Edmonton Minute: Leadership Debate, Pool Closure, and a Scrapped Art Project

Edmonton Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Edmonton politics

This Week In Edmonton:

• There will be a City Council meeting on Monday at 9:30 am. If it does not conclude on Monday, it will continue on Wednesday at 9:30 am. On the agenda are several Motions Pending, including one to establish a framework that outlines maintenance, repair and replacement cost responsibilities for developer-built neighbourhood entrance signs on private property, and another to plan an audit of the City’s specialized recreation programming and accommodations for equity-seeking groups. Also on the agenda is the Edmonton Ski Club’s replacement facility.
  
  
• The Agenda Review Committee meets Tuesday at 9:00 am, followed by a City Council Public Hearing at 1:30 pm to discuss several zoning amendments. On Wednesday, at 1:30 pm, there will be a Special Audit Committee meeting. On the agenda is a Facilitated Audit Committee Accountability Session. No other documents or information are available as to what this session entails.
  
  
• The final UCP leadership debate takes place on Tuesday at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton from 6-8 pm. The UCP says that interest in the race has doubled party membership. Will you be watching the debate? What questions do you think need to be asked?

Last Week In Edmonton:

• Councillors voted to direct administration to explore an increase in penalties for excessive vehicle noise. You might recall Councillor Janz’s petition from a few weeks ago. While we agree that car owners must recognize that there are inappropriate times for loud vehicles, the penalties proposed are absurd. A $10,000 fine for a noisy vehicle seems excessive when compared with an impaired driving fine, which would leave the driver on the hook for $1,000.
  
  
• Council pulled the plug on the 65-year-old Scona Pool. The pool, originally slated to close in 2015, needs extensive repairs and the City considers the building a safety risk to the public. The replacement facility, the Rollie Miles Recreation Centre, is still years away from completion, although the Mayor said he intends to expedite funding for the work at the upcoming budget deliberations.
  
  
• The City said it would not be installing previously commissioned artwork on the Walterdale Bridge. A statement from the City indicated the pair of bronze sculptures, one of a buffalo and another of a fur trader, could be misinterpreted as a celebration of colonization. Native studies and art and design professor Tanya Harnett says the sculptures should be installed, but the City says they have been flagged as "potentially harmful" and that's that. Taxpayers have paid over $375,000 for pieces that will never see the light of day. Given taxes are also "potentially harmful", we're looking forward to our tax bills being cancelled as well!

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