3. Has the demerit program and loss of drivers licences been recently reviewed? How effective is this program?
4. The installation of cameras at the intersections has assisted in detecting cars that do not stop. Can these cameras also be used to detect the speed of vehicles?

D.1.c.Money Provided to and Received from the Provincial and Federal Governments (M. Phair).

1. Over the last couple of years what was the amount of money that Edmontonians provided to the Provincial Government and the Federal Government through taxes, GST, gambling and other major local revenue sources?
2. Over the last couple of years the amount of money that the Provincial Government and Federal Government provided to Edmonton through agreements, grants, grants in lieu of taxes and other major revenue?

D.1.d.Rent Control (M. Phair).

1. When was the last time that Edmonton had rent controls on apartments/rental accommodations?
2. What was the context and the reasons for such controls at that time?”

D.1.e.The City’s Attempt to Raise Additional Revenue (A. Bolstad).

D.1.f.Concessions to West Edmonton Mall (S. Mandel).

1. Have there been any concessions given to West Edmonton Mall? I would like these divided into:

1. Tax incentives.
2. Planning incentives.
3. Transportation incentives.
4. Cash inducements.
5. Other.

1. How much has West Edmonton Mall paid since the day it opened in property tax?
2. How much have the tenants of the Mall paid in Business Tax?
3. How many people are employed at the Mall?
4. How many tourists visit West Edmonton Mall? Can we determine the spin off effect of those visitors on our local economy?
5. What does the City spend on tourism promotion? If available compare it with the West Edmonton Mall’s budget.
6. In the years that the Mall was originally built and the subsequent expansions, what was the commercial construction in those years in the City?

D.1.g.Mobile Home Parks (R. Hayter).

1. I would like a report from the Administration providing:

1. An overview relating to how well the City has met this objective;
2. Statistics on the number and location of mobile home developments in the past 10 years; and
3. Statistics indicating how many mobile home subdivisions, in addition to the development in Castle Downs in the 1970’s, have been incorporated into new area development plans since that time.

1. What has the City done, through planning changes and/or incentives, to encourage the development of mobile homes and their integration into the urban environment?
2. Does the City’s Planning and Development Department have any recommendations on how the current situation might be improved?”

D.1.h.City Centre Airport (R. Hayter).

1. I would like a report from the Administration indicating the annual revenues, year by year, received by the City since consolidation.
2. I also want to know what funds, if any, the City of Edmonton received from the operation of the Edmonton International Airport.
3. Does the Edmonton International Airport pay property taxes and, if so, to which municipality? What is the annual levy? It taxes are paid, does the City of Edmonton receive a share of such taxes?
4. How many scheduled flights currently operate daily/weekly into and out of the City Centre Airport? How many passengers are carried weekly? How does this compare, in aircraft movements and number of passengers carried, to the airport’s operation immediately prior to consolidation?
5. Are there any unscheduled/charter flights operating out of and into the City Centre Airport which carry more than nine passengers per flight? If so, who are they and what is the frequency of flights? Do some major companies, such as Syncrude, operate flights in and out of the downtown airport? Do they carry a passenger load in excess of nine passengers?”

E.REPORTS RELATED TO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MATTERS

E.1.r.Dumping of Steel into Canada (D. Thiele).

Councillor D. Thiele requested permission of City Council to introduce a motion without notice on the dumping of steel into Canada.

MOVED M. Phair – A. Bolstad:

That Councillor D. Thiele be allowed to make a motion without notice on the dumping of steel into Canada.

AMENDMENT MOVED A. Bolstad – M. Phair: