City council voted to maintain the existing InterCity Express (ICE) bus service and not include pickup and dropoff points at CrossIron Mills, Oct. 17.
The ICE bus began twice-daily commutes in October 2010, and has service to Calgary via Highway 2 direct to downtown and returns to Airdrie via Centre Street to Stoney Trail.
Last month, Mayor Peter Brown suggested the bus could be used to bring employees and shoppers to CrossIron Mills as it already travels past the mall.
Staff determined that the ICE bus could not be competitive with a third-party service provider available only for employees at the mall. Ivanhoe Cambridge subsidizes service for $1.50 per ticket while ICE charges $4.50.
The City also found that the delivery times would not mesh with mall hours. The last morning bus would travel to CrossIron at 9 a.m. and the mall does not open until 10 a.m.
As the ICE bus only runs during peak travelling times, no service would be provided between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The Wagon Wheel industrial area near the mall is a significant employment node, however, most of the staff operate on a shift-work model with employee hours starting in the mid to late evening and ending in the early morning.
Another complication would be the wear and tear of speed bumps in the mall’s parking lot on the articulated buses.
The cost for service to CrossIron Mills mall would be about $20,000 per year, according to City estimates.
“Why would anyone pay $4.50 to get there and stand outside the mall for an hour when $1.50 gets them there when they need to be?” asked Alderman Ron Chapman.
“Moving forward, transit staff is committed to work collaboratively with major employers in the community to determine current and future employment mobility needs,” said Chris MacIssac, transit coordinator.
City council voted to formalize the service standards and operational guidelines to ensure consistency in ACCESS Airdrie delivery.
“Unfortunately, without endorsed policies, service standards to our clients have not been consistent under the present guidelines,” said MacIssac.
ACCESS Airdrie is an eligibility-based paratransit service within Airdrie and once a week to Calgary. The ACCESS Airdrie Paratransit Policy will formalize the service standards, eligibility criteria, booking procedures and cancellations. The ACCESS Airdrie Handbook includes information on shared responsibilities, rules of conduct, frequently asked questions and fares and it will be shared with service provider, clients and other community stakeholders. The handbook was created based on models from Red Deer, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and Calgary.
Alderman Glenda Alexander was concerned the guidelines stated it could take up to two weeks for staff to approve an application.
“It seems like a long time if someone’s husband has a heart attack and she wants to go see him in the hospital in Calgary,” she said.
MacIssac said that is the maximum amount of time and applications can be approved within a day depending on circumstances. He also said eligibility forms have been made more clear and easier to fill out. Once an applicant fills out a form, they are considered a user for life.
ACCESS Airdrie has about 200 registered users and between five and 10 people sign up each month.
City council approved an auction date and prices for two properties that are more than three years in tax arrears.
The public auction date will be Nov. 8 at 9:30 a.m. in the Vincent Meeting Room at City Hall with a reserve bid of $295,000 for 86 Luxstone Point SW and $255,000 for #102 – 620 Luxstone Landing SW.
Suzette DeMott, manager of Assessment Taxation and Utilities, said the owners of the buildings have been informed of the situation numerous times and have declined a payment plan to help pay off the debt.
Tax arrears on 86 Luxstone Point SW is $4,615.94 and $6,544.42 for #102 – 620 Luxstone Landing SW.
If a property does not sell, the City has the option of renting the property to the previous owners or existing tenants and applying the rents received to the tax arrears account until it is paid off, at which time, the title would revert back to the previous owner.
DeMott said in the 23 years she has worked at the City, only one other parcel has been auctioned off in this manner.
City council unanimously voted to table a motion to replace the roof on the Parks building located at 15 East Lake Hill.
The roof above the men’s locker room has been leaking for some time, said Rob McLean of Corporate Properties.
The building was originally constructed in 1981 and there are three adjoining roof surfaces of varying heights. Swan Roofing Consulting Inc. assessed the replacement of the roof at $90,000.
“If all roofs are not replaced, there could be more issues down the road,” said McLean.
Aldermen were concerned about the need to replace the entire roof if only one area is leaking.
“We would be doing it all at one time to save time and money. There are economies of scale,” said McLean.
“There are life spans assigned to some roofs. This is pegged at between 20 to 25 years so it is beyond its lifespan.”
Alderman Allan Hunter voted to table the motion.
“I don’t think the City is being well served by approving this at $90,000,” he said. “I have arranged for a roofing representative to come back and give us a second opinion. There will be no charge for that. I think we can save a substantial amount of money.”
He said when the motion comes back to council, he encourages all the aldermen to look closely at the report.
