[This transcript was generated automatically from audio using AI and hasn't been reviewed by a person -- it can contain mistakes, including plausible-sounding sentences that were never actually said. Treat it as a starting point, not a verbatim record.]

[0:29] And this is the Public and Protective Services Committee for January 21st, 2025.
[0:35] Our final committee for the day. And on this committee, we have Councillor Blackmore,
[0:41] Councillor Berg, and, of course, Mayor Clayton with myself, Councillor Bosch.
[0:46] So we'll call to order. And I need adoption of the agenda, please. Councillor Berg.
[0:55] Here, I just pushed the wrong buttons like Councillor Bressig instructed me to
[0:59] committee adopt the agenda as presented. Thank you Councillor Berg. Call to
[1:04] question and
[1:10] that is carried. We'll move on to reports and we will go to Chief
[1:16] Lemieux for reports. Thank you Madam Chair. So with regards to the police
[1:22] transition I'm pleased to report the 12 GPPS recruits are scheduled to
[1:26] complete their basic training at the end of February with their field
[1:29] training starting in March and council will get an invite to formal an
[1:34] invite to their formal recruit or sorry graduation ceremony. In enforcement
[1:39] services one new officer has begun work with enforcement services this
[1:43] reporting period. City enforcement has had an increase in number of officers
[1:47] hired in the past four months. We continue to manage the training needs
[1:51] of our new officers by pairing them with experienced officers and we
[1:54] anticipate and strive to have more cars on the road once training
[1:58] requirements have been met. With regards to downtown patrol, foot patrols in the downtown
[2:02] core have been ongoing from GPPS's or sorry enforcement services and we continue to engage
[2:09] with the vulnerable population. For mobile outreach, needle mitigation efforts have
[2:14] led to the collection of over 1,300 needles in Q4 of 2024. A report from the RCMP on Thursday,
[2:22] November 28, 2024, Grand Prairie RCMP drug section with the assistance of the Crime Reduction Unit
[2:29] executed a simultaneous search warrant at properties in Mount View area at City of Grand
[2:35] Prairie and a residence in Claremont. As a result, the following items were seized by police.
[2:40] 1.4 kilogram of cocaine, 991 grams of meth, 3 kilograms of pills which turned out to be
[2:48] highly potent opioids, 203 cartons of illicit cigarettes,
[2:55] revolver with ammunition, and $25,000 in Canadian currency.
[3:00] Resident of grandparent has been charged with 10 offenses
[3:03] and has been remanded in custody until this person appears
[3:09] in front of the court.
[3:12] From housing and community development,
[3:15] With regards to the Passionate Heart Awards, nominations are now open until November 28th.
[3:22] The awards will be presented on Friday, February the 14th at 11.30 a.m.
[3:28] and the events at the Bunnett's Energy Center.
[3:31] And more details can be found on the City of GP website.
[3:35] Community Knowledge Campus, some really good news there on January 13th of this year.
[3:42] the Easting Center achieved a significant milestone surpassing 10,000 membership for the first
[3:48] – 10,000 members for the first time in its history.
[3:51] This accomplishment reflects the community's growing commitment to health and wellness as
[3:56] an integral part of their lifestyle.
[3:59] And more than a sports and recreation facility, the Easting Center is where community is
[4:04] being – is built between guests, staff, members, users, groups, tenants, and visitors
[4:08] from near and far.
[4:09] So certainly we see administrations really pleased with this outcome and thanks Council for their continued support in that area.
[4:19] In terms of tournaments and events at the Eastlake Center on campus on January 18, 19, the Piranhas Winterfest swim meet was held and hosted 200 athletes plus coaches, volunteers and spectators.
[4:32] And also GP Sport Connection tried a day welcome opportunities for squash, table tennis and arctic sports.
[4:38] in the aquatics world a permanent head lifeguard position has been filled
[4:42] ensuring consistent leadership for aquatics service delivery and the
[4:47] partnership with the Grand Prairie Catholic School District Celtic
[4:50] Academy is nearing completion so between October 2024 and January 2025
[4:54] four hundred four hundred and ten grade nine four to nine students will
[4:58] have participated in swim swim lessons as part of this program and from the
[5:03] fitness center foot traffic the first two weeks of January 2025 saw 13,000
[5:11] patrons using the fitness center concourse and track this is a 15%
[5:15] increase when comparing to the same period in 2024 so a really good success
[5:21] there also from sport development wellness and culture there was an
[5:26] active active communities initiative grant the Grand Prairie Pickleball
[5:30] Club was a sole recipient in the region to receive this provincial grant and it received
[5:35] just over $67,000 to assess with repairs and damage to the outdoor courts.
[5:42] And the city received another grant for the Challengers Baseball Program.
[5:46] The programming team will be partnering with local community group to host an inclusive
[5:51] providing an inclusive program providing an opportunity for children with cognitive
[5:55] and physical disabilities to participate in baseball.
[5:58] And at the Ernie Radburn Pavilion, I'm happy to announce that we have a new concession operator,
[6:05] so the concession operator for the Ernie Radburn Pavilion had a soft launch the weekend of the
[6:10] Grand North Winter Festival, and Moscow Eats will have a grand opening in the near future,
[6:15] and council will be invited to attend. And from events and entertainment,
[6:20] the Grand North Winter Festival was hosted January 10th to the 12th with over 6,000 guests
[6:25] during the festivities. And we thank all of our event sponsors, so TC Energy,
[6:31] Ice Carving, Windsor Ford, Little Chippers, Aquatara Ice Slide, The Office, Snow Maze,
[6:37] Canadian Tire, Ice Oval, Smashing Suns Equipment, and Operator Donation, and Travel Alberta.
[6:45] Torianka celebrated their 50th annual Malenka with a sold-out show at the Bose on January the
[6:51] 15th and the Grand Prix Storm Celebrated Minor Hockey Night on Saturday, January the 15th
[6:57] with over 39 hockey teams and 650 players in attendance.
[7:02] And lastly, the 90s dance mix tour will be in a Bose Saturday, January 25th and tickets
[7:08] are available online.
[7:09] That is my report, Madam Chair, and I'd be happy to answer any questions.
[7:13] Thank you, Chief Lemieux.
[7:14] Always an extensive report on what's going on.
[7:17] So, is there any questions from committee? No, I just have a couple quick questions for
[7:24] you Chief Lumeo. The field training timeline for our new recruits, what does that look like?
[7:31] So basically that's a process where a new recruit that's gone through all the basic
[7:36] training is paired with an experienced police officer. That training period can be up
[7:43] the six months so I'm gonna say three to six months. Okay thank you. And then
[7:47] once again the nominations for the Passion Heart Awards is is that closed or
[7:51] is that still open? I'm gonna look to Tammy I had the wrong date on my report
[7:57] I apologize I believe it's still open.
[8:02] January 20th. Our report said November.
[8:05] Sorry. So that's why we just wanted to fix that up. And thank you for the
[8:09] report.
[8:17] Chief, sorry I didn't really give you a heads up for this so if you want to
[8:21] get me the information through email that's fine. I had received an anonymous
[8:26] email, a letter through the mail in regards to snow removal on sidewalks
[8:33] and so can you remind council and just for those who might be watching I
[8:39] can't respond to this person because it was anonymous.
[8:41] But what's the expectation for residents
[8:43] in regards to moving snow and ice on the sidewalk
[8:46] in front of their private properties?
[8:48] Yeah, so the bylaw does state that it's
[8:51] responsible to the homeowner to clear the snow and ice
[8:55] off the sidewalk that's adjacent to their property.
[8:59] I'll have to double check.
[9:00] I believe there's a timeline.
[9:02] I believe it's 24 hours after the snow falls.
[9:04] So I will confirm that.
[9:05] But basically, it is the responsibility of the homeowner.
[9:07] And if a neighbor didn't feel that their neighbor, if a homeowner didn't feel their neighbor
[9:14] was doing the appropriate removal, would the best process for them to be to call 311?
[9:21] That is correct, yes.
[9:22] Great.
[9:23] Thanks so much.
[9:24] That's all I needed.
[9:25] Thank you, Chief Lemieux.
[9:27] Okay.
[9:27] We're going to move on to 4.2, community, group, and family support services funding.
[9:34] And Chief Lemieux, can you introduce that?
[9:35] I will introduce that.
[9:36] Thank you, Madam Chair. So on June 17, 2024, there was a motion made at Council that basically
[9:43] said Council Director of Administration to support Council through a strategic plan
[9:47] to examine community group funding. And so what we have in front of you today is a report that
[9:55] proposes some direction for future decisions with regards to community group funding,
[10:02] funding, and it speaks to FCSS funding along with community group funding.
[10:08] And so Katie and Tammy are here, they've worked together on preparing this report.
[10:14] We do not have a draft policy change for you at this time, we're just looking for direction
[10:20] or are we on the right track and so we want to have that conversation and get some
[10:24] direction from committee and then we'll come back with the amendments to the policies
[10:28] as required.
[10:29] So I'll turn it over to Katie and Tammy for their presentation.
[10:33] Thank you, Chief Lehua. Welcome, ladies. I know this is an extensive set of
[10:39] programming for both sides, FCSS and community funding. So please go ahead.
[10:44] Thank you, Chair Bosch. Over the last six months,
[10:47] administration has been conducting research into various forms of funding.
[10:52] I'm just going to play here on my
[10:57] and we've reviewed other municipalities within Alberta
[11:00] primarily and one also across the country and that's specifically to community group
[11:04] funding and we're presenting ideas today for committee consideration.
[11:09] So we will first start with the current state of community group funding.
[11:13] So we're funding support for organizations who provide programs and services that
[11:17] enhance and enrich the city and its residents.
[11:20] We currently have two year funding agreements which expire this year.
[11:23] so they'll have funding through to the end of December 31st, and then we have enhancement
[11:27] funding for programs or projects that contribute to quality of life and enhance the livability
[11:31] of the community up to $15,000, and those are one-year funding agreements, and those
[11:36] also go till the end of December 31st of this year.
[11:39] Emergency funding to address immediate short-term financial relief to meet payroll demands,
[11:44] pay monthly bills, or address emergency facility needs are also available, and
[11:48] the funding source is typically identified as the requests come in.
[11:52] Our current operating budget for community group funding is 4.3 million in cash, which
[11:57] is approximately 1.71% of the total city budget in 2025.
[12:02] We also have over 5.6 million in gift and kind as of the end of 2024 and roughly $627,000
[12:10] in maintenance and capital improvements provided to community groups through corporate facilities
[12:15] maintenance and that was as the end of 2023.
[12:18] For
[12:24] FCSS funding current state, so FCSS operates with a budget of about 2.6 million
[12:32] that's funded through three primary streams.
[12:36] Our provincial contribution is 1.35 million per year.
[12:40] Our service revenue, which is all home support fees is about 115,000
[12:44] and our municipal contribution is 1.1 million.
[12:48] Just to give you a bit of a breakdown there,
[12:50] So, for the 1.6 million of internal staff cost is really the operations of community
[12:57] social development.
[12:58] So, it funds about 20 different positions with the majority of the funding going towards
[13:04] our home support program, which has 14 staff and supports 216 residents every month in
[13:11] their home.
[13:12] Again, with the internal operations of the staff, we are overseeing the operations
[13:17] of the building manager of Cedar Point
[13:20] and keeping the front reception open
[13:23] following the city's hours.
[13:26] And with the community agency support,
[13:28] that is the approximately $1 million a year
[13:31] that we put out through an RFP process
[13:34] that funds currently 15 community group agencies
[13:37] with 19 different programs.
[13:40] However, there is a more of a breakdown
[13:43] on the details of all of the programs
[13:45] that are funded in your admin report in table three.
[13:53] So today administration is looking for direction from committee on policy
[13:56] changes to be presented for 2026 funding applications.
[14:00] We have conducted significant research and identified best practices
[14:04] and this framework will prioritize diverse funding streams,
[14:07] community impact, and alignment with council strategic goals.
[14:11] For smaller grants simplifying grant processes will enable more
[14:14] organizations to access funding and for larger multi-year
[14:17] grants, a focus on community impact ensures resources are allocated effectively.
[14:22] So there's a bit of an outline here of some of the recommendations, so the smaller grants
[14:26] we're looking at up to $10,000, which is slightly down from the $15,000 it currently is.
[14:31] We would reduce the application requirements and the reporting requirements.
[14:35] And then medium-sized grants would be more for pilot projects and seed funding, and that
[14:39] would be up to a maximum of two years, so that would be specifically to respond
[14:43] to unmet complex or emerging community needs.
[14:45] And it would have funding agreement as well as reporting requirements and then large grants for community partners and organizations operating city-owned facilities would be to a maximum of two years with enhanced reporting requirements.
[15:01] It's also recommended that capital grants are only funded to a maximum of 50% of the total
[15:06] project costs with 50% required as matching, and this is consistent with many other grants,
[15:11] provincial grants in particular. We would remove the FCSS funding from the current community
[15:17] group funding policy and create a new standalone policy for FCSS, and oh, sorry, this is Tammy.
[15:27] Yes,
[15:31] with the removal of the funding from policy, the FCSS from policy 315 and the creation
[15:37] of a standalone policy, it would give government a broader community group funding.
[15:44] However, FCSS is guided by specific provincial mandates from the Family and Community Support
[15:49] Services Act and regulation that prioritizes prevention and social services.
[15:54] So, with this proposed change and having the standalone policy, it would create and allow
[16:00] to – for us to meet our provincial mandates and focus on preventative social services
[16:06] and ensure that City Council has input into the funding policy and the guidelines that
[16:15] we normally could follow.
[16:16] And as Katie had mentioned, we've looked at – we did a scan of all the other municipalities
[16:23] municipalities, and we are two of the municipalities that don't have a standalone FCSS policy.
[16:29] And then that's a very small municipality, which is Canmore, so it's very consistent
[16:33] across the FCSS networks to have a standalone FCSS policy.
[16:39] And with that, we're also to ensure that Council has the ability to have more opportunity
[16:47] to select the the priorities that we fund every year every four years we do a gap
[16:54] analysis and we would present that gap analysis to counsel so that they could use
[16:59] that information to select their priorities for FCSS funding which then
[17:03] would be put into an as a city of Grand Prairie FCSS funding framework which
[17:08] then would go out with the RFP.
[17:12] Okay thank you for the report you're
[17:15] We have more, okay, go ahead.
[17:17] Thank you.
[17:18] So this slide here just outlines the organizations
[17:21] within the city that are currently operating
[17:23] city-owned facilities.
[17:25] So these would be the groups that we would put
[17:27] in that larger bucket of funding
[17:29] that would have the two years of funding.
[17:31] And primarily it would be operating expenses
[17:33] for all of these organizations.
[17:34] So we just wanted to put them up here
[17:36] so that council was aware of all of the organizations
[17:38] that we have operating city-owned facilities.
[17:44] So currently with community group funding,
[17:46] funding. As mentioned before, it was a two-year funding cycle which was approved by Council
[17:50] in June of 2023 and that funded 2024 and 2025. And then the one-year enhancement funding
[17:56] was approved in June of 2024 for this current year. It's recommended for 2026 just to fund
[18:03] all levels of funding for just the one year so that we can be aligned with the FCS
[18:08] funding and then go back to two years of funding in 2027. So then Council would
[18:12] see all of the large grants at the same time to fund on the same years.
[18:18] And currently with the FCSS funding cycle, it's always been a four-year funding cycle.
[18:25] We're currently in that four-year funding cycle and it ends December 31, 2026.
[18:31] At this time, when we put the, if it's recommended for us to develop a new policy and funding
[18:37] guidelines, there's lots of opportunities for us to reduce the four years to either
[18:43] two, one, two, three, four, and maybe to even follow some of the recommendations that the
[18:50] community group funding is to look at a seed funding opportunity, because we have been seeing
[18:54] lately over the years that we are having more organizations come forward or more programs
[18:59] come forward looking for that startup, which FCS could look at.
[19:04] So within the policy change, we would recommend anywhere from a two to four year funding years.
[19:16] So this is the current timeline for community group funding for the next funding cycle.
[19:21] So in March is typically when we develop a media release and any marketing materials.
[19:26] We'll start drafting the application form and set up the grant application portal because everything is online now.
[19:33] so that's new in 2025, which will help get all the applications
[19:36] improperly in all the paperwork without a lot of the back
[19:39] and forth that we've had in previous years.
[19:41] In April, we'll have some application support sessions
[19:44] to answer any questions for community groups
[19:46] that need help filling out the form.
[19:48] We'll walk them through the new portal,
[19:50] and applications would be due April 30th.
[19:53] After that, we do a financial review
[19:55] with our finance department, and each department
[19:58] that's connected to these community groups
[20:00] also provides an analysis, so that
[20:01] That would be the first two weeks of May.
[20:03] We submit the report end of May, and then we would have a CCW in June where final approval
[20:10] of the 2026 funding would occur, and that's in alignment with our budget deadlines.
[20:18] For the FCSS funding timelines, it's a little bit longer.
[20:23] So we would get started in quarter one of 2025, drafting the policy and seeking council
[20:29] approval.
[20:30] by quarter three we would be starting some community engagements just to get
[20:36] some feedback on gaps and analysis that's happening in our community. After by
[20:42] quarter one of 2026 we would come back with the findings of the gap analysis to
[20:48] council to seek further input into direction. Then from there we would
[20:55] develop the framework based on council's direction, proceed with the RFP. The RFP would be live
[21:02] until May. We would then review all of the submissions by June and then we would come
[21:08] back to council with an in-camera session just to have that discussion to let council
[21:14] aware of the RFP results and contracts would be completed by September of 26 and new funding
[21:21] would be given out in January of 2027.
[21:27] And on the last slide here we just have a summary of the
[21:29] recommendations which are also outlined in the report. I won't go through them line by line but
[21:33] they are all there for your consideration and we are open to questions now.
[21:39] Wow, thank you. That
[21:41] was a significant report and a lot going on for both of these funding streams. So first we
[21:47] will go with Councillor Burke have a question. I actually have a handful of them so I can bump
[21:52] out if needed. So the first one actually, and it was related to that slide, was the first point
[21:58] where one of council's strategic priorities is quality of life. And in the same line,
[22:04] it's saying that we are proposing cutting some funding from $15,000 to $10,000 for small
[22:12] organizations. So my question is how many organizations would be negatively impacted
[22:19] impacted, or do we expect to be negatively impacted, but also on the flip side, how many
[22:24] organizations would be positively affected by receiving $10,000?
[22:30] Thank you, Council Member Katie, are you taking this one?
[22:33] I am.
[22:33] Thank you, Chair Bosch.
[22:34] So currently under the enhancement funding, the one-year funding, the majority of the
[22:38] groups are 10,000 or less.
[22:40] Within that current stream, there are a number of other groups that if they were not
[22:44] identified as a council priority that would be impacted, I wouldn't be able
[22:48] give you an exact number because it would depend what council wanted to prioritize there but
[22:54] there's roughly 12 groups not operating city-owned facilities that potentially could be impacted.
[23:02] Okay so but based on last year's budget or how many would be negatively impacted?
[23:09] Out of the one-year funding none, out of the two-year funding there potentially could be a few
[23:15] but again it would be up to council discretion.
[23:18] concern that those organizations that would get cut would be detailing where those cuts
[23:25] are coming from within their organizations and I'm sure that every one of them has a
[23:29] good argument as to why they need that fund.
[23:31] So I'm really cautious about cutting that back and so that's a concern of mine.
[23:40] And then another follow-up question if I may.
[23:43] I'll give you one more and then we'll move on to others.
[23:45] Sounds good.
[23:45] How many pots of $25,000 are we looking at?
[23:51] Thank you, Chair Bosch.
[23:52] So it would depend.
[23:55] I know that's not a very clear answer,
[23:57] but currently the overall budget for community group funding,
[24:01] if you remove the libraries, about $2.1 million.
[24:04] If you look at the contractual obligations
[24:06] in those operating city-owned facilities, that's about $670,000.
[24:10] So the remainder is a combination of safety,
[24:13] housing and social services economy and some other support groups that fit in
[24:18] there. So my question actually is more around the medium-sized grants pilot
[24:22] project seed funding for 25,000. That's an unknown? Yeah, that would be an
[24:27] unknown at this point because we've never had a seed funding for that amount.
[24:30] Everything has just been applied for whatever amount you need and then
[24:33] we'll make recommendations based on what we have in the budget and we
[24:36] don't have an amount approved for 2026 yet. Okay. Thank you. Mayor Clayton.
[24:41] Thanks, Chair Bosch. Appreciate the report. It's obviously a lot of work went into this.
[24:47] I think there's a lot here to unpack for Council as well. And so in your report, you know,
[24:56] it's Committee Direct Administration to go through these various steps. What do you
[25:02] see as a timeline in regards to this actually coming substantiated? And then I have some
[25:07] specific questions. So if you could tell me the timeline you're expecting first and then I can ask
[25:13] a couple specifics if the chair will allow. Yeah thank you chair Bosch. So we would work on amending
[25:18] policy 315 right away because it would have impact on community group funding for 2026
[25:24] and then I believe FCSS would be right behind it with their policy as well. So we would need
[25:30] to have these approved in order to make recommendations for June community group funding.
[25:36] Can I ask a couple of specifics?
[25:39] So following Echoing Councilberg's comments in regards to $25,000 projects in the seed
[25:44] money, give me some examples of – I think I can probably picture some examples of SCSS
[25:53] seed projects, seed funding projects, but tell me a community group's example.
[25:59] Yeah.
[26:00] So this is just completely off the top.
[26:02] That's a large amount first.
[26:03] Yeah.
[26:04] making some estimate some guesses so one of our groups say is technical search
[26:08] and rescue say they wanted to bring in a specific program for two years to get
[26:11] people trained up or a specific opportunity that they wanted to bring in
[26:14] for a one-time funding any of our groups I could I would say would have
[26:19] that opportunity say Nighthawk wanted to add a special program for skiing or
[26:23] snowboarding that was a one-time emerging need within the community
[26:27] that would be an idea and so the the recommendation regards to aligning
[26:31] with council priorities. So do you foresee if these changes were implemented that at
[26:36] the beginning of a term once council identifies their strategic priorities that you would
[26:41] then pick organizations that align and they would be funded for the full four years based
[26:46] on the term and the alignment with council's priorities?
[26:49] Amy?
[26:50] Yeah. Thank you just for two years. We would do two years and then another two
[26:53] years.
[26:53] Okay. And if I can, stop me when you want. As identified early in your report, community
[27:02] group funding with, if you add up operational dollars in cash, maintenance, gift-in-kind,
[27:16] sorry not gift-in-kind, but funding agreements, and then you look at FCSS, they're both approximately
[27:23] $4 million. So they're both approximately 4%. So collectively, FCSS and community group
[27:30] funding right now is costing us about 8% of our budget. So to me, because that's a significant
[27:36] amount, the gap analysis is of extreme importance to council. And so I'm kind of curious about
[27:46] So in the timeline of making these changes, I think Council will want to see the gap analysis
[27:56] maybe prior to making some of these decisions.
[28:00] And for me, it's similar to what Council approved in regards to a food security coordinator
[28:07] to find efficiencies and operational efficiencies and opportunities.
[28:12] There may be overlap in some of these community groups.
[28:16] There may be efficiencies and missing gaps.
[28:20] And so council in my opinion has to have a better understanding of that.
[28:24] And so I'm just wondering when you see the gap analysis
[28:27] and when that opportunity for conversation might be.
[28:30] Thank you, Chair Bosch.
[28:32] We have outlined in the timelines that we were hoping to bring it back
[28:36] by quarter four of this year.
[28:38] So that's not going to meet the timeline of the changes, like, because we have to do
[28:43] community engagement and we have to meet with all of our stakeholders, it would take
[28:49] us a while.
[28:50] We can potentially speed that up, but we wouldn't be even able to start this until about quarter
[28:55] two based on some of the other projects that we currently have to complete by the
[28:59] end of.
[29:00] And I get that.
[29:02] I guess some of my concern is if you want council to approve a funding category
[29:06] for $25,000 seed money projects.
[29:10] I don't even know if that's needed, necessary, like,
[29:13] do you know what I mean?
[29:13] I don't feel like I have enough information
[29:15] necessary to make some of these decisions today.
[29:19] Okay.
[29:20] We will go to CEO Burke.
[29:24] And part of the presentation,
[29:26] the work they've done here
[29:27] is really to set up the next council.
[29:29] We were locked into some funding timelines previously,
[29:33] so we were faced with that option
[29:34] of looking at do we terminate some of those agreements early or do we look at how we set
[29:39] up the next one. So, appreciate that there would be some decisions made this year before
[29:43] the gap analysis was made, but that's why we're recommending a shorter window for community
[29:48] of funding of the year so that we could sync those up into future years and believe
[29:52] this is about using the knowledge of this council to set up a process for the next
[29:56] Council and not just start.
[30:00] We're starting from scratch when we do have existing agreements in place. So that was a thinking behind this from administration.
[30:05] Thank you. I'm going to move to Councillor Blackmore and then we'll go back to Councillor Berg and Mayor Clayton.
[30:12] A couple of questions. One's a follow-up for Mayor Clayton's concern. If we move ahead with this and then the gap analysis indicates that we didn't move far enough or we moved too far,
[30:25] or we can, at that time, adapt and amend.
[30:30] Correct?
[30:31] Correct.
[30:31] Yeah.
[30:32] I'm most interested in the FCSS funding, and I know that it's currently at just over $1
[30:41] million in the budget.
[30:43] I'm wondering if that remains 80% provincial dollars in 20% city, or if we are beefing
[30:52] up that part of money to meet the needs of our community.
[30:56] Tammy?
[30:57] Thank you, Chair Bosch.
[30:58] Currently, it's a 77-23 split for the 1.1 million.
[31:04] So we are beefing it up.
[31:06] We had 3%.
[31:07] Exactly.
[31:08] Thank you.
[31:10] 77% and 23%.
[31:13] 23.
[31:14] Okay.
[31:14] That was my question too.
[31:15] 6% actually.
[31:17] We need to add the two together.
[31:22] Okay.
[31:23] Councillor Berg?
[31:24] Yeah, thanks Chair Bosch. So one quick question and then a comment and actually my question is for
[31:29] Chief Waitway. Heading into the 2024 budget, I had asked for an extra 27,500 for community
[31:36] groups. Was that this pot of money that that went to? Do you recall? It's fair if you don't.
[31:43] Thank you for the question to the Chair. It would have. If you approved increased
[31:47] community group, that's exactly what Ms. Beiberdorf was discussing, same pot.
[31:51] Okay, thank you. And I guess it's my comment similar to Mayor Clayton where on one hand, we're shaving off a potential of $15,000 to groups down to 10.
[32:03] That's a concern for me. On the other hand, to me, the only reason we would do that is for budget considerations.
[32:08] But on the other hand, we've got this $25,000 black hole that we don't know how many 25,000s we're giving out.
[32:17] So, there's an argument there that is too vague for me.
[32:21] So, I guess as a committee, I'm willing to move this to Council for further debate, but
[32:27] I'm just not in favour of cutting back that extra $5,000 at this time, but that's just
[32:33] me.
[32:34] Thank you.
[32:35] I do have a question in regard – what I have written down here is for the $4.3
[32:40] million for community group funding is 1.1 or 1.71 of the overall city budget.
[32:46] So are we looking at roughly 4% for both? Yep. Great. Okay. That was just a
[32:56] clerical question. And then the gap analysis. I
[33:07] would look forward to seeing
[33:08] something out of that prior to changing everything. I think I think setting
[33:12] up a new council, they would need as much information as possible.
[33:17] And I say this only because in certain organizations that we're giving money to, I've heard over
[33:24] this past year, some of our counselors are concerned of exactly what does this organization
[33:29] do and why we're giving them so much money.
[33:32] So I think there needs to be an understanding for some of us.
[33:36] Maybe others know everything about each organization, but I don't think that's fully clear
[33:42] and especially going into a new council year I think some of those questions
[33:49] will be asked and then following with that do you find it's typical like status
[33:57] quo money going to organizations year after year after year so I think we
[34:01] have to look at that and potentially through this gap analysis do you have
[34:06] thoughts on on that part yeah I can I can respond to the community group
[34:09] funding piece and the amounts they get year-over-year. We have seen increases in
[34:14] a lot of the groups that are operating city-owned facilities as their
[34:16] expenses increase. Some of the other ones have remained fairly consistent. We've
[34:21] had small incremental increases a few times but in general they're kind of
[34:26] staying the same. And through FCSS what would you say? Thank you for the
[34:30] question to the Chair. A very similar response. In the last funding cycle we
[34:36] We did fund two new innovative projects, one that's doing amazing and something that we
[34:43] had never, we found that the reimagining family justice for the supports in the community
[34:48] to work with families and they just received $26.2 million to the Alberta Law Foundation
[34:55] to use Grand Prairie as that pilot.
[34:58] So we are seeing innovation happening in our community with some of the programs,
[35:03] but to most of the programs have been probably funded for 50, 50 years in our
[35:09] community and they look to that as their core funding. That is the concern. So if
[35:13] you want to put seed money into new programming, something's got to give the
[35:16] pots only so big. So Mayor Clayton. Thanks Chair Bosch. I just wanted to check in
[35:23] on a number you mentioned. 77% is City of Grand Prairie tax dollar
[35:30] revenue that's used for funding and 23% is provincial funding.
[35:35] Thank you for the question, Chair. The question I answered was around the 1.1 million that
[35:42] or the 1 million that we give to the community. That's the difference. There are 77% of
[35:47] that. 1 million is FCSS contribution and the difference is the city.
[35:52] But do you have a total for what the city is contributing right now? Can you tell
[35:56] me that total and the provincial total?
[35:59] So the total of the provincial contribution plus the revenue is 56% and the municipality
[36:06] makes up the 44 difference.
[36:09] Great.
[36:09] Thank you.
[36:10] I think for me that's another part of it.
[36:14] With many sectors of our business, the province is downloading onto municipalities on a regular
[36:19] basis.
[36:21] I don't know when we have an unknown amount of $25,000 seed amounts, I mean obviously
[36:27] council can set it to a maximum. I don't want to see us ever contributing more than we're
[36:32] already contributing. You know, it's an extreme amount of money and a lot of these programs
[36:39] fall under provincial mandates. And so I'm really concerned, like the next council
[36:45] needs to keep a really tight eye on this. This number, if it grows, it's substantial.
[36:50] And we already, as a municipality, are providing significant mental health projects and programming.
[36:59] We're providing above and beyond in regards to supports such as mobile outreach.
[37:04] We're going above and beyond in regards to our supports and health care.
[37:08] And it's just on and on and on.
[37:10] And so when a province decides to not support community safety initiatives such as photo radar,
[37:16] I just continually worry about this downhill approach that it's being
[37:23] dumped on municipalities and so this is something that we need to keep on. I
[37:27] appreciate that the time that will be required to do the gap analysis but it's
[37:32] something that requires a lot of attention from the next council so I'm
[37:36] optimistic that the gap analysis will be very thorough and provide
[37:40] recommendations that may not see or that may see changes in how we operate
[37:47] FCSS as well as community group funding. I agree. Thank you. Councillor Brachmore.
[37:54] My only comment is that the organizations that are funded through
[37:58] FCSS particularly the ones who've been funded for many many years do
[38:02] provide very core services to the community of Grand Prairie and they
[38:07] provide those services at a price that no government would be able to
[38:11] provide. And so I've always been really proud of the non-profit community in
[38:17] Grand Prairie and how hard those people work to provide really good service to
[38:22] our citizens and I don't actually expect to see significant differences that
[38:30] will arise through a gap analysis. I am confident that we have
[38:36] been spending that money appropriately for the last 30 to 50 years and I encourage counsel
[38:44] if you don't understand what one of those organizations does to reach out to them and ask for a tour
[38:50] and ask for a meeting to determine what it is they do, I think you would be amazed
[38:55] at the amount of work they do in very painful, often very painful situations.
[39:01] So, I'm not worried about the FCSS funding at all.
[39:07] Okay, Mayor Kwayne.
[39:09] Just my last comment.
[39:12] I absolutely agree with Councillor Blackmore that the organisations, the output of the work that's done from these nonprofits is exceptional and very required.
[39:23] My concern is the downloading from the province and the municipalities continue to have to pay more of this
[39:28] as these programs become more,
[39:31] the needs become more acute,
[39:33] which requires more personnel,
[39:35] which requires more expenses.
[39:37] These programs will continue to require more focus
[39:41] and more money,
[39:42] and it can't be on the back of municipalities continually.
[39:45] Thanks.
[39:46] All right, so we have a motion in front of us.
[39:50] Are we looking for this to go to council
[39:53] or except for information?
[39:55] Administration.
[39:56] administration.
[39:56] Okay.
[39:57] Councillor Backmar, go ahead.
[39:59] I would move that this committee direct administration to draft amendments to policy 315 to remove
[40:05] FCSS funding, to create a new FCSS funding policy that align with the FCSS Funding Act,
[40:14] create funding categories for seed funding up to $25,000 per project to a maximum of
[40:19] two years, recommend core funding to community assets that align with council priorities
[40:25] and organizations operating city-owned facilities to amend enhancement funding to a maximum
[40:32] of $10,000 per organization per year and recommend one-year funding for the 2026 budget year
[40:40] to align, only to align with the FCS funding timelines.
[40:45] And in speaking to that, when this comes back before council, there's a good chance
[40:51] that we're going to not approve all of it. But I think administration has done a significant
[41:01] amount of work to bring this forward and it is better to continue down that path and make
[41:07] changes at a later date when we have more information than it is to halt the process
[41:13] right now. So I would ask Council this committee to support this motion.
[41:19] Okay. Mayor Quing. I appreciate the motion. I'm happy to support this as it will come
[41:26] back to council for consideration. The one item in there, item number three, the funding
[41:30] categories for seed money for projects, is one that I would think that council may
[41:39] want to have consideration of a limit. So, not asking administration necessarily put
[41:44] a limit there, but Council, when it comes back, may want to consider that. Thanks.
[41:48] So I have a question in regards to this is going to administration. Is it coming back
[41:52] to Council? At what point is it coming back?
[41:57] Okay, once they establish policies? Okay.
[42:00] Is there any further comments to this, Councillor Berg?
[42:04] Yeah, similar to Mayor Clayton. I'm going to ask for a cap as well, but also just
[42:10] have that discussion of leaving the $15,000 cap where it is. But again, that'll
[42:15] be up to council to decide but at this point that's I'll move it forward to
[42:19] council. Thank you and look forward to the continuation of work on this and we
[42:25] will call the question and
[42:35] that is carried. Thank you both Tammy and Katie
[42:38] for the report it was extensive and much more work to do. Thank you. We will
[42:45] go directly to the outstanding items list. Chief Lemieux. Thank you Madam
[42:51] Chair so a couple changes to the outstanding items list on number 1332
[42:56] food security backbone organization and item 1328 food security were dealt with
[43:01] in the fourth quarter 2024 so I would ask that we remove those from the
[43:06] outstanding items list. Thank you Chief Lemieux, Councillor Burke. If I may
[43:11] business I'd like to move committee received the January 21st 2025
[43:15] outstanding items list as amended for information. Thank you that is in
[43:20] order and we'll call the question.
[43:28] And that is carried. And with that, we will
[43:30] adjourn the Public and Protective Services Committee meeting. Have a good day.