What do Pickle Ball and a new Arts Facility have in common?
Well, for one thing. Both of these items were on last week’s Council agenda.
A long time resident of our City, spoke during the Open Forum section of our recent Council meeting to express his opinion about the possibilities of expanding the outdoor facilities available for pickleball. The tennis courts on 55th Ave. are currently used for both tennis and outdoor pickleball. Council heard from this resident that there are several ways that the City could improve these facilities: first, different lines are needed on the court to distinguish their sport from tennis; additional courts are needed to meet the growing demand; and a dedicated pickleball court would be their third priority.
Pickleball is grabbing the attention of young and old alike around North America. Beaumont is part of this growing trend. Our 50 Plus Club has seen their number of indoor pickleball players grow so fast that they are contemplating daily pickleball games in their centre.
While no decisions are pending for expanding the outdoor facilities for tennis or pickleball, Council now has information to consider when budget time rolls around this Fall. There have been requests though for increased outdoor lighting and multi-use facilities. Council was pleased to hear kudos from the resident about the recent resurfacing of the tennis courts. In addition, it was noted that the surface of outdoor ice rinks (minus the ice) was too slippery to safely use for pickleball. This is all good information for Council to have before any future consultations on shared versus new facilities in next year’s budget.
And what about the Arts Facility?
Council had its first presentation from the Performing Arts Facility Steering Committee. This Committee was set up by the previous Council to review, study, and advise us on the possible location, operating model, funding opportunities and costs associated with building a performing arts facility in Beaumont.
Council heard an update on the process. To date, the Committee has spent numerous volunteer hours in meetings, viewing available land, visiting facilities in smaller cities and arts facilities in Edmonton to help them identify options. The Chair and one of the members referenced the overall complexity of the project. They are aiming to bring a well-studied report to Council that will address location, size, function and cost in such a way that Council can plan ahead for building an appropriate and affordable facility.
Councillors thanked the Steering Committee for their hard work and asked questions about details and timelines. The hope was expressed that details of location, operating model, funding sources, and costs would come forward sooner, rather than later, to provide enough time for these items to be carefully considered during Budget 2023 deliberations. The importance of working in partnership was mentioned several times noting other facility growth needs in the community, for example, high schools, library expansion, and City Hall. Since the Administration is scheduled to bring back a review of all of our assets this year, the Committee is hoping their work will be better informed by this data. The Committee will be back with recommendations to Council in the 3rdQuarter.
The second thing these two issues have in common...
Council will consider and weigh these two requests along with many other growth and maintenance needs that come along with building and sustaining a city as vibrant and as beautiful as ours. It’s not an easy task but that’s why we have City Councils. And it’s because residents and volunteers care so much about making their city the best it can be, that I appreciate hearing from them.
If you have an opinion about these issues or others, email me at kathybarnhartt4x@gmail.com. I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts.
High School Site Selection
Some of you may be wondering about the process that is involved with determining the location for a much-needed high school in Beaumont. The one high school we have right now – ESBCHS (Ecole Secondaire Beaumont Composite High School) was built many years ago, around 1987, when our population was much much smaller. Our city has grown rapidly since then and there are now three school boards in Beaumont providing quality education from K – 12. Both the STAR Catholic and Black Gold School Boards need high school spaces for their students in Beaumont as soon as possible.
The challenge in selecting a new high school site in Beaumont is determining where a suitable parcel of land can be developed safely, appropriately, quickly and at an affordable cost.
The City has some public land available that has been designated by the municipality as MR (Municipal Reserve). Under the MGA (Municipal Government Act) the municipalities are permitted to designate up to 10% of a parcel of land as municipal reserve, school reserve, conservation reserve or public utility lot. (MGA S.665(1)) The City also needs to use this land for recreation, parks, trails, environmental reserve, public utilities, etc. All of these land uses contribute to making our community a great place to live.
It is challenging, to say the least, to plan ahead for all the needs of a community including future schools. Our planners and elected officials have done their very best to gaze into a crystal ball to plan for the location of future parks, schools and other municipal uses.
In the coming months, Council will determine which lands will be available and suitable for a new high school to be developed in Beaumont. The timeline and funding for servicing (roads, sewers, water, etc) to the school site is handled by the municipality, landowners, and developers. The servicing on the site, the design, development and building of the actual schools are in the hands of the Provincial government and the School Boards. City Council will choose the best site option and communicate that to the Province and the School Boards based on their needs and requirements.
So, without going into all the myriad details that planners, administrators and elected officials have to learn and know about before a decision can be made, I want residents to know that as a Councillor I am 100% supportive of finding a joint high school site, so that our children can graduate from Grade 12 in Beaumont. I am sure this project will be successful and it will meet the criteria for quality, accessibility and affordability. That’s good news!
Kathy’s Point of View
March 22, 2022 Beaumont City Council meeting.
Fire Services Strategy
On March 22, 2022 Council passed a motion directing the Administration to bring back a strategy to address the need for enhanced service levels, such as fire emergency response times, in time for consideration in next year’s budget. The current staffing model is a hybrid model which includes 4 full time staff members and 33 paid on-call members.
Effective Nov. 30, 2021, all building permits in the City must meet the construction requirements in the National Building Code for a location without a 10 minute response time. These requirements may include locating properties farther away from property lines, or additional fire protection such as non-combustible siding, no side-yard windows and/or sprinkler systems.
Our Director of Protective Services, Jay Melvin, in addition to addressing service levels, stressed the importance of prevention and education to maintain fire safety in Beaumont while we continue to respond to the demands of our rapidly growing city.
Personal safety and property protection are two of the most important outcomes for our residents and municipality. I am looking forward to reviewing the Fire Services Strategy this year and to further discussing strategies with residents, Council, and staff.
Stay up to date with Council decisions and discussions with the City of Beaumont’s Council Notes. These informal recaps help residents catch up with Council meetings in just a few minutes.
Thank You, Beaumont
Thank you! Merci Beaucoup Beaumont!
Thank you, merci beaucoup to my friends, family, and supporters in Beaumont. I am excited to have been re-elected to serve our community for another 4 years!
Every campaign has its own strengths and challenges. This one was no exception. On reflecting back to February, International Women’s Day, when I was the first candidate to file my nomination papers, it seemed like I was watching paint dry for a long time. But even though there were no signs up or papers filed, the campaign was underway. All candidates were hard at work thinking, planning, ordering materials, writing, participating on social media and generally connecting with residents. It was an interesting 7 months of preparation before Nomination Day, on September 18th. By that time there were 15 candidates in the race for Councillor and 5 Mayoral hopefuls.
Post election, I am committed more than ever to my 3 campaign priorities – strategic and measured growth; quality, affordable services; and excellence in governance.
Having been blown away by the innovative ideas and energy of my new and returning Council mates, I can truly say that these are still the areas we need to focus on. I recognize that they are general in nature but I see that as the role of Council to unpack these big ideas and figure out how best to get there. There are many paths we can take, and if we keep our strategic long term vision in mind we can achieve a lot together.
I hope that I can count on those of you who know me, to stay in touch. I’m prepared to listen and learn about your concerns and your ideas. You can contact me in many ways from phone, email, facebook, twitter, website, in- person.
Here’s my coordinates.
780-721-5504
FB: Councillor Kathy Barnhart
Instagram: @kathybarnhart_t4x
Twitter: @Kathy_Barnhart
Please let me know what’s on your mind now and in the future.