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St. Albert Property Report
St. Albert Business Group Spearheading Move For Fairer Business Tax Rates
Businesses across Alberta pay far more property tax than residents for properties of similar value. Calgary’s business to residential tax ratio is the highest, at 4.57 to one, followed by Edmonton at 3.12 to one. A small business group out of St. Albert, which has a 1.61 to one ratio, is taking note and wants to bring this issue to the forefront in time for municipal elections. Though St. Albert’s ratio is fairly low, they do have one of the highest tax rates overall. Residences pay $1,096 in tax for every $100,000 of assessed property value.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses or CFIB put the report together and noted that it is not fair to charge business owners more because they actually use less of the public services than residences. Businesses must pay for their own garbage pick-up and are less likely to spend more time using parks and libraries, all items covered under property taxes.
CFIB is asking for fairness in taxation and wants candidates running for office to commit to reducing the business/residential tax ratio. One idea may be to have users of city services actually pay for those services that are actually used. A future council could conceivably change the laws, after much study, research and head scratching of course.
St. Albert Homes Report
Rich Schuchard, Grandfather of Jarome Iginla, Passes Away At Age 88
Rick Schuchard, grandfather of NHL star Jarome Iginla, passed away last Friday at the age of 88. He was very much a father figure to the young hockey hopeful, taking him to practice and even to Iginla’s away games, no matter how far away they were from St. Albert. Schuchard apparently had an inkling the young player would do great things and gave him every encouragement. There is no argument that all that time and effort on both parts paid off.
Schuchard was involved in the St. Albert Minor Hockey Association and a reporter for the sports page of the St. Albert Gazette. He started to write a regular column about the St. Albert Cardinals, helping to get the team, and Iginla, more exposure.
He was well loved and active in the community. When approached about donating an Iginla hockey jersey for a fundraiser to build Servus Credit Union Place, he gave up one that Iginla had given him. He was originally from Oregon, having immigrated to Canada in the 1960s. He will be laid to rest on Friday, May 28th.
St. Albert Real Estate Report
Two New Judges For Alberta Provincial Court
Alberta’s Provincial Court has appointed Charles Donald Gardner and Donna Mildred Groves as judges. Gardner will serve the Edmonton Region beginning April 26 and Groves will serve the Criminal Court of Edmonton beginning May 3.
Groves graduated from the University of Calgary in 1990 and practiced privately with Hostyn Fontaine and Groves specializing in family and criminal law. She became a part-time presiding Justice of the Peace (JOP) in 1997 and an Administrative JOP in 2006.
She served part-time for the British government as Judge Advocate, began teaching business law at NAIT in 2008 and serves as the President of the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Edmonton. She received from NAIT the Instructional Excellence Award in March 2010 and the Citizenship Award from the City of Calgary in 1983.
Gardner graduated from the University of Alberta in 1978 and practiced with Nickerson Roberts and Hilborn specializing in family and criminal law. He has practiced civil litigation, wills, real estate, estates and corporate law with Birdsell Grant Gardner LLP as a partner since 1991.
He serves as a Bencher with the Law Society of Alberta, Legal Education Society of Alberta and Legal Aid Society of Alberta. He is a member of the Board of Directors with the Alberta Law Reform Institute, Legal Archives Society and Legal Resource Centre Ltd.
Candidates are screened by the Alberta Judicial Council and interviewed by the Provincial Court Nominating Committee before being appointed.
St. Albert Property Report
Earth Hour Today - What Is The World Doing?
In 2009, over 10 million Canadians took part in Earth Hour. Gerald Butts, CEO and president of World Wildlife Fund Canada, hopes that more people will turn out their lights this year and think on how they can make Earth Hour every hour. Organisers would like participants to see that making a positive difference for the environment is possible.
Launching in 2007, Earth Hour saw 2.2. million Sydney, Australia homes and businesses turn off their lights. Only a year later, the event went global with 35 countries participating. This year, more than 200 cities and 105 countries are confirmed participants.
Lights on world-famous landmarks, including Toronto’s CN Tower, Egypt’s Sphinx and Paris’ Eiffel Tower, will go out for one hour. Cities across the world and all over Canada are also powering down.
Edmonton’s downtown lights will be shut off. Montreal’s participating municipal buildings will be shut off. And Vancouver’s Burrard Bridge flood lights, Library Square, city hall and the Vancouver Museum and Space Centre lights will also be shut off. Organisers would like to see one billion people participate in this Saturday’s Earth Hour, March 27 at 8:30 p.m. local time.
St. Albert Homes Report
Metis Owned Company Seeking Permit to Mine Gravel in the North Saskatchewan River Valley
Kanata Metis Cultural Enterprises Ltd paid $8 million for a piece of land in the North Saskatchewan River Valley with the intention to create a gravel mine. The parcel sits in the south west corner of the City of Edmonton, and the proposal to put a mine within city limits is drawing opposition.
The Kanata company, owned by Metis settlements in Alberta, wants to mine for four to five years and then turn the location into parkland with an onsite interpretive centre. The proposal states that the mine could bring needed employment and revenue for the First Nations people in that area. The president of the firm, Archie Collins, noted that a good portion of the land has already been scared by off road vehicles.
This proposal is in direct conflict with an amendment to Edmonton’s municipal development plan, which forbids mining in the North Saskatchewan River Valley. The amendment was passed this past September, after the Kanata company’s purchase of the land. Mr. Collins is requesting the development plan be redrafted so that his mining venture can proceed.
The bylaw is awaiting capital region board approval this coming May. No matter their decision, the Kanata company plans to apply for permits to proceed. No doubt the debate between environmental concerns and city land use will continue.
St. Albert Real Estate Report
St. Albert to Launch North America’s Largest “Eco City”
A project that is being billed as the largest “eco city” in North America is currently in the planning stages in St. Albert. The community will occupy approximately 135 hectares in recently annexed land, accommodating some 6,000 people at a price of approximately $1.8 billion. The organizations backing this community are Dutch investment company Rampart Avenir Communities, as well as Ener Tech Capital of the U.S. Also participating in the venture is the National Institute for Nanotechnology at the University of Alberta.
David Bromley, director of the project, advises that people will be able to see the results of clean technology by viewing the achievements of this community compared with a marketplace using conventional methods. He contends that there is no equivalent area in North America that showcases complete usage of green technology. Bromley cited the experience of U. of A’s centre for nanotechnology and the Edmonton’s potential for growth as some reasons why St. Albert is the beneficiary of the project.
Area businesses will have the responsibility to develop and implement the green technology. For example, a local builder may be assigned to construct a house that uses zero energy. Rampart Avenir, as well as its associates would provide funding for the residence. If the unit is found to be viable for occupation, more units could be constructed and evaluated by both consumers and researchers. Ultimately, the home could be mass-marketed throughout the world.
The approval process continues with St. Albert’s local government. The site for the eco city, which is located between Carrot Creek and Ray Gibbon Drive, is owned predominantly by Rampart and Melcor.
St. Albert Property Report
Heritage Site in St. Albert is Underway
St. Albert’s city council recently authorized construction to begin on phase one of a five-stage heritage site that the city has decided to create. The site will be a heritage-themed park, to be built along Meadowview Drive. The first phase of the project will focus on repairing the city’s historic grain elevators.
The majority of the funds for the cost of the project are included in the city’s 2010 budget plans that will be reviewed for approval in late December, but the council recently approved $295,000 to use in order to begin the first phase.
The city wants to complete the entire project for the celebration of the city’s 150th anniversary, in 2011. Council member Lone Garritty has mentioned about the excitement surrounding the project, and he explains that it is a great accomplishment to finally see the plans become set in action.
The project focuses on the restoration of the two original grain elevators built in St. Albert in 1906 and the 1920s.
The Alberta Wheat Pool Elevator needs repairs to the foundation and crawl spaces to prevent water erosion.
The other elevator, built by the Alberta Grain Company has a slight lean that must be address immediately to ensure the structure’s safety and integrity. The city seems to have planned the project perfectly, securing repair costs that are $16,000 under the modest budget, and the city will be eligible for provincial funding once the projects are complete for the upkeep of city buildings.
These grain elevators are important to Alberta and Canada because they are some of the oldest remaining structures of the sort in the entire region.
St. Albert Homes Report
Water strategy group seems sunk
A group formed to monitor the Sturgeon River may, itself, be sunk by next month. The Sturgeon Watershed Initiative is one among about 150 groups that came to be after the province declared the Water for Life Strategy, back in 2008.
Apparently, the board of the Sturgeon River Watershed Initiative spent six months attempting to decide what their mission and values should be, but never reached an agreement. The group, I am told, has representatives from six different organizations with conflicting agendas. Things are so bad that the board has called for a special meeting, to see if the water strategy group should disband.
They all seem to agree that they want to protect the Sturgeon River Watershed, which begins east of the Pembina River and continues to a point where it enters the North Saskatchewan River. They simply cannot agree on how to accomplish their mission.
It seems that, within the group, commercial, municipal, and corporate interests have pitted themselves against the environmental issues. The watershed is home to a lot of gravel and sand mining operations. There have been discussions on how to regulate the influence of industry and development pertaining to the conservation of the watershed. Some say, however, that this was never the purview of the organization and that the group was supposed to fulfill more of a planning and strategy role.
Whatever is decided at the special meeting, it is a shame that such a group could not grow into an advocacy role for the Sturgeon River Watershed. There is absolutely a need to manage rivers like the Sturgeon, but if you cannot even decide what the mission of your organization should be after six months of debate, I would suggest that you are pretty much already sunk.
St. Albert Real Estate Report
Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore to Open Second Location
Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore is proving to be a win-win concept for needy people seeking to build or renovate homes. The first ReStore, located at 82nd Street and Yellowhead Trail, sells home-building materials that have been contributed by various businesses and individuals. The materials are then sold to customers at rock-bottom prices. The first location has been so successful, a second store at 6909 76th Avenue is scheduled to open in early 2010.
Alfred Nikolai, Edmonton’s Habitat for Humanity president and chief executive, noted that the first ReStore is often overstocked with donated merchandise. Not wanting to turn down any contributions, Habitat decided that Edmonton’s citizens would benefit from another location. Sales from ReStore have generated more than $1 million to help defray Habitat’s administrative costs in the Edmonton location. Cash donations to the store go directly to help build residences for people with annual household incomes between $32,000 and $54,000.
Habitat constructed 21 homes in 2008, and 30 in 2009. The organization’s goal for 2010 is to build 56 homes. Eligible families must put in 70 days or 500 hours in “sweat equity” to qualify for a down payment on the homes. In turn, Habitat offers no-interest loans for periods of 30 to 60 years.
St. Albert Property Report
Syncrde Enters Plea in Waterfowl Case
Synthetic crude oil producer, Syncrude entered a plea of not guilty on charges of negligence that led to the death several migrating ducks. Attorney for Syncrude entered the plea on behalf of the company in a St. Albert court on September 14, 2009.
Officials have allotted two months for trial. Trial is scheduled to convene in March of 2010 in St. Albert. Attorney for Syncrude, Robert White stated that the reasoning behind the not guilty plea was that the organization has implemented new safety measures to prevent the occurrence from happening in the future.
Kent Brown, prosecutor in the case told reporters he was glad that the company had taken preventative measures against such an event in the future, but felt that there should be some degree of accountability for the negligent act.
In mid-2008, at a pond near Fort McMurray that was used by Syncrude, ducks migrating northward were drenched with oil from the water’s surface causing them to sink to their deaths at the bottom. Original reports estimated 500 ducks suffered this ill fate, but in April reports surfaced with a count of approximately 1600 ducks. Deterrents were not launched due to bad weather according to Syncrude.
St. Albert Homes Report
"Speed on Green" At Full Speed
The so-called “Speed on Green” program has gotten serious. On September 1st, the warning period ended, and now anyone who speeds through the targeted intersections will receive a ticket from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. This astounding ticketing accuracy is thanks to red-light cameras which have been in place for a few years.
The affected intersections are St. Albert Trail and Hebert Road/Gervais Drive and Bellerose Drive/McKenny Avenue and St. Albert Trail. These intersections were also part of speed on green’s warning period. During the warning period, the automatic ticketing system generated up to a whopping 75 tickets a day. Now that it’s “for real,” tickets are expected to drop to 50 a day and then drop further as motorists realize the program is in place.
The RCMP points out that even though the program is often called “speed on green,” tickets will actually be issued for all phases of the traffic light. In other words, it is not OK to speed when the light is green.
The tickets are expected to bring in $300,000 in fines for the first year of operation, but as the program progresses, that figure is expected to drop as more drivers lower their speeds.
