City Council: meeting recap

The following decisions were made at today’s City Council meeting.

Council Committee appointments

• Interim Council representatives were approved for the following committees:

E-Scooter Pilot Program update

• Council approved E-scooters as a permanent transportation option in Red Deer, following a three-season pilot program that ended in October. No changes to the program were proposed, as bylaw amendments to the Business Licence Bylaw and Traffic Bylaw were completed as part of the pilot program.
• Benefits to allowing E-scooter companies to operate in Red Deer include alignment with City of Red Deer strategies such as the Multimodal Transportation Plan and all three focus areas of City Council’s current Strategic Plan – Thriving City, Community Health and Wellbeing, and Engaged and Connected City.
• In 2023, 100,909 rides were taken on E-scooters. The average distance traveled per ride was 3.35 km and the average ride time was 18.2 minutes. Riders are required to be a minimum of 16 years old and are advised to wear a helmet.
• The 2024 E-scooter season begins March 15. Learn more: reddeer.ca/escooters

Non-Statutory Public Hearings Process

• City Council is holding a Non-Statutory Public Hearing on February 15, 2024 to hear from the public before it considers a Notice of Motion related to the Overdose Prevention Site in Red Deer. More detailed information about the process will be available at www.reddeer.ca/publichearing in the coming days.

Emergency Services Fees & Charges (Second & Third Reading)

• City Council gave second and third reading to the Emergency Services Fees and Charges Bylaw 3586/2017. The changes allow for Emergency Services (ES) to consider applying service fees related to fire and rescue response as well as fire inspection services. This provides ES with cost recovery options and supports its overtime reduction strategy. This amendment also brings The City’s fees for service in alignment with other Alberta municipalities.

Mayor’s Recognition Awards

• The Mayor’s Recognition Awards (MRA) recognize Red Deer individuals, groups or teams who have brought honour and recognition to Red Deer. Council gave three readings to amendments to the Committees Bylaw to bring the MRA committee process inline with how other committee selections are made, involving Council in the appointment process. The amendments also removed the anonymity of members to make the process more transparent.
• The recruitment process for the MRA Committee and nomination process will begin right away. Residents interested in applying to be on the committee can visit reddeer.ca/councilcommittee for more information.
  
  

For more information, contact:

Community & Public Relations
The City of Red Deer