September 20, 2024 Committee of the Whole Highlights

September 20, 2024

Disaster Recovery Program Update – Administration provided an update on the status of Disaster Recovery Program (DRP) submissions related to the Dunes West Wildfire and Kleskun Creek Wildfire. The total cost submitted to the DRP for the Dunes West Wildfire was $7,585,656.33 with just under $1.8 million awaiting reimbursement. The application submitted on August 7, 2024, for the Kleskun Creek Fire is pending approval from the Municipal Wildfire Assistance Program.

Sunrise House Project Update – The Executive Director of the Grande Prairie Youth Emergency Shelter Society (GPYESS) provided an update on their Capital Project, a new home for Sunrise House. The Society celebrated the grand opening of the facility on September 12, 2024. The County of Grande Prairie contributed two Capital Grants to the project, totaling $500,000, in addition to the annual $20,000 FCSS grant provided to GPYESS since 2011.

STARS Foundation Funding Request Deferred to Interim Budget – The Committee received an annual update from Glenda Farnden, Senior Municipal Relations Liaison for the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS) Foundation. The update outlined operational highlights from the Grande Prairie STARS base for the past year.
The Committee directed Administration to bring STARS’ request for $200,000 in annual operating funding for 2025-2027 to the 2025 interim budget deliberations. The County has been a supporter of the STARS Foundation for over 16 years, granting a total of $2,949,311 in community funding to the organization.

REALice Technology Report for County Sportsplex – Administration provided an information report evaluating the potential merits of REALice technology for the County Sportsplex. REALice is a high-precision water treatment system to make and resurface ice without hot water, potentially lowering costs.

Economic Development 2024 Third Quarter Report – Economic Development administration provided a comprehensive overview of activities and progress achieved thus far in 2024.

Community Investment Fund Reserve Review – Administration presented an outline from Policy C27 – Financial Reserves to clarify the purpose of the Community Investment Fund Reserve following Council’s request for more information at the Council meeting on September 9, 2024.
The Committee directed Administration to make changes to the policy and establish a second reserve for all projects and revenues not related to Aquatera, and to bring both to a future Council meeting for consideration.

The next Regular Council Meeting will take place on September 23, 2024. The next Committee of the Whole Meeting will take place on October 18, 2024.

Council and Committee meetings are available to the public via live stream. Find connection instructions and meeting agendas under Council Meetings on the County website.