Lethbridge Minute: Appeal Board, History Award, and the Financial Reserves Policy

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

This Week In Lethbridge:

• There will be a City Council Meeting on Tuesday at 12:30 pm. Council will consider an amendment to the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board Bylaw. The Board, responsible for hearing appeals on planning and development decisions, faces challenges with quorum due to conflicts of interest, availability issues, and certification requirements. Currently, the Board can have a maximum of five public members, but quorum is often difficult to achieve. To address these challenges, the proposal is to amend the bylaw to allow for an unlimited number of members, similar to the Assessment Review Board, which has a pool of members to draw from. Council will also discuss a new three-year grant funding agreement between the City and the Province, for $115,000 annually to assist with the collection and disposal of drug-related debris in the community.
  
  
• The Economic and Finance Standing Policy Committee will meet on Thursday at 12:30 pm. The Committee will receive three submissions, one regarding the Downtown Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone 2025 Budget, another on the Lethbridge & District Exhibition Memorandum of Understanding, and the third regarding the Lethbridge & District Exhibition Monthly Financial Reporting.
  
  
• Lethbridge is set to host a strong lineup of major events in 2025, thanks to efforts by Tourism Lethbridge and the Lethbridge & District Exhibition (LDE). The two organizations have collaborated to attract large-scale conferences, making full use of the Agri-food Hub & Trade Centre and surrounding venues. Their goal is to enhance the overall visitor experience by showcasing local attractions, restaurants, and cultural sites. Recent outreach efforts at conferences in Edmonton and Ottawa have helped secure key contacts and boost interest in Lethbridge as an event destination. LDE says that the city's facilities, technology, and amenities position it as a premier location for major gatherings.

Last Week In Lethbridge:

• The Province announced funding for school projects in Lethbridge and Brooks, including planning funds for a new K-5 elementary school in west Lethbridge. The Lethbridge School Division identified the project as a top priority due to enrollment pressures and future growth in the area. Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides emphasized that the province is addressing aging schools and growing student populations outside metro areas. The 2025 Capital Plan includes $75 million for planning and design across 41 school projects and $2.3 billion for construction and modernization efforts.
  
  
• The Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden has received the Outstanding Public History Project Award from the National Council on Public History for its Nikkei Memory Capture Project. This initiative, a collaboration between the garden, University of Lethbridge researcher Carly Adams, and University of Plymouth professor Darren Aoki, highlights the experiences of Japanese Canadians in southern Alberta. Featuring a time map, an audio journey, and an interactive exhibit, the project aims to preserve and share these stories with the community. Aoki began the project in 2011, later partnering with Adams and securing funding to expand it through the Bunka Centre.
  
  
• The City of Lethbridge’s Chief Financial Officer presented proposed amendments to the City’s financial reserves policy to the Audit Standing Policy Committee. These amendments aim to set optimal reserve targets for the Municipal Revenue Stabilization Reserve (MRSR), Major Capital Projects, and Fleet reserves, with the introduction of a new Waste Utility Reserve for infrastructure renewal. The Committee unanimously voted to recommend the adoption of the updated policy, including the new Waste Utility Reserve. Proposed balances for the reserves include $14 million for the MRSR, $7.6 million for the Major Capital Projects Reserve, and a Fleet Reserve balance between $6.5 - $12 million.

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