City to survey Channelside residents about excess garbage

City council briefs: From the meeting of Sept. 17

Council directed staff to consult residents in Channelside and Silver Creek with secondary suites built over garages whether they would prefer back alley or front street waste collection, Sept. 17.

Staff will also ask if the same residents would be willing to pay for additional units of waste generated by the suites.

The move was made after the June 18 meeting when council asked staff to prepare a report when aldermen learned garbage was piled up near some houses in the communities.

Mayor Peter Brown said the situation, likely a cause of Airdrie’s two garbage bag per household limit, was unacceptable.

According to Susan Grimm, team lead of the City’s waste and recycling department, there are 78 lots in Channelside and 11 in Silver Creek that staff will contact by the end of the year.

Like the rest of Airdrie, homes in the communities are allowed two bags of garbage each week.

However, some of the suites have people living in them and are generating garbage that residents are stacking on their properties.

Grimm said a fee for picking up the extra garbage, likely $20.34 bimonthly, would apply to the lots whether they had people living in additional suites or not.

The issue will be brought back to council after staff receives input from residents, likely in the new year.

Lease renewal

The Boys and Girls Club of Airdrie (BGC) will be remaining in its Allen Street location for another year.

Council voted unanimously to endorse the renewal of the not-for-profit club’s lease, Sept. 17.

The BGC leases the land, located near Muriel Clayton Middle School on a municipal reserve school parcel, but owns the building.

The annual lease rate is $1 per year and the club is responsible for payment of utilities and any upgrades to the building.

BGC’s Allen Street location provides children’s programming, such as after-school programs to Airdrie youth.

Shared space

The Airdrie 2014 Alberta Summer Games Society (ASGS) will be sharing office space with City staff in the old Main Fire Hall, located at 805 Main Street.

Council voted unanimously to provide about 744 square feet of office and storage space to the committee, which will organize the Games, expected to attract 3,000 young athletes from across the province.

In 2009, the Airdrie 55 Plus Alberta Summer Games Society spent about $40,000 renting commercial office space.

The ASGS would rather see the money spent on facility upgrades and equipment, according to a staff report.

The committee will be occupying space on the ground floor, while the Fire Department continues to use the upper floor space.

The Games office is not expected to impact fire operations, however, anyone using the office on a regular basis will be required to undergo FOIP training and sign a confidentiality agreement with the City.

The committee will also be using a portion of the bay and storage at the back of the building.

According to Kim Harris, of Airdrie’s community development department, sharing office space will not impact the City financially.

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