Sherwood Park Minute: Issue 117

Sherwood Park Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Sherwood Park politics

📅 This Week In Sherwood Park: 📅

• Among the items at tomorrow's Council meeting, which starts at 9:00 am, is approval of this year's annual art acquisitions for the County's permanent collection. The recommended purchases come to $12,005, matching the full art collection budget for the year, and were chosen by a selection panel of advisory committee members and local artists. In the adult category, 39 artists submitted 61 works, with 13 pieces recommended for purchase. Council is also asked to accept a one-year loan of 19 youth works selected from 129 entries by 93 students at a local student art show. The purchased pieces will be displayed in the Artrium for a year before being placed in various County facilities.
  
  
• Also on the agenda is a request to support a proposed Telus cellular tower at the Deermound Off-Leash Dog Park on Township Road 522. The 60-metre lattice tower, with a fenced equipment compound, requires a letter of support from the County to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the federal department that regulates wireless facilities. Telus and its land consultant settled on the site next to the dog park parking lot after reviewing alternatives, including a location further east that was ruled out over ground conditions and environmental and liability concerns. Notices were sent to 24 nearby property owners, and residents raised concerns about visual impact, possible effects on property values, and whether other locations had been considered. Council originally approved a long-term lease with Telus for the site in July 2024 and now has the option of either issuing the letter of support or revoking that approval.
  
  
• Councillors will also consider a $219,835 amendment to this year's capital budget covering changes identified in the second quarter. The largest piece is a new $160,000 project to secure utility protections on County-owned land, intended to support a future subdivision and potential sale, with the cost expected to be recovered when the land sells. A further $50,000 would go toward acquiring land at the Strathcona Wilderness Centre to resolve an encroachment where a County building sits over a property line. The remaining $9,835 reflects money raised by a school council for additional playground work at Holy Redeemer Catholic School and requires no municipal funding. The land projects would be drawn from municipal reserves, and Administration warns that without approval the affected work could be delayed.
  
  
• Council will also consider revisions to the County's proclamations policy when it meets tomorrow at 9:00 am. The changes add a list of grounds on which a proclamation request may be refused, including requests that are commercial, religious or political in nature, that involve hatred, discrimination or racism, that include inflammatory or obscene statements, or that support a cause considered contentious or divisive within the community. Administration says the new criteria are meant to keep proclamations in the interest of the community as a whole and bring the policy in line with other Alberta jurisdictions. The revised policy also spells out the roles of the Mayor, Council and the Office of the Mayor, and asks organizations to submit requests at least four weeks before the target meeting. The proposed wording was reviewed twice by the Governance Advisory Committee, in March and May.
  
  
• Finally, Council will receive a review of intersection traffic control across several Ward 3 neighbourhoods. Transportation staff examined 17 intersections in Sherwood Heights, Brentwood, Maplewood and Maple Grove, weighing traffic volumes, road layout and a 10-year collision history with a focus on right-angle crashes. Based on that work, four intersections will be converted from yield control to stop control on the minor approach this year: Alder Avenue at Sage Crescent, Alder Avenue at Greenwood Way, Alder Avenue at Fir Street, and Raven Drive at Crane Road. Two more, at Fir Street and Pine Street and Fir Street and Oak Street, will be monitored once Forest Grove School opens and new traffic patterns settle in. Staff say the cost will be covered within the existing operating budget and caution that adding unwarranted stop signs can increase delays and driver frustration. 

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

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