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Councillors voted to put $5,000 towards displaying real-time solar data from by city facilities such as Servus Place.
St. Albert Place 4
FILE PHOTO/St. Albert Gazette

Solar data on display

On Monday, city council approved a motion from Coun. Mike Killick to utilize $5,000 to display real-time solar data from city facilities such as Servus Place. 

The funds will be drawn from the city’s energy efficiency reserve, which as of May 31 had an uncommitted balance of $93,026, according to a report accompanying the motion.

The motion also stipulated that any future approved solar projects will also be scoped to include data on the city’s future webpage. 

The $5,000 will go toward installing on-site data loggers, solar dashboard development, and data conversion. The data should be available for display by the end of this year, the report said.  

This motion passed on consent, meaning councillors did not discuss it before voting. 

Solar farm decision postponed

Also on consent, council approved a request from administration to postpone its solar-farm decision previously scheduled for a special July 13 council meeting.  

Administration will now have until Sept. 30 to return with a proposal for the future use of the Badger Lands. Proposals will include three potential solar-farm models, in addition to options for commercial, residential, and industrial development. 

According to a report to council accompanying the time-extension request, an environmental assessment and work to determine the cost of remediating the land — contaminated due to its former use as a snow dump — will be completed in July. 

Council approves committee decision on future development near Big Lake 

A third motion council passed on its consent agenda, included a recommendation from its community growth and infrastructure standing committee related to the designation of land south of Meadowview Drive. 

The recommendation scrapped a May 2021 motion put forward by then-councillor Jacquie Hansen that would have closed land directly south of Meadowview Drive and near Big Lake to industrial development. 

Specifically, the motion called for a redesignation from employment land to major open spaces within the city’s Municipal Development Plan (MDP). The latter category is allocated to preserving environmentally sensitive areas. 

Committee members heard during a June 13 meeting that the shores of Big Lake are protected by around 500 metres of setback area, and that the area directly under Meadowview Drive will be the optimal location for two stormwater management facilities. 

Active Communities receives $150,000 from Co-op for twin rink facility

Co-op announced in a June 15 release that the company will provide $150,000 towards Active Communities’ planned $6-million outdoor twin rink facility, to be located behind Paul Kane High School. 

The funding is part of Co-op’s community spaces program, which in 2022 committed $1 million to help fund 13 community projects, the June 15 release said. 

Co-op will present the cheque to Active Communities on June 27 at the St. Albert Public Schools office at 11:15 a.m. The cheque presentation will be followed by a student barbecue. 

Active Communities has already received $3.5 million towards the project from the Province of Alberta, in addition to $500,000 in community member contributions. 

St. Albert city council has also voted to consider giving up to $1.5 million towards the project, pending a public engagement report and independent financial review of the project business case, both funded by Active Communities. Active Communities recently released the public engagement report to their website June 12. 
 

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