Council Agenda for November 2nd, 2009

Tonight's council meeting will be the last city meeting of the week for me. I'm heading to Calgary tonight for the AUMA convention and I'll be back late Thursday, just in time for Friday morning's arrival of the Olympic Torch! It's actually going to be a very busy week - stay tuned, I'll be posting from Calgary to keep you up to date on what's happening at the convention and what sessions I'm taking in.

Below is the agenda for tonight's council meeting I've made some comments on a few items of interest - you can see them in yellow like this.

1. CALL TO ORDER
2. NATIONAL ANTHEM
3. ADOPTION OF PREVIOUS COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
3.1 The minutes of the City Council meeting held October 19, 2009 be adopted.
3.2 The minutes of the City Council Organizational meeting held October 19, 2009 be adopted.

4. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
Council adopt the agenda as presented.

5. DELEGATIONS
5.1 Government Technology Exhibition and Conference Award (GTEC) Presentation
We won this national award for our cutting edge fire pre-planning system. It's another example of the great ways in which the city is using technology.
5.2 Mr. N.Dyck, re: Bill 50

6. PUBLIC HEARINGS
6.1 Bylaw C-1100-148, to Amend the Land Use Bylaw
Bylaw C-1100-148, to amend the Land Use Bylaw to clarify the provisions for commencement of development, setback for decks, screening fences, and accessory buildings in front yards.
Council give Bylaw C-1100-148, to Amend the Land Use Bylaw, second reading.
Council give Bylaw C-1100-148, to Amend the Land Use Bylaw, third reading.

6.2 Bylaw C-1100-149, to Amend the Land Use Bylaw
Bylaw C-1100-149, to amend the Land Use Bylaw to rezone a 1.46ha site on the west side of 108 Street (Wapiti Road), from “IG – General Industrial” to “IB – Industrial Business”.
Council give Bylaw C-1100-149, to Amend the Land Use Bylaw, second reading.
Council give Bylaw C-1100-149, to Amend the Land Use Bylaw, third reading.
Click here for a map.

6.3 Bylaw C-1100-150, to Amend the Land Use Bylaw
Bylaw C-1100-150, to amend the Land Use Bylaw to rezone an undeveloped 35ha site which makes up a portion of SE 1⁄4 of 28-71-6-W6M, from “UR – Urban Reserve” to a combination of “IG – “General Industrial, IB – Industrial Business, CA - Commercial Arterial, and PS – Public Service”.
Council give Bylaw C-1100-150, to Amend the Land Use Bylaw, second reading.
Council give Bylaw C-1100-150, to Amend the Land Use Bylaw, third reading.
Click here for a map.

7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
8. REPORTS

8.1 Bylaw C-1100-152, To Amend the Land Use Bylaw Bylaw C-1100-152, to amend the Land Use Bylaw to rezone the north half of SW 1⁄4 33-71-6-6 from “CR-5 – Country Residential and AG – Agricultural” to “UR – Urban Reserve”.
Council give Bylaw C-1100-152, to Amend the Land Use Bylaw first reading.
Council establish Monday, November 30, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers as the date, time and location for Public Hearing purposes for Bylaw C-1100-152.
Click here for a map.

8.2 Bylaw C-1237, To Adopt the Municipal Development Plan Bylaw C-1237, to adopt the Municipal Development Plan.
Council give Bylaw C-1237, to Adopt the Municipal Development Plan, first reading.
Council establish Monday, November 30, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers as the date, time and location for Public Hearing purposes for Bylaw C-1237.
We've been working on the MDP for quite a while - it's a very important document for the city and all in all I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out. More on this when it comes back on Nov 30th.

9. COMMITTEE BUSINESS
9.1 Council Committee of the Whole – October 5, 14 and 19, 2009
Council receive the minutes of the Council Committee of the Whole meetings held October 5, 14 and 19, 2009.

9.2 Pursuit of Excellence Committee – October 14, 2009
Council receive the minutes of the Pursuit of Excellence Committee meeting held October 14, 2009.

9.3 2010 Olympic Torch Relay Event Committee – October 15, and October 22, 2009
Council receive the minutes of the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay Event Committee meetings held October 15 and 22, 2009.

9.4 Public Works Committee – October 20, 2009
Council receive the minutes of the Public Works Committee meeting held October 20, 2009.

9.4.1 Q99 Stuff-A-Bus Charter
Council approve to provide a transit bus, free of charge, to Q99 for 2009 and each subsequent year, for the Stuff-A-Bus promotion.

9.4.2 Purchase of Four D40LFR New Flyer Transit Buses
Council approve the purchase of four 2009 D40LFR Transit Buses from New Flyer, at a cost of $416,000/unit, to be delivered in 2010, and further, amend the 2009 Capital Plan accordingly.
Two of these busses are replacements for units that are set to be retired from service and two of them will help us expand service as recommended in the new Transit Master Plan.

9.4.3 Tender T-39-546-07, Bulk Highway Salt
Council award Tender T-39-546-07, for the City’s 2009/2010 Bulk Highway Salt requirements to LaPrairie Group Contractors (Alberta) Ltd. in the amount of $263,339.70 excluding GST, as the most qualified tender meeting specifications.
Yep, just over a 1/4 million dollars for salt to keep the winter ice on city streets in check.

9.4.4 Tender T-37-546-08, Ice Control Materials -10mm Sand
Council award Tender T-37-546-08, for the City’s 2009/2010 -10mm Ice Control material to Wapiti Gravel Suppliers a Division of NPA Ltd. in the amount of $162,300.00 excluding GST, as the most qualified tender meeting specifications.

9.5 Combative Sports Commission – October 20, 2009
Council receive the minutes of the Combative Sports Commission meeting held October 20, 2009.

9.6 General Government Services Committee – October 21, 2009
Council receive the minutes of the General Government Services Committee meeting held October 21, 2009.

9.6.1 Request for Real Estate Commission Payable
Council direct Administration to pay the sum of $4,646.25 to Mr. P. Biegel, Top Realty.
This is the fee for the (non)sale of Germain park. It's essentially half the commission that would have been due had the property sold at the full value that we had it listed for.

9.6.2 Contract Approval – Pecuniary Interest
Council approve the agreement with Ms. S. Hally for the use of the Montrose Cultural Centre (Teresa Sargent Hall), as Alderman B. Given has a pecuniary interest.
This is me! My fiancé and I are going to have our wedding reception in the hall and any contract where a council member (or family member) has a financial interest has to go through a special procedure. We are paying the full rental rate, just like anyone else, this is just a formality. I'll declare a conflict of interest when this comes up, I'll leave the room and won't vote on it.

9.6.3 Economic Development Strategic Plan
Council approve the Economic Development Strategic Plan.

9.6.4 Priority Setting Process
Council adopt the Priority Setting Process to review Council priorities.

9.7 Arts Development Committee – October 23, 2009
Council receive the minutes of the Arts Development Committee meeting held October 23, 2009.

9.7.1Terms of Reference Amendment and Public Art Report
Council: 1. approve the proposed amendments to the Arts Development Committee Terms of Reference,
2. approve the creation of a Public Art reserve fund from any unallocated funds from the Arts Development and Festival fund each year and that this reserve be administered by the Arts Development Committee, and,
3. direct Administration include a Public Art policy as one of the components of the City’s proposed updated Cultural Plan for early 2010.
It's great to see this come forward finally! Some communities have passed 1% for Public Art bylaws any in time I'd like to see us get there but this is a step in the right direction.

9.8 Protective Services Committee – October 27, 2009
Council receive the minutes of the Protective Services Committee meeting held October 27, 2009.

9.8.1
Fire Dispatch Agreement – MD of Northern Lights No. 22
Council approve a contract with the Municipal District of Northern Lights No. 22 to provide emergency fire dispatch services for a five year period in accordance with the fee schedule attached as “Appendix A”.

9.9 Community Development Committee – October 27, 2009 RECOMMENDA TION
Council receive the minutes of the Community Development Committee meeting held October 27, 2009.

9.9.1 Muskoseepi Park Master Plan Presentation
Council approve the Muskoseepi Park Master Plan as presented.

9.9.2 Draft Resolution on the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination to be Presented to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Council support the Draft Resolution on the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination and further, that the City of Grande Prairie submit the resolution to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Conference.

10. CORRESPONDENCE
11. DELEGATION BUSINESS
12. NOTICES OF MOTION
13. COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS

Help Improve the City's Website - get a gift certificate!

We need your help... and we're willing to make it worth your while!

Over the years the City of GP has been recognized as a leader in e-government, we've got just about anything you could want on our site and all that info is generally pretty useful. Unfortunately, over time the internet has changed and so have people's expectations of what the city should offer through it's site. As those expectations have changed I think our city's website has remained pretty much static.

So, to address this the city has started a process to redesign the way the website works, we want to make it more user friendly & more responsive to the needs of residents.

Here's where I need your help.... We are looking for people to participate in a survey with our consultant. They will look at how you interact with the site in a pretty cool online & telephone survey.

And, here's the cool part: for your help you'll earn a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.ca!


The details:
The interview takes place over the phone, but participants will need to be at a computer (Windows XP/VIsta) as well. The software allows us to see and record the participant's desktop as they use the City website and record the phone conversation. As people use the GP site we may ask them to show us some things so we can watch how they interact with the site. We record the session because people's real words and actions are far more powerful than anything we can say. We find the clips very useful for presenting back to clients.

- 45 minute interviews
- People get a $25 gift certificate at Amazon.ca as a thank-you for participating.

We’re looking for a variety of participants including people who:
- are between the ages of 18 and 24, or
- run businesses in Grande Prairie, or
- belong to community groups, or
- are residents over the age of 25

To get involved you can check out the ad our consultants placed on Kijiji or contact them by email at research@nform.ca or phone at 1.800.670.7025

Wireless Auction Nearing End?

Last time I reported on the Wireless spectrum auction was waaaaay back in round 70 on June 16th. Now, as of bidding round 123 it looks like the federal government will receive about $4 Billion dollars from the auction and most of the bidding companies have reached their spending limits.

The bidding on the Grande Prairie licences seems to have stopped in round 90. Since that time there have been no new bids on any of the four licences up for grabs and it stands like this in round 123:

Section A - Rogers, $3,620,000
(up by $1,660,000 since round 70)

Section D - Eastlink, $239,000
(up by $27,844 since round 70)

Section E - Eastlink, $1,590,000
(up by $871,000 since round 70)

Section F - Telus, $3,580,00
(up by $1,390,000 since round 70)

From the looks of it Eastlink might just be successful at gaining a toe-hold in the northern Alberta market by winning the two licences that were coveted by Shaw and Bell respectively. At the very least Eastlink has definitely not made it easy for the big three (Telus, Bell & Rogers) to maintain their dominance of our market.

In fact Eastlink have actually withdrawn bids on licences in their home turf of Atlantic Canada. Doing that probably enabled them to use that money to fund the bidding war here and, interestingly, in northern Ontario. It remains to be seen if one of the players still has a big push left in them but Eastlink seems pretty committed to holding on.

A CBC story suggests that "...by next summer consumers are going to have more choice and more choice tends to mean more flexible price plans." It will be interesting to see how it all ends and what sort of difference (if any) it makes for the service and rates available to us here.

Hot Action in Cell Auction Continues

You may want to get used the logo above...

Since my previous post on the topic the auction for wireless spectrum in the Grande Prairie area has accelerated. Last time I reported it looked like Bragg Communications (aka Eastlink ) was looking to make a serious play to become a service provider in the Grande Prairie area.

At 9:30am on June 11th (in Round 44 of the auction) the high bids stood at:
Section A - Eastlink, $744,000
Section D - 1380057 Alberta Ltd., $211,156
Section E - Eastlink, $297,000
Section F - Eastlink, $823,000

Through the next bunch of rounds the Big Three (Telus, Bell and Rogers) played leap frog with Eastlink, recapturing their spectrum just to be out bid again in the next round. Occasionally 1380057 AB Ltd. (Shaw Communications) would pop in and try to get in on the action. It looks like they weren't too serious about it though, as they haven't placed a new bid since round 53.

Now at 3pm on June 16th, after 26 more rounds of bidding, the standings are:
Section A - Eastlink, $1,960,000
Section D - 1380057 Alberta Ltd., $211,156
Section E - Bell, $719,000
Section F - Telus, $2,190,000

I understand (thanks to Wirelessnorth.ca) that round starts each hour, on the hour, so in a few minutes I expect to see Eastlink out bid Telus and Bell for the E & F slots and on the other side of the coin for Rogers to come back and out bid Eastlink for the A slot.

Very interesting. I expect that we'll read about this in the news paper soon but they may wait until the whole thing has been settled, so remember; if want to track the Grande Prairie bidding action yourself you can go here.
(choose licences 349a, 349d, 349f, 349e and select "All Bids" from the drop down menu)

OR, you can keep reading this blog. (did you know you can sign up to receive an email everytime I do a new post? It's right there on the right hand side of the blog, just below my contact info. It's easy, free and keeps you from having to check back randomly.)

New Cell Service Providers Coming?

Ok, this is decidedly not municipal business, but it does have the potential to have an impact on the day to day lives of local residents.

If you haven't heard, the federal government is currently in the process of auctioning off wireless spectrum across the country. I won't pretend to be able to give a full explanation of the technical ins and outs of wireless spectrum but in the simplest of terms; this is what enables your cell phone sends & receive calls, text messages or surf the web. The government is opening up more space to send these types of signals.

The spectrum is sectioned off in to different parts and each service provider (for example, Telus, Rogers or Bell) owns a licence to send signals within a certain part of the spectrum. ( As I understand it any one of them would allow a company to run a cell phone network. )

But, to complicate matters more, the licences cover specific geographic areas across the country from coast to coast. So, for example Telus can't just buy one license to send signals all across Canada, they have to buy the licences in each area or city that they want to operate in.

So right now all kinds of companies are bidding to buy space across the country to set up (or expand) cell phone networks.

Clear as mud? For a much better (and more detailed explanation go here ) Ok, lets get to what this might mean locally...

The Grande Prairie area has four different sections of spectrum up for sale: A, D, E & F. Only new companies can bid on the D section - Telus, Rogers and Bell aren't allowed.

As of this afternoon the high bidders on each of the sections are:

Section A - Rogers, $688,000
Section D - 1380057 Alberta Ltd., $211,156
Section E - Bell, $285,000
Section F - Telus, $791,000

The three big guys are there so it doesn't look like much of a change but then there's the limited company. They are actually Shaw Communications out of Calgary and no one has bid against them for that section. the same pattern is also showing up in Dawson Creek:

Section A - Rogers, $270,000
Section D - 1380057 Alberta Ltd., $106,125
Section E - Bell, $117,00
Section F - Telus, $282,000

Even more interesting is who is bidding against the big guys for sections A, E & F in the Grande Prairie area .... it's Bragg Communications who are better known as EastLink from the Maritimes. They have the second high bid on each A, E & F in our city so it looks like they could be trying to expand their business across the country. Other reports say EastLink may just be trying to bid up the big guys in order to keep them from turning their attention to the Maritimes.

There is a long way to go in this process but in the end Grande Prairie residents may have a fourth or even fifth option when choosing a cell service provider. Stay tuned.....

** UPDATE **
As of 9:00am on Wednesday morning Bragg Communications (Eastlink) is beating out the big three in Grande Prairie. They have overtaken Telus, Rogers and Bell in sections A, E & F.

High bids at 9:30am June 11th
Section A - Eastlink, $744,000
Section D - 1380057 Alberta Ltd., $211,156
Section E - Eastlink, $297,000
Section F - Eastlink, $823,000


Track the Grande Prairie & Dawson Creek auctions here
(For GP select licences 349a, 349d, 349f & 349e. For Dawson select licences 358a, 358d, 358f, 358e.)

See the top bids for all sections across the country here

It's been a long time coming but finally, on Monday the 19th, Grande Prairie's red light cameras will be active. In case you missed the articlein the newspaper here's the media release from the Enforcement Services department.

"News Release
May 16, 2008
Red Light Cameras are in Effect

The Red Light Cameras are going “live” on Monday, May 19, 2008. For the first 30 days, warning notices will be sent out to the owners of vehicles found in violation. These notices will be clearly identified as warning notices. Following the 30 days, violation tickets will be issued. The specified penalty for a vehicle which goes through a red light is $287.

Included with the notice describing the offence, will be a violation ticket (yellow in colour). This violation ticket is the legal copy for Court purposes. The goal of Enforcement Services is to reduce traffic collisions through education and enforcement. Red light violations contribute to a significant number of injury and fatality collisions in Grande Prairie. Our goal is to reduce these through enforcement by using the red light camera technology."

So if you run a red light in the first month you'll receive a letter giving you a warning - then after that, you'll have to pay. Also, one of the system features that hasn't been mentioned much is that the cameras also record video. When you receive your ticket you'll also have the option of going online and actually viewing video of you going through the red light. Something like that is pretty tough to argue with!

If you are looking for more details on our red light cameras I've done postings on them here and here .

Drive Safe!

Wireless City

Yesterday the General Government Services committee which I chair received an update on the city's efforts to pursue a municipal wireless network. So far staff have identified the uses the city would have for such a system, what other community organizations might be interested and then worked with a consultant to determine what we should include for specifications when we do a Request for Proposals. You'll probably see a story about it when the news paper comes out later today.


Media Release, March 26, 2008

City of Grande Prairie Explores Wireless Broadband Options

Grande Prairie became a city 50 years ago last month when district guide and hunter Henry McCullough delivered its charter on horseback. With tribute to Henry’s trusty steed, Diamond, the City has long since surpassed its one horse-town status and is ready to hit the information superhighway at full speed.

A feasibility project has been completed to explore development of a wireless broadband network that would blanket much of the community, providing the municipality, businesses, government agencies, other public sector groups, and schools with high-speed internet access.

The wireless network will be capable of supporting advanced applications, including emergency response and sophisticated transit and automated vehicle monitoring systems.

Other uses could consist of security and camera applications for traffic monitoring. Part of the project may include hot spots throughout public facilities for citizen and visitor use.

“Grande Prairie is already a hub of commerce as a regional trade centre for about 250,000 people and implementing this project would help us become even more competitive by having access to the technological advances that other larger urban centres have,” says Interim City Manager Ken Anderson.

“At this time, high-speed wireless Internet service is fragmented and is concentrated in the business community,” he says.
The City, guided by a committee comprised of staff along with education, health and business sector representatives, is working with KAZAM Technologies, a management consulting firm in Markham, Ontario that provides professional services in the area of broadband and wireless for a study and development of a strategic framework and a Request for Proposal (RFP) document.

The RFP is expected to be released by the end of April 2008. An RFP process will help determine the final solution and schedule. The City’s Information Technology Services department will bring a recommendation to Council after the close of the RFP process and subsequent evaluations.

The implementation of the project will be based on a cost-benefit analysis, improved municipal service delivery and economic development opportunities, the availability of suitable technology, and a sustainable strategy.

“In addition to the enhanced access to information, the advancement would make Grande Prairie more business- and tech-friendly, increasing the opportunity to attract new investment,” says Dawood Khan, Vice-President, Services and a partner with Kazam.

KAZAM and the City are considering a number of business models including private-public partnerships to recoup its investment in the development of the network or leveraging the City’s assets and needs.
Grande Prairie is ideally suited as a consideration for a municipally run wireless network or a partnership arrangement, says Khan.

“The advantage that Grande Prairie has is its mid-size population with a highly tech-savvy and young population eager to adopt new technologies fast,” he says. “The City is also home to a great deal of enterprise activity in need of wireless applications and mobility that can enhance their operations and increase efficiency.”

The success of municipal networks depends on a viable revenue generating model. Advertising and subscriptions are two solutions that have been considered by other municipalities. The main remaining question is how to develop the right pricing model that would attract customers and convince them to sign up for the services.

“Building a citywide network does not guarantee that businesses will be flocking to sign up for it,” says Khan. “It is a matter of having the right vision and implementing the right strategy for Grande Prairie to make the increasing weight of its economic influence felt across Alberta and perhaps become a model for other like-minded cities.”