Well, the summer heat has arrived. I hope you've been staying cool and enjoying some down time this month. July is the one month that Council doesn't have standing policy committee meetings, so there are fewer items on the Council agenda this month. The public hearing meeting includes an amendment package for the Zoning bylaw to clean up some definitions regarding accessory structures among other things, and an amendment package for the for the Saskatoon North Planning for Growth district Community Plan. Head to the agenda to read the reports if you are interested. 

As the weekend gets underway and you make plans, don't forget about the Riversdale Street Fair happening tomorrow on 20th Street from Idylwyld to Ave F, and remember if you're headed to cool off near the river to consider some safety information from SFD.

As always, if you have feedback on any issues on the Council agenda (list at the bottom of this email), I commit to reading all emails I receive before Monday's 1pm meeting. To have all of Council read your feedback, correspondence needs to be received by the Clerk before 10am Monday.

Ward 2

Mountbatten St. Care Home
A Discretionary Use application to expand the capacity of a residential care home on Mountbatten Street in Montgomery is under review. There was a public meeting held to hear information and have questions answered earlier this month. The link to the video recording of the meeting is under the 'meeting info' section on the engage page. I urge you to take a look if this project is of interest. I found it very helpful to hear directly from the care home's owner/operators about their intentions. 

Circle Drive West - study
As I shared last month, the new recommended long term plan for Circle Drive West has been released. Administration intends to bring this to City Council for consideration in August. Some concerns have been addressed in this new plan, and questions that were previously unanswered have been answered (see FAQ section on webpage). Please take a look and don't hesitate to reach out to the Transportation engineers with your questions. I am open to receiving any feedback, and of course, the August Council meeting will be an important place to share feedback as well. 

17th St Extension
My colleagues supported my request to proceed both with engaging King George and Holiday Park soon about the neighbourhood-level traffic, and then continuing the work with the West Industrial Concept Plan when the industrial interface study is done. Thank you to those who shared their thoughts about this file.  

Blairmore Sector Plan Amendment
The City is engaging with various stakeholders and community partners on the proposed Blairmore Sector Plan Amendment to understand interests related to the project. A second phase of engagement with residents, stakeholders, and community partners will occur later in 2022 to receive feedback on the draft final design of the Blairmore Sector Plan Amendment. Learn more about the sector and project here. 

Community Safety & Wellbeing

Rapid Housing Initiative
- Administration presented a report advising Council that there is likely to be another round of funding from the Federal Government for affordable/supportive housing development under the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) program soon. There are a number of things the City can do to ensure we're prepared to support non-profit organizations/developers who will turn that investment into much needed housing. The minutes from Monday outline the additional recommendations I put forward that my colleagues supported which will trigger some important preparation work and also ensure that important policy work does not end up further delayed by the work needed to support RHI. Our new strategic plan talks about aligning our efforts to community plans as well as investment strategies from other orders of Government. I feel confident that the direction provided last week sets us on that path when it comes to RHI.

Updates and Decisions

Interrupted Civic Services
- Transit Customer Service Centre: is temporary closed and will reopen Monday. Details here.
- Online services - IT upgrades are taking place over the weekend and some online services may be unavailable.

Animal Cruelty Investigations
- Council's Governance Committee has asked that admin further engage the Province to explore an expanded level of service for animal cruelty investigations in Saskatoon. The level of service has been reduced to weekdays only since the Provincial agency took this work over from the SPCA. We are also seeking assurance that any animal protection officer will have access to a shelter to bring animals to when seized during investigations, at any day/time. At present, Saskatoon Police are responding to concerns after hours which is something they are ill equipped to do and do not have the resources to do over the long term.

Major Capital Prioritization Process
Check out this report outlining the process that will unfold to further engage Council in a major capital project prioritization process. This work happens annually at budget, and periodically through establishment of funding plans, but a more comprehensive large scale process will unfold to capture a new phase of capital investments that will be considered and ccarried out over the next 10 years or more.

Engagement opportunities

As always, there is so much going on. Engagement opportunities (including those mentioned above) are available at www.saskatoon.ca/engage

Community Updates

Stay Cool
- With the heat we're experiencing, its important to be proactive to stay cool. Check out the tips under the extreme heat section, and if you can, support an agency helping community members who may be more vulnerable to the heat - such as those without adequate shelter, and older residents - to remain safe in the heat waves this summer. SHIP has published a list of cool down locations so these agencies are a good place to start.

Seasonal fun! 
- All outdoor pools are now open. Check them out! 

Construction
A number of larger construction projects (roadways and asset preservation such as water main replacement) are taking place in Ward 2 this upcoming season. Impacted residents are encouraged to sign up for regular updates for the projects in their area by email. More information at www.saskatoon.ca/construction 

City Council | July 25th

City Council meets virtually on Monday. Brief highlights are outlined below. Click here to find the full agenda. Council continues to meet virtually. Correspondence on Council items can be made in writing or as a request to speak (accommodated by phone). Meetings will continue to be live streamed.

Regular Business Meeting  |  1:00 PM
  - Ideas Inc. Lease renewal
  - The BID Bylaw - decision in Oct
  - Appointment - Development Appeals Board
  - City Agency Recruitment and Evaluation Committee TOR
  - 108th Street overpass - damage repair - budget needed
  - Downtown Event & Entertainment District - Site Options - delayed
  - Province Disaster Assistance Program
  - CEO Recruitment & Monitoring - controlled corporations
  - Motion - Kirton: Transit Police Program

Public Hearing Meeting |  6:00 PM
  - Discretionary Use - care home - McArthur Lane
  - Rezoning - Brighton FUD - RMTN1
  - Concept Plan & Rezoning - Rosewood - R1A to R1B
  - Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw - Amendment package 4
  - Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth - OCP amendment
  - Bus Barns lease - Goods for displaced Ukrainians
  - Proclamations & Flag Raisings