Council requests report on entertainment options for empty downtown lot

Paul Anthony Emokhare

The Daily Herald

Prince Albert City Council has requested a report on the costs of preparing an unused piece of downtown land for use as an outdoor concert venue.

Councillor Blake Edwards raised the issue at Monday's council meeting. The land in question is located at the corner of East 11th Street and Second Avenue.

“The more I talk to musicians in the city and the more I talk to people in our downtown, it’s about getting people there (and) getting more events,” Edwards said. It doesn’t always have to be the Downtown Business Improvement (PADBID) responsibility.

Edwards said he would like to see a space where a band could pull up with a trailer and play live music. He said offering free live music would be a great way to attract people to the area and support local businesses.

It is important that people come downtown, and this is a question of vision. I know we are looking at improving the downtown, but this is a question of vision.

The City of Prince Albert rejected a budget request for about $36,000 during the 2024 budget debate to clear trees from the property and prepare it for public use. Edwards said he doesn't think that amount is accurate and wants to revisit the proposal.

Mayor Greg Dionne raised objections during the meeting about how often the space will be used. He said the city cannot afford to fund a site that will only be used a few times a year.

We have a stage in the front of this building (City Hall). We have a portable stage that we take down for the street fair, and I'm not going to spend taxpayers' money if it's going to be used once, twice, three times a year.

Dionne said he liked the idea and was in favour of getting a report, but was concerned about who would host events in that space if it wasn't PADBID.

Councillor Terra Lennox-Zepp referenced the city’s Central Avenue Streetscape Master Plan during the discussion. She said it would be great to use the land for positive pro-social activities and wanted to know if the city could also install a playground in the area.

Craig Guidinger, director of urban planning and development, said the takeaway from the urban landscape design document was that the land was a usable space that could accommodate a variety of activities, not just a playground or an outdoor concert venue.

The main thing was that it was usable space and that was the most important thing. It was identified as part of an area that could be developed, Guidinger said.

Edwards said the master plan is excellent, but the city hasn't made much progress on it. He said the goal of the report is to get a total cost so other individuals or businesses can determine if they want to support the project.

The motion was adopted unanimously.

Council also gave final approval to the letter of understanding between the city and Saskbuilds and Procurement during the meeting. Dionne provided some clarification on the cost estimate during the short discussion.

“In March 2023, the government announced the community’s share of this project, which was $56.2 million, and that was for the expansion and renovation of the Vic Hospital. Since then, it has been determined that the foundation (Boreal Healthcare Foundation) is responsible for $30 million and the municipal contribution, which is made up of all the municipalities north of us, including us, is $26.2 million, and our share is $13 million,” said Mr. Dionne. Thanks to this agreement, we should recover almost two-thirds of this amount, which represents a nice saving for our taxpayers.

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