Lethbridge Minute: Climate Strategy, Windrow Clearing, and Exhibition Food Services

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

This Week In Lethbridge:

• The Audit Standing Policy Committee will meet on Wednesday at 1:30 pm. The Committee will discuss a Council Policy Priorities Updates for Q3, as well as a Financial Services Administrative Policies Update. There are three confidential reports on the agenda too - the Risk & Controls Update and 2024 Workplan, an item labelled “Non-Residential Tax Listing”, and another simply described as “External Letter”.
  
  
• The Safety and Social Standing Policy Committee will meet on Thursday at 1:30 pm. The Committee will receive the YMCA Annual Report and Update and a Building Safer Communities Fund Project Update, as well as a Graffiti Abatement Recommendation from the Downtown Lawlessness Reduction Task Force. Opportunity Lethbridge will present the Childcare Needs Assessment that the organization has been preparing.
  
  
• The Lethbridge Sport Council, in partnership with Tourism Lethbridge, is reporting a significant increase year-over-year in the economic impact of local sporting events for the first quarter of 2024. From January to March, these events contributed $5,183,654 to Lethbridge's economy and $6,137,009 to Alberta's economy, an increase of approximately 80% from the same period in 2023. Lethbridge hosted 76 sporting events, attracting 81,691 spectators, including 19,669 from out of town, and 10,836 participants. The most impactful event was the PBR bull riding, generating $836,686 locally and $1,134,740 provincially.

Last Week In Lethbridge:

• The Lethbridge & District Exhibition (LDE) announced operational changes to enhance service quality and economic sustainability at the Agri-food Hub & Trade Centre. Local caterer Sky & Table has temporarily taken over food and beverage services as LDE searches for a long-term partner. This change, expected to cost around $600,000, aims to create a more fiscally beneficial model. Additionally, LDE plans to establish a new concession area in the lobby, set to open by Whoop-Up Days 2024. Despite reporting a $1.4 million deficit seven months into the fiscal year, LDE has made significant progress in reducing the initially estimated $6.4 million deficit.
  
  
• Council approved a pilot program for snow and ice removal for the upcoming winter, following a recommendation from the Governance Standing Policy Committee. The program includes plowing snow to the right and offering a windrow subscription service for residents who cannot clear snow from their driveways or curbs. This service targets residents along snow routes with mobility challenges. Plowing snow to the right is 25 times cheaper than removing it, saving the City about $500,000 per significant snowfall. Eligible residents will be notified in the fall with details on how to sign up. Feedback will be collected after the winter season to assess the program's effectiveness.
  
  
• Council approved the City's climate adaptation strategy and action plan. The plan, developed with community feedback and outside consultants, focuses on improving the resilience of City assets and services. It addresses challenges in water management, emergency preparedness, and the impacts of extreme weather on vulnerable community members. The strategy outlines 33 actions across eight themes to combat risks such as extreme heat, drought, and grassfires. The plan anticipates significant increases in extreme heat days and rainfall intensity in the coming decades.

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