Utility Committee Minutes

Tuesday, September 05, 2023

9:30 A.m. - 5:00 P.m.

River Valley Room, 1st floor, City Hall

Present:

• T. Cartmell, 
• A. Paquette, 
• M. Janz, 
• A. Salvador, 
• A. Sohi, 
• A. Stevenson, 
• and K. Tang 

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1.

Call to Order and Related Business

1.1

Call to Order and Land Acknowledgement

Councillor T. Cartmell called the meeting to order at 9:32 a.m., Tuesday, September 5, 2023, and acknowledged that Utility Committee meets on the traditional land of Treaty 6 Territory and Métis Homelands. The Chair also acknowledged the diverse Indigenous peoples whose ancestors' footsteps have marked this territory for centuries such as: Cree, Dene, Saulteaux, Blackfoot, Nakota Sioux, as well as Métis and Inuit, and now settlers from around the world.

1.2

Roll Call

Councillor T. Cartmell conducted roll call and confirmed the attendance of Members of Utility Committee.

Mayor A. Sohi is a Committee Member pursuant to section 15(3), Council Committees Bylaw 18156.

Councillors S. Hamilton, A. Knack, K. Principe, J. Rice, E. Rutherford and J. Wright; and J. Abekah, J. Shearer and E. Norton, Office of the City Clerk, were also in attendance.

1.3

Adoption of Agenda

• Moved by: A. Stevenson

  That the September 5, 2023, Utility Committee meeting agenda be adopted.

  
  

  In Favour (6)

  A. Paquette, T. Cartmell, A. Salvador, M. Janz, K. Tang, and A. Stevenson

  
  
  
  Carried (6 to 0)

1.4

Approval of Minutes

• Moved by: A. Stevenson

  That the May 9, 2023, Utility Committee meeting minutes be approved.

  
  

  In Favour (6)

  A. Paquette, T. Cartmell, A. Salvador, M. Janz, K. Tang, and A. Stevenson

  
  
  
  Carried (6 to 0)

1.5

Protocol Items

There were no Protocol Items.

2.

Items for Discussion and Related Business

2.1

Select Items for Debate

The following items were selected for debate: 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and 7.4.

2.2

Vote on Reports not Selected for Debate

All items were selected for debate.

2.3

Requests to Speak

• Moved by: A. Stevenson

  That Utility Committee hear from the following speaker:

  • 7.3 Edmonton Water Treatment Plants Flood Mitigation Project

  1. 1. 1. K. Kowalchuk, Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition
  
  

  In Favour (6)

  A. Paquette, T. Cartmell, A. Salvador, M. Janz, K. Tang, and A. Stevenson

  
  
  
  Carried (6 to 0)

2.4

Requests for Specific Time on Agenda

There were no requests for items to be dealt with at a specific time on the agenda.

3.

Councillor Inquiries

There were no Councillor Inquiries.

4.

Reports to be Dealt with at a Different Meeting

There were no Reports to be Dealt with at a Different Meeting.

5.

Requests to Reschedule Reports

There were no Requests to Reschedule Reports. 

6.

Unfinished Business

There was no Unfinished Business on the agenda.

7.

Public Reports

7.1

EPCOR 2022 Performance Based Regulation Progress Report

The following member of the delegation made a presentation and answered questions:

• S. Chaudhary, EPCOR

The following members of the delegation answered questions:

• C. Bonneville, EPCOR
• S. Ancel, EPCOR

The following member of the Administration's delegation answered questions:

• H. Hassan, Urban Planning and Economy

J. Beckett, Utilities Advisor, made a presentation and answered questions.

• Moved by: K. Tang

  That the September 5, 2023, EPCOR Water Services Inc. report EXT02000, be received for information.

  
  

  In Favour (6)

  A. Paquette, T. Cartmell, A. Salvador, M. Janz, K. Tang, and A. Stevenson

  
  
  
  Carried (6 to 0)

7.2

2025-2027 Performance Based Regulation Rate Application - Public Engagement and Awareness Plan

The following members of the delegation answered questions:

• R. Moyles, EPCOR
• S. Chaudhary, EPCOR

• Moved by: A. Paquette

  That the September 5, 2023, EPCOR Water Services Inc. report EXT02008, be received for information.

  
  

  In Favour (6)

  A. Paquette, T. Cartmell, A. Salvador, M. Janz, K. Tang, and A. Stevenson

  
  
  
  Carried (6 to 0)

7.3

Edmonton Water Treatment Plants Flood Mitigation Project

The following member of the delegation made a presentation:

• A. Cudrak, EPCOR

The following members of Administration’s delegation made presentations:

• K. Snyder, Urban Planning and Economy
• H. Hassan, Urban Planning and Economy

The following public speaker made a presentation and answered questions:

• K. Kowalchuk, Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition 

The following members of the delegation answered questions:

• A. Cudrak, EPCOR
• J. Johnson, EPCOR
• Y. Casciaro, EPCOR

The following member of Administration’s delegation answered questions:

• A. Adhikari, Urban Planning and Economy

*Clerk's note: With unanimous consent of Utility Committee, Part 3 was added to the motion.

• Moved by: A. Stevenson

  That Utility Committee recommend to City Council: 

  1. That the Edmonton Water Treatment Plants Flood Mitigation Barriers - Site Location Study and Environmental Impact Assessment, as outlined in Attachments 1 and 2 of the September 5, 2023, Utility Committee report UPE01896, be approved.
  2. That the location of the flood mitigation barriers within the River Valley as outlined in Attachment 1 of the September 5, 2023, Utility Committee report UPE01896 be deemed essential, pursuant to Bylaw 7188 North Saskatchewan River Valley Area Redevelopment Plan.
  3. That Administration provide a memo to City Council providing an update on the Vegetation Management Plan and Detailed Design of the Flood Barriers, including the landscaping plan for the flood barriers.
  
  

  In Favour (7)

  A. Paquette, T. Cartmell, A. Sohi, A. Salvador, M. Janz, K. Tang, and A. Stevenson

  
  
  
  Carried (7 to 0)

7.4

Single-use Item Reduction Bylaw Implementation Update

The following members of Administration’s delegation made presentations:

• E. Robar, Deputy City Manager, City Operations 
• D. Jubinville, City Operations 
• K. Berenzowski, City Operations 

The following members of Administration’s delegation answered questions:

• K. Berenzowski, City Operations
• D. Jubinville, City Operations
• A.  Abbink, City Operations
• C. Hodgson-Mousseau, Employee and Legal Services

• Moved by: A. Stevenson

  That the September 5, 2023, City Operations report CO01992, be received for information.

  
  

  In Favour (6)

  A. Paquette, T. Cartmell, A. Salvador, M. Janz, K. Tang, and A. Stevenson

  
  
  
  Carried (6 to 0)

8.

Responses to Councillor Inquiries

There were no Responses to Councillor Inquiries on the agenda.

9.

Private Reports

There were no Private Reports on the agenda.

10.

Motions Pending

There were no Motions Pending on the agenda

11.

Notices of Motion and Motions without Customary Notice

11.1

Multi-unit Building Design (M. Janz)

Councillor M. Janz stated that at the next regular meeting of City Council, the following motion would be moved:

That Administration provide a report on the feasibility and required budget for:

Procuring a multi-unit building design in the ‘point access block’ style, meeting the permitting and regulatory requirements for a typical city lot; that could be made freely available (e.g. open-source) to help reduce the overall cost of housing development.

Due Date: Second Quarter 2024

Notice of Motion Given: September 5, 2023, Utility Committee

12.

Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 2:30 p.m., Tuesday, September 5, 2023.