Medicine Hat Minute: Inclusion Coordinator, Elder Support, and Downtown Police Presence

Medicine Hat Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Medicine Hat politics

This Week In Medicine Hat:

• The Public Services Committee will meet this morning at 8:00 am. There will be a Managing Directors’ Service Area Update to cover the Facility for the Futures Plan, Earth Day, an E-Scooter Update, Crestwood Recreation Centre Update, Echo Dale Pond Liner Work, the Heritage Pavilion, and the Big Marble Go Centre Playground, among other things. Then, the meeting will close to the public and the Committee will discuss Council Membership on Community Vibrancy Advisory Board, the Downtown Washroom Strategy, Co-op Place, and the Curling Club’s funding request.
  
  
• On Tuesday, at 4:30 pm, Economic, Land & Strategic Planning & Development Committee will meet. On the agenda is a proposal to reallocate leftover funds from the 2021-2023 Development Incentive Program to enable the program to continue. The Corporate Services Committee is scheduled to meet on Thursday at 4:30 pm. No agenda is available for this meeting yet.
  
  
• Street sweeping begins today in Zone 1 - the downtown core. Twelve hours before sweepers arrive, the City will put out no parking signs. All of the parking zones and sweeping dates are available online, at the City’s website.

Last Week In Medicine Hat:

• City Council approved a $133,200 salary and office budget for a new inclusion co-ordinator. The co-ordinator will be tasked with advancing the City’s Truth and Reconciliation efforts and developing and administering mandatory anti-racism and intercultural awareness training for City staff. The City actually already has an inclusion co-ordinator, and has had one for at least a decade - this new hire would be a second co-ordinator. Councillors debated whether or not these tasks could be accomplished by an outside contractor to prevent adding to the City’s workforce, but ultimately voted 6-2 in favour of the new position.
  
  
• Medicine Hat Police Service announced a plan to increase its downtown presence during the warmer months. The Downtown Patrol Unit was reduced to only one officer through the winter due to staffing challenges, but a second officer will be joining the unit in early May and there are plans to add a third in July to bring unit staffing back to the same level as last year. The unit will assist with safety concerns around encampments and social disorder.
  
  
• The Province announced $7.4 million in funding to enhance elder abuse support services across Alberta. Medicine Hat sees the fourth highest number of elder abuse cases reported each year in the province - the second highest compared to cities of a similar size. The Veiner Centre handles case management in Medicine Hat and will be receiving $878,000 annually for the next three years.

-----

Donate:

Common Sense Medicine Hat doesn't accept any government funding and never will. We think you should be free to choose, for yourself, which organizations to support. If you're in a position to contribute financially, you can make a donation here.

-----

Share:

If you're not in a position to donate, we understand, but if you appreciate our work, you can help by spreading our message. Please email this post to your friends, share it on Facebook or Twitter, and help make sure every Hatter knows what's really going on at City Hall.