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Poet Laureate to be formalized

A permanent home could be carved out for St. Albert’s own bard.

During city council’s Feb. 10 community living standing committee meeting, members voted to recommend city council pass a policy formalizing the Poet Laureate position within St. Albert halls.

The post was first realized in 2018 as a partnership between the St. Albert Public Library and City of St. Albert. A two-year post, it includes an honorarium of $1,000 for the “literary and cultural ambassador” of St. Albert.

This month Zach Polis, St. Albert’s first Poet Laureate, sees his term come to a close.

Administration said passing a policy would just formalize the position.

Coun. Natalie Joly failed in efforts to have the library take over ownership of the program while broadening its vision to more of a regional approach and eliminating age restrictions.

Joly noted while she supports the program, St. Albert was warned during its municipal inspection review in 2017 about “the tail wagging the dog,” in terms of administration putting forward policies where council has been “put into a corner.”

She added posts such as these are integral to advancing artists’ careers, and a regional partnership through the library could elevate the Poet Laureate’s visibility more.

Councillors Ken MacKay and Sheena Hughes decided against Joly’s idea of having the library run the program, with MacKay saying it would “complicate things too much.”

After Joly’s failed attempt to see the library handle the program, the committee passed the recommended motion sending the policy along for review by council during their Feb. 18 meeting.

Birthing centre reversed

After hearing a legal opinion advising against previous action supporting a birthing centre finding home in St. Albert, a committee of council has reversed course.

But city staff will still work with the St. Albert Community Midwives to find a solution for getting the centre standing, which is currently prohibited under St. Albert Land Use Bylaw.

The midwives hope to purchase a residential property and host clients there, for a more comfortable, home-style approach to birthing.

On Monday the community living standing committee rescinded a previous resolution to re-district a particular lot the midwives had their eyes on.

Director of legal services David Leflar said administration wants to be sure there would not be legal challenges down the road.

“You actually would advance the process on a more secure basis, if you reduce the risk of problems down the road,” he said. A confidential memo on the matter was circulated to city council.

Instead, the committee passed a motion recommending council support in principle the concept of establishing a birthing centre, and that administration present options to city council on how to go about it “as soon as reasonably practicable.”

Coun. Jacquie Hansen, who made the motion, asked if there would be any impact on timelines, as the midwives are facing a time crunch with lease renewals in their current commercial space. Leflar said from his perspective this move would not change the timing.

“I’m glad to see this recommendation cleaned up, from a statutory point of view,” Hansen said. “I hope this is successful and anything that gets it in front of council sooner rather than later is good.”

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