Highlights of March 29 Council Meeting

Council covered the gamut of subjects from power lines, Transit and River Valley funding.  Motions and background presentations

Transmission Lines

Councillor Bidzinski got a ‘go’ from Council on his motion to direct Administration to investigate the possibility of creating a buffer zone between any proposed 240 voltage or higher transmission lines and any densely populated or environmentally sensitive areas in Strathcona County similar to the Heavy Industrial Transition Overlay. The information and recommendation will be brought back to Council April 26^th. I stated in Council that I believe that limiting power lines from running through dense populations should be regulated by the provincial government. I have approached the province to request that they set up standards to protect their citizens from potential high voltage health hazards. I supported the motion on principle but have requested that we clarify legal opinion to ensure we have the right to pass such legislation, and indeed that it would be adhered to. I also would like to ensure that this does not create an obligation to open our Municipal Development Plan. 

Economic Sustainability Framework

Council approved the Economic Sustainability Framework, presented by Nichols Applied Management consultants and it is worth a read. Together with the Social Sustainability Framework, approved in 2007 and the Environmental Sustainable Framework, approved in 2009 these three complementary structural tools  are designed to guide decision making and subsequently the growth of our entire County as urban and rural communities evolve over the next 30 years or so. Full news release

River Valley Alliance Request for Funding

The River Valley Alliance Request for Funding came back to Council in the form of three motions. I was the only Councillor not to support the first motion: ‘That Council approve in principle the opportunity to match the Government of Canada’s $30 million in funding support for the RVA....’ This motion means that we approve in principle up to $7 million to funding projects identified in our Open Space Recreation Facility Strategy. The difficulty is that this funding was offered on projects that must be completed by 2014. The concept is good but the timing not the best – given the very long list of projects already on the priority list for our residents in the immediate future.

Integrated Transportation Master Plan Progress

The Integrated Transportation Master Plan Progress report was approved with the assurance that the final report would come forward by November. The guiding principles of this report are to integrate Transportation with the Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability Frameworks; promote health and safety aspects; integrate County and regional initiatives; integrate with land use planning ; improve public transit; and increase transit alternatives. One of the significant pieces of this report for me will be the SCAT transit review – which I hope will offer a massive change to the current program.

Priority Fund Requests

Councillor Reports saw ten Priority Fund Requests approved. Historically, these requests get a rubber stamp ‘yes’ because there is no real policy to guide elected officials. In 2007 I objected to the idea of elected officials having a 30,000 annual fund to allocate as they personally choose. I felt so strongly about this that I asked residents to develop guidelines for a public committee of tax payers to provide some recommendations to me on the approving of projects. This Committee developed the Building Strong Communities Funding Program and meets several times a year to provide me with their input. Throughout the past several years the issue has surfaced regularly, in fact late summer 2010 the last Council requested that the new Council look into a policy that offers more structure and guidance to the Priority Funds expenditure process.

My priority fund expenditures

During my report I emphasized the need to look at early maintenance of the water storage facilities, like Clover Bar Ranch so that weeds would not choke out that small water body. Preventative maintenance like installing fountains and solar bees is successful only when undertaken as soon as the ice breaks up.

Webcasting

I also again requested an update on webcasting, piloted in February with installation delayed since November, because I believe that you our residents need to have every possible access to review the actions of your elected officials so that you can hold them accountable.

Organization Wide Efficiency Review 

Finally- I have introduced a Notice of Motion to initiate an organization wide efficiency review by an external firm. Since 2008 I have been asking for a comprehensive review of municipal efficiencies and customer service – because we are dealing with taxpayers money and owe it to you to set the highest standard possible in efficient service delivery within the culture of the very best customer service. You need to be assured that your municipality is accountable to you and doing everything it possibly can to use your tax dollars wisely. In the 2010 Council retreat, customer service and organizational efficiency were rated highly by Council in our Top Priorities for this term.

I appreciate your comments and look forward to hearing from you.

Items of Interest

Below are three items that I hope will interest you


Municipal business and budget planning begins for 2012
The budget process for a large municipality such as ours is a long and complex process. In order to meet the needs of Strathcona County residents both long and short term your council reviews the future vision, long term business plans as well as urgent and emergent resident needs.

The first step in the process is to obtain your input. I hope that you will be able to attend one of these two Open Houses:

Wednesday April 6,2011 
5 p.m. to 7 p.m. 
Galleria, Community Centre
2001 Sherwood Drive
&
Wednesday April 13, 2011  
4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Ardrossan Recreation Complex 
80 - 1 Avenue, Ardrossan.

In addition there will be online and print questionnaires available. On April 26, 2011 there will be a Public Budget session that I hope you will attend to listen or speak at. For more details.

Strathcona County eNewsletters 
a great way for you to keep on top of the latest news, events and project updates.
Current selection of newsletters are: 

• Active Living
• Green Living
• County Living
• County Business and Tourism
• Age in Action 

Newsletters used as notification are: Ice Availability, and Field and Diamond Status. To subscribe


Drainage Issues
Spring thaw is creating both potholes and flooding issues. Please contact the after hours number 417-7100.  Messages are picked up by the night crews and acted upon according to work loads and priorities. OR you can use e-mail if more convenient.

Ward 2 Open House (#W20H) Part 3

Open Communication

What a great session we had on March 22. A group of very communicative residents gathered with me at the DQ to talk about how do you want elected officials to connect with you? Residents were loud and clear on the fact that often they did not feel that they were being heard. MLA Dave Quest and rural Councillor Linton Delainey joined us. I would like to thank our facilitator, local businessman Randy Moore for keeping us focused.

I have outlined residents’ concerns in my two previous blogs. This is the exciting part: a small group of residents took hold of the dialogue and came up with solutions. They listed their favourite forms of communication – how they would respond most positively to elected officials. Then they told us some unpleasant experiences – in effect: how not to communicate with them. Residents then talked about what effective communication was to them.

So what really is (Effective) Communication? 

Communication is listening with empathy and understanding. Both parties need to be willing to listen to the other person’s opinion.  Active listening – repeat what you’ve heard. Make sure you make yourself clear and are understood. Both parties have a responsibility. We can respect each other while holding each other accountable.

Here’s a Customer Service Process For You!

Residents said:

Step up and get involved - be persistent – remember if one resident has an issue – most often, others do too!

Report it – then follow up and follow through.

Don’t talk at us – engage us.

Don’t give us poor attitude- give us ‘can do’ attitude!

The resident can be factual, give clarification of the issue, lay out a time line of when they think it is reasonable to get a response back. Take the staff’s name, time and date of the call. The resident can expect that County staff will take a fair amount of facts down, including time and date of incident and may need time to get some answers, but should get back to you within a reasonable amount of time. If the resident cannot get satisfaction –then it’s time to ask for a manager. Failing that – call your elected official. 

Resident List the Solutions

Residents said they hated getting lost in bureaucracy. ‘Three times – you’re out’. No one needs to get forwarded to three different departments or more! Solution? Several residents say they want the 311 system that Edmonton and Calgary have. The 211 (available in Strathcona County) is not one stop shopping.

Residents also want a closer look at what’s happening in Council meetings. ‘St Albert has Shaw TV – why can’t we?’ Webcasting would give residents that flexibility of viewing Council meetings on line – but it has been over a year since the pilot project was implemented, with no action to date.

Residents echoed something I have heard in Council for four years now: ‘How about getting Council out of County Hall? Host a meeting in Millennium Place, the Mall, one of the high schools, a seniors’ centre, the library – anywhere people gather.’

A clear message was delivered that evening: ‘Visibility is a big step towards engagement. Urban and rural residents deserve to have their elected officials listen to them. Be where the people are and take their government to them.’

Several residents there were electronically savvy. They said ‘for those of us who are online, how about the County adding a discussion forum to its website? It might not get used much (at first), but then again it might grow.’

Residents proved something to me that evening at the Dairy Queen - there are so many things that local government can do to be increasingly more relevant, all it takes is the will, some imagination and passionate people to do it – I deal with those passionate community minded people every day – in the committees, and in the streets….all we have to do as elected officials have to do – is listen, and act.

Ward 2 Open House (#W20H) Part 2

This past week 25 residents joined myself, MLA Dave Quest and rural Councillor Linton Delainey in a discussion about communication with your local government. Our facilitator was local businessman Randy Moore (@moorerandy)  who led a very interesting dialogue on How should elected officials connect with you? (Residents comments in previous post.)

The next question Randy put to the group was:

Do You Feel You Are Being Heard?

A resident noted with concern that there is the large group of citizens who don’t attend political events even when municipal governance affects them closely. There are obviously lots of reasons for this. Some people actually do have a feeling of benign indifference. Some do not think that one person can make a difference. Others feel lost in the system. Residents often don’t realize that if they have an issue – many more have the same concern.

Many residents just do not think they are being listened to: Several residents listed issues with different Strathcona County Departments: ‘they don’t return calls; I cannot get to the right department - they refer you on…and on… and on (to other numbers); why do we get defensive remarks instead of answers?; Why do I get form letters to several calls and e mails that I sent – are there no real people there?’

Residents were asked: have they ever called an elected official and how would they guage the response. There were diverse answers to this. Some said ‘my Councillor never did return my calls’. Others said the provincial level sent form letters; the federal level never did call back. Others indicated that they thought politicians of all levels of government in Strathcona County were, on the whole, more responsive than politicians in other municipalities. A variety of experiences and encounters were outlined. These diverse stories could mean that all levels of government need a more consistent and higher standard of customer service. It could mean that residents need to be clear in their requests, keep records and demand accountability. It’s probably a little of both!

Well I think it’s pretty clear that some residents are feeling like they are not being heard. I believe governments at all levels can do a better job at acknowledging residents and responding to their issues.

In the next and final blog of the series on residents talking about communication (and how we can do it better) – I will tell you what solutions our residents came up with.

Come back on March 29 to read their comments!

Recent Ward 2 Open House (#W2OH)

Local Businessman and international motivational speaker Randy Moore joined residents at the Dairy Queen on Base line yesterday to lead us in a session on ‘Communication With Your Elected Officials’.  

It was a lively discussion with an enthusiastic group of about 25 individuals. Joining us were MLA Dave Quest and rural Councillor Linton Delainey. As people talked about ways that they liked to have information shared with them, it became evident that no one single tool was right for any particular person at any particular time.

All agreed that communication was a complex and personal process – a two way street of information sharing.

How should elected officials connect with you?

Some said electronic media was the way to go – meeting their needs for convenience with ‘any time access’. But they wanted those e mails to be timely and on relevant topics – ‘send neighbourhood issues and information – make it personal’. Others liked more conventional print: newsletters and media.

Almost everyone complained about the total lack of local media channels available. ‘We are a community next door to a giant. We wake up, read the Edmonton Journal or watch Global Edmonton, go to work with an JOE FM radio, return home to watch CTV Edmonton , watch American shows and world news. Where and how can we connect with our own community? It just isn’t there!’ said one resident.

Residents were very clear on what they don’t want. ‘Don’t send us form letters!’ As a rule, they don’t read junk mail, brochures and ads. The local newspaper was for some great – for others either late or undelivered.

When asked how best local politicians could talk to residents - all seemed to agree. They preferred the ’eyeball to eyeball’ communication route. ‘We want politicians to meet us face to face...in the Mall, in the Dairy Queen, at our doorstep and in our own neighbourhoods!’ Residents want sincerity and are most impressed with politicians that are out and about, knocking on doors even when there is no election. Residents say that they realize some of the responsibility to communicate does lie with them but say that they respect those politicians who build personal relationships and listen- really listen. 

Next Blog is on the response residents gave when we asked them: Do you think you are being heard?

Highlights of Council Meeting - March 8, 2011

As Council webcast capability has not yet been delivered, I continue to bring you highlights of Council meetings. More in-depth reports and minutes can be found here.

The River Valley Vision

Many citizens are not aware that Strathcona County is one of the seven members of the River Valley Alliance (RVA). Since 1996, these municipalities have shared a vision of transforming an 88 km stretch of river valley into a world-class metropolitan river front integrated park. In this meeting, the RVA approached Council to approve, in principle, a funding list of priorities. In addition, we were asked to prepare a bylaw that would support the RVA plan. The value of Strathcona County projects on a 90 million dollar plan submitted to the federal government is 21 million dollars. The municipal share would be 7 million. Council referred this ‘ask’ to administration for review.

This decision for financial commitment will be brought back to Council on March 29, 2011. Serious reflection needs to take place on the appropriateness and timeliness of this request. Just how many of our residents would benefit from this plan? How does Council intend to balance rural and urban infrastructure needs and the approved priorities of the Outdoor Space and Recreation Facilities Plan with this multimillion dollar River Valley appeal?

Parkade Parking

Council was asked to amend the Parking Bylaw to allow for enforcement of parking within a paid parking lot and to allow parking ticket to be issued. I was not impressed with this ask! How can we start issuing violations before the flood of parking complaints have been addressed? Resident concerns include consistent reports that signage inside the parkade is unclear, directions are difficult to understand, locations and directional signage is confusing. Options in the outdoor surface parking is hidden with signage on Sherwood Drive still indicating staff parking only in a lot that has an allocated 23 spaces for free public use. I have asked that administration meet with the Library and other users to make indoor parking a much more user friendly alternative.

Land Use Bylaw Review

The last comprehensive Land Use Bylaw (LUB) Review was approved by Council in July, 2001. LUB directs land uses as specific as residential, business and agriculture. It further regulates design standards, lighting, parking, landscaping and setbacks. Virtually all residents are impacted in one way or another.

In January, 2008 it was deemed necessary to enter into a general review to update, amend and eliminate the obsolete. The overall Land Use Bylaw Review has had delay upon delay – with erratic attention over the past three years. An inordinate amount of time has been spent on the sign regulation review. On March 8, 2011, Council learned that administration now anticipates taking an additional two years and three months to address the balance of the Land Use Bylaw. I voiced concerns about the delay and the amount of time projected to complete this review and noted concerns over a lack of detail around scheduling public engagement. I have requested that the public be advised on every aspect of this review so that our residents’ input and concerns are taken into account. A general timeline is to be found in enclosure 1 Item 14 and more detailed information will be available on the Planning Department web page and in the Sherwood News.

Traffic Light Synchronization In Sherwood Park

Residents have been concerned about sometimes erratic traffic light synchronization on intersections throughout the park.

The signal coordination at the Highway 16 and Clover Bar Road intersection was recognized as an issue. Strathcona County and Alberta Transportation worked together to resolve this because the signal is under Alberta Transportation jurisdiction. The old provincial owned controller, which does not communicate with our system, is being replaced with our own newer controller and integrated into our system to be synchronized with our lights by the end of this month.

Long red light times for various intersections have been reported by residents for the past two years. A thorough review of the traffic light sequencing throughout Sherwood Park has been completed. The maximum planned cycle length is in place during the morning peak at Baseline and Clarkdale. The maximum cycle time at this intersection will not exceed 140 seconds or 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Cycle lengths vary based upon the road, time of day, and day of the week, however when all systems are functioning, a vehicle will not wait more than 2 minutes and 20 seconds for a light to change. The only exception to this sequencing would be a result of malfunctioning equipment or ineffective equipment due to weather. Examples include video detection equipment clogged with snow or a vehicle missing the roadway detection loop. Should a vehicle not be detected at an intersection, the vehicle will wait until the sequence is activated. I urge residents to report this at 780.464.8279 so that engineering can correct it as soon as possible.

The "All Flashing" traffic light sequence is set for midnight. The rationale behind the time selection is a reflection of best practices and consistency throughout Sherwood Park. A factor driving the time selection includes vehicle and pedestrian volume. Based on business hours and commuting traffic there is a high probability of pedestrian vehicle conflict prior to midnight. Where pedestrian traffic may not be considered as much of a factor, all traffic lights that are programmed to the all flash sequence need to start at the same time for consistency and perception of a well planned and functioning traffic system as a whole.

The engineering department reviews traffic signals and timing on an ongoing basis and are working towards establishing key performance Indicators for defining service level standards.

I hope that these improvements will make driving more efficient and pleasant for our residents throughout the year.