Media Monday Edmonton: Update #171

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

It might have been cold, but it sounds like SONiC BOOM was still a big success this weekend! And from SONiC 102.9 itself, here are some memories from the 2015 edition of the music fest.
Shaye Ganam is back on Global Edmonton in the mornings as of this week! He’s been away since mid-June while his wife was undergoing medical treatment. Hope everything went well!
Alberta’s NDP government on Friday posted the contracts for dozens of political staffers who earn a collective $6.5 million annually. The Journal reports that “Notley’s director of communications, Cheryl Oates, earns $150,000 annually plus benefits, while premier’s office “media officers” John Archer and Matthew Williamson earn $110,000 each.”
CFCW unveiled a new commercial last week that features a special appearance by Brett Kissel.
Global Edmonton’s Seanna Collins featured Program Director Jackie Rae and CFCW in a new episode of Everything Edmonton. They discuss the frequency change, share some audio clips from the station’s launch back in 1954, and also talk about morning man Sean Burke.
Ignite Edmonton takes place on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Media-related speakers include Karen Unland of Seen and Heard in Edmonton and Michele Romanow from CBC’s Dragon’s Den.
Business in Edmonton magazine is turning three this fall and I noticed the latest issue features a new logo:

Faces of Edmonton recently featured Global Edmonton’s Emily Mertz.
Here is Karen’s latest Edmonton blog roundup. Her most recent podcast episode is an interlude in which one of her guests interviewed here – I love the idea!
There’s another new podcast for you to add your playlist – here’s episode 1 of The SuperFan Podcast.
Here are Linda’s latest social media notes. She notes that LinkedIn’s messaging experience received an overhaul recently – I’ll have to check it out, wasn’t a fan of the old one.
Both Lauren Hunter from SONiC 102.9 and Virgin Edmonton’s morning crew made it into the latest “I heard it on the radio” feature on PSR.
Are more changes on the way for up! 99.3 FM? They just changed their morning crew of course, but the website and social media all seem more or less the same. That said, I have seen a different kind of billboard around town, with very different branding (seen below). And on Friday, up! 997 in Calgary switched its name to Soft Rock 97.7. Not a format switch, just a name change. Maybe we’ll see the same thing here? On the other hand as PSR notes, “the Rawlco Calgary radio station was not included in the purchase earlier this year by the Jim Pattison Radio Group of Rawlco’s Edmonton radio stations NOW and Up!.”

And here is some less-local media stuff worth mentioning:

YouTube and Rogers Radio have teamed up to launch a new show called “YouTube Hits”. It started on Saturday, September 5 and you can catch it here in Edmonton on 91.7 The Bounce.
Former Wildrose party leader Danielle Smith has been hired by CHQR News Talk 770 in Calgary and will host a daily show from 12:30pm to 3pm starting tomorrow, Tuesday, September 8.
Here’s a prediction on the future of newspapers from Canadian media business analyst Ken Goldstein: “In 2025, it is likely that there will be few, if any, printed daily newspapers.” And he says that within 10 years, “there might be no local broadcast stations in Canada.” Grim.
From MobileSyrup: “According to the latest edition of Ericsson’s annual ConsumerLab TV & Media report, which analyzes the viewing habits of 680 million consumers worldwide, 45 percent of Canadians now watch TV and video on their smartphones or tablets.”
Stephen Colbert will make his debut as host of The Late Show on CBS tomorrow night. Here’s a feature from the Times.
Don’t hold your breath for offline Netflix viewing – the complexity probably isn’t worth the cost, says their Chief Product Officer.
The BBC saga continues to unfold across the pond. The latest proposal would create an “open” BBC that would offer “staff and content to local newspapers and allow rival shows to be seen on its iPlayer catch-up service.”

You can follow Edmonton media news on Twitter using the hashtag #yegmedia. For a great overview of the global media landscape, check out Mediagazer.

So, what have I missed? What’s new and interesting in the world of Edmonton media? Let me know!

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Edmonton Notes for 9/6/2015

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

As I wrote about earlier this evening, the Metro Line LRT extension from Churchill to NAIT opened today!
The new Late Night Owl Service also started today! The service extends the hours of four existing bus routes and adds one new one. You can learn more about it here. ETS also restored full seasonal bus service today, and on Tuesday another 10 new and extended routes will start service.
On Friday, a new draft Vehicle for Hire Bylaw was announced that aims provide a legal way for “technology-based dispatchers” like Uber to operate in Edmonton. The bylaw will be presented at a non-statutory public hearing on September 16. You can read the bylaw here and you have until September 10 to provide your feedback here. Mayor Iveson wrote about the draft bylaw here and is encouraging discussion using the hashtag #yourYEGride. Neither Uber nor the taxi drivers like the proposal.
The City announced this week that for the fourth consecutive year, Standard & Poor’s has awarded the City of Edmonton a credit score of AA+. That’s the second-highest possible rating.
Edmonton Spaces is a new project by Beverley Jackman that aims to “to catalog and record awesome office spaces and creative studios in Edmonton.” You can learn more about the project here.
The Province unveiled its first quarter results and forecast this week. The forecast includes an increase of $4.1 billion in operating expenses, as well as a $1 billion increase in revenue. Good new for Edmonton though, as the proposal regional smart fare system is getting a $28 million boost in GreenTRIP funding.
Edmonton’s requirement of one parking space for every 3.6 square metres of dining space is the second highest in the country, but that could soon be changing thanks to a new pilot project.
Edmonton has been selected as the host city for the Commonwealth Games Federation’s 2016 General Assembly. It is expected the conference will bring up to 300 delegates to Edmonton, with the dates to be confirmed.
The City has begun installing safety barriers on the High Level Bridge, which are intended to help prevent suicides. They should be fully installed by next summer.
On Wednesday, the Eskimos traded Matt Nichols to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in exchange for a conditional 7th round pick in the 2017 CFL Draft.
Richard (Dick) W. Wilson will serve as acting chair of the University of Alberta Board of Governors, effective September 1. He takes over for Doug Goss, who stepped down on August 31.
From the Edmonton City as Museum Project, here is the story of Sylvancroft.
The lineup for Pecha Kucha Night 23 was released this week. The event takes place on September 17 and tickets are on sale now.
Congratulations to Jason Blower on surpassing the $7,000 goal for HelloYEG, an inspirational Edmonton colouring & activity book.
For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

The rain couldn’t stop this wedding party!

Upcoming Events

Tomorrow is Labour Day but it’s also Stage 6 of the Tour of Alberta! The leg starts and ends at Churchill Square.
The Ignite Edmonton Festival, formerly E-Town, takes place on Wednesday and Thursday this week at the Shaw Conference Centre.
On Wednesday evening The Yards is launching its fourth issue at Iconoclast Koffiehuis.
YEGfest, “a celebration of the local music, visual arts, and a variety of other performance arts,” takes place on Friday evening at Hawrelak Park.
I hope to see you down at Churchill Square on Friday night for our final What the Truck?! event of the season! You can check out the lineup and menus here.
From Friday through Sunday, the Kaleido Family Arts Festival takes place on Alberta Avenue.
The Eskimos host the Stampeders on Saturday evening at Commonwealth Stadium.
The City is hosting another Big Bin Event this weekend at Jasper Place Jubilee Park. It’s an opportunity to get rid of household waste that can’t be set out for regular pickup.
On Sunday the Red Shoe Crawl is taking place at locations along 124 Street.
Also Sunday, FC Edmonton hosts the Tampa Bay Rowdies at Clarke Stadium.
If you fancy a drive out to Prairie Gardens & Adventure Farm in Bon Accord on Sunday, you can check out the Edmonton and Area Land Trust’s 3rd annual celebration dinner.
For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.

World Triathlon Series Tour 2015, photo by IQRemix

The Metro Line is open: Edmonton’s LRT now extends north to NAIT

Today the oft-delayed Metro Line LRT extension from Churchill Station to NAIT opened. The 3.3 km extension adds a second operational line to Edmonton’s LRT Network Plan, and features the first new stations in four years. But today’s launch was very different than the two most previous extension openings, to South Campus in 2009 and Century Park in 2011. Those extensions opened with great fanfare featuring politicians making speeches and shaking hands. The Metro Line opened quietly this morning with no ceremony.

Train to NAIT leaves MacEwan Station

The Metro Line features three new stations: MacEwan, Kingsway/Royal Alex, and NAIT. The extension is expected to add 13,200 weekday riders to the system, and ETS says it has “capacity for considerable growth” once the line eventually extends into St. Albert.

The service that launched today isn’t exactly what was planned, of course. The line has been repeatedly delayed, ostensibly due to issues with the signalling system. The Metro Line was planned to open in April 2014, but here we are in September 2015 with what the City is calling a “staged approach” to bringing it into service. Here’s what that means:

Metro Line trains will run every 15 minutes between Century Park and NAIT.
They will also occasionally run between Health Sciences/Jubilee and NAIT (weekdays after 10pm, Saturdays after 7pm, and all day Sundays).
Every third train running between Churchill and Century Park will be a three-car Metro Line train (most of the time).
Trains are operating with “line of sight” which restricts the speed of trains between MacEwan and NAIT to 25 km/h, half the planned speed.
This means travel time between Churchill Station and NAIT is approximately 14 minutes.

Sharon and I decided to check out the new extension this afternoon, starting our journey from our home station at Bay/Enterprise Square. It’s been chilly and raining all day (and still is as I write this) but that didn’t stop us!

The Metro Line was designed to operate between NAIT and the existing Health Sciences Station, so both the Metro Line and Capital Line share the stations in between (and actually will share stations all the way to Century Park as part of this interim service). That means you need to pay attention to the destination of the train you’re boarding.

On the train!

Though there are clear announcements, this is going to be an issue for new riders. As our train was leaving Churchill Station, another announcement was made and a couple in front of us realized they had gotten on the wrong line. I expect this’ll happen quite a bit over the next few weeks.

It’s just a few moments after the track returns above ground that you arrive at MacEwan Station. I would not be surprised at all if it is renamed MacEwan/Rogers Place at some point in the future. The new arena is such a major part of the station that it almost seems inappropriate that it’s not reflected in the name!

MacEwan LRT Station

This station we had previously explored as it’s just a short walk from home. Thinking about it now, it would have been much faster to walk and catch the train there than waiting for a Metro Line train to take us from Bay/Enterprise Square.

Future walkway to Rogers Place (and 104 Street) from MacEwan Station

MacEwan Station is just a short walk across 105 Street to MacEwan University. The landscaping and park around the station is quite attractive, though it can be a little confusing at first where to enter and exit the platform (at least from the west side).

MacEwan Station

Upon leaving MacEwan Station you immediately notice the reduced speed of the train. It feels comically slow at times. Still, riding the train to NAIT or Kingsway is certainly convenient, even if it takes a few minutes longer than expected.

Aside from being close to the Royal Alexandra Hospital, the Kingsway/Royal Alex station is also adjacent to the relatively new bus terminal. If you’re a transit rider, the new station is going to be great. If you’re a driver though, be prepared to wait.

The longest wait seemed to be for cars turning east onto 111 Avenue from 106 Street. There wasn’t much traffic today, so the waits probably weren’t too bad, but during rush hour I could see a 10 minute or longer wait being very realistic. The rumor flying around this weekend is that waits will last 16 minutes or more, but the City says this won’t be the case. “To be clear — the City does not expect the Metro Line to cause 16 minute traffic delays at these intersections all the time,” they wrote.

Trains pass each other at Kingsway/Royal Alex Station

I really like the design of the station, with its enclosed, heated waiting areas and very attractive wood features. Oddly though, it’s probably faster to walk to Kingsway Mall from NAIT Station than it is from Kingsway/Royal Alex Station. That’s because you have to cross two roads to get to Kingsway Mall, not to mention waiting for trains to go by (which are slower than normal, remember). So this will probably be the station I use least, unless I need to make a bus transfer.

Once the train very slowly makes its way up 106 Street and across Princess Elizabeth Avenue, you arrive at NAIT Station. This is going to be a big win for students and means that all of our major education institutions are now more or less connected via LRT (with NorQuest getting even better connectivity when the Valley Line LRT opens).

NAIT Station with Kingsway Mall to the left

As mentioned it’s just a short walk across Princess Elizabeth Avenue to the Sears side of Kingsway Mall. Unfortunately the sidewalk ends almost as soon as you get to the south side of the street, and you’re left dodging vehicles racing in and out of the parkade. That’s one improvement that could definitely be made.

The current end of the line at NAIT

NAIT Station is currently the end of the line, but if you look northwest you can see what will eventually become Blatchford (which will have its own LRT station).

Selfie at NAIT Station!

Even though this “staged approach” is not ideal, it’s very exciting to have the Metro Line open at long last. Our experience today was very positive, but the real test will come Tuesday morning as students are back to school and everyone else is back to work. You can learn more about the Metro Line opening at the Transforming Edmonton blog.

Lincoln Ho of Yegventures rode the very first train this morning – watch his YouTube feed for the video. You can see more photos from our trip today here.

Coming up at City Council: September 7-11, 2015

Monday is a holiday so the public hearing will take place on Tuesday and the Council meeting has been pushed to Wednesday. It looks like it’s going to be a finance-heavy week!

On Friday the City announced a new proposed Vehicle for Hire Bylaw, intended to give companies like Uber a way to operate legally. You can download the PDF to read here and be sure to fill out this survey by September 10 with your feedback. The results will be presented along with the bylaw at Executive Committee on September 16.

And tomorrow, Sunday, September 6, the Metro Line LRT will finally open to the public. It’s not going to be operating as expected, with slower trains, manual signals, and big delays, but it’s a start.

Meetings this week

September 8 at 1:30pm – City Council Public Hearing
September 9 at 9:30am – City Council Meeting

You can always see the latest City Council meetings on ShareEdmonton.

Projected Year-End Operating Financial Results

As of June 30, 2015, the City is projecting a loss of $10.6 million for the year, or 0.4% of the overall expense budget. This is being blamed on higher than expected costs for snow removal, pothole repair, and vehicle maintenance, plus greater than expected losses on tax appeals and other tax adjustments. It could have been worse though, as the City has saved a lot on fuel costs across the board and also on personnel due to the delay of the Metro Line LRT which delayed hirings.

Under the heading “potential impacts to be monitored”, the report highlights the following:

Police Association and Senior Police Officers Association contracts expired last year and are currently under negotiation.
Snow and ice control costs are weather-dependent and difficult to predict.
Fluctuating fuel costs have historically impacted results, even though the City buys half its annual fuel at a fixed price.
The exchange rate could make parts for vehicle maintenance more expensive.
The general economic downturn could have an impact.

Here are the Municipal and Consumer Price Index projections:

For an update on inflation, employment, and other economic indicators in Edmonton, check out this report.

Reserves

As required by City Policy C217B, Administration is currently reviewing the City’s reserve and equity accounts, with a report to be presented to Council in October. The last review was completed in October 2012. Our current or year-end projected reserve balances are as follows:

Financial Stabilization Reserve – $90.9 million
Current Planning Reserve – $28 million
Traffic Safety & Automated Enforcement Reserve – $25.3 million

CRL Updates

From the report: “Community Revitalization Levy revenue and/or expense variances may change throughout the year as work progresses and financial impacts become more certain.” Here’s the status of our three CRLs:

The Belvedere CRL is projected to end 2015 with a deficit of $0.4 million and a cumulative deficit balance, since inception, of $5.8 million. It’s not expected to have an annual positive net position until 2023.
The Downtown CRL is projected to end 2015 with a deficit of $4.6 million and a cumulative deficit balance, since inception, of $8.2 million. The Downtown CRL is expected to have an annual positive net position from 2019 onward, but we’ll still be playing catchup until 2022.
The Quarters CRL is projected to end 2015 with a surplus of $3 million and a cumulative deficit balance, since inception, of $5.9 million. The report says the Quarters CRL is “performing better than forecast” in the original plan, and should be in a positive position as of 2024.

You can learn more about CRLs here.

Debt Update

There was a lot of discussion about Edmonton’s municipal debt during the municipal election back in 2013, which I wrote about here. At the time, our debt stood at about $2.2 billion or 53.4% of the MGA-allowed debt limit.

According to the latest figures, Edmonton’s debt currently sits at just over $2.9 billion and is expected to top $3 billion by the end of the year, which would be 59.3% of the MGA-allowed debt limit. Our debt servicing, which includes annual principal and interest repayments, is expected to reach 33% of the allowed limit for the year. The City has set more conservative limits than the MGA does:

“For 2015, debt servicing is projected to be 53.6% of the debt service limit for all borrowing and 70.6% of the limit for tax-supported operations, as defined under the City’s policy.”

The report notes that “the percentage of the debt servicing limit utilized increased significantly in 2015 and will increase again in 2017 due to the repayment of $60 million of short-term borrowing in each of 2015 and 2017.” Those repayments are for $120 million that was borrowed to fast-track capital expenditures for projects that were ultimately funded through MSI or the provincial fuel tax.

Capital Finance Update

This report provides an update on financial results for the first six months of the 2015-2018 Capital Budget. Because we’re so early still in the four-year plan, most projects should be on-time and on-budget. The approved budget value is $7.9 billion, which includes carry-forward from 2014 and approved expenditures beyond 2018. The City has 448 active profiles with planned expenditures in this budget cycle.

As of June 30, 2015, the six month spend was $321.6 million. Of the 85 significant capital projects identified (meaning they have costs greater than $20 million), 77 have been classified as green, two are categorized as yellow and 6 are flagged as red.

You can see the complete breakdown of project status here, but I’ve summarized the high profile ones as follows, sorted by size of budget:

Project	Status	Planned Completion	Projected Completion	Approved Budget
Valley Line LRT	Green	December 2020	December 2020	$1.8 billion
Metro Line LRT	Red	April 2014	September 2015¹	$665.8 million
Blatchford Redevelopment	Green	December 2038	December 2038	$631.9 million
Downtown Arena	Green	December 2017	September 2016	$605 million
Neighbourhood Renewal	Green	Annually	Annually	~$452 million
Westwood Transit Garage	Yellow	December 2017	March 2018	$201.5 million
Walterdale Bridge	Red	December 2015	December 2017	$154.8 million
Northwest Police Campus	Yellow	December 2017	March 2018	$106.9 million
River Valley Alliance Projects	Red	December 2014	December 2017	$76.1 million
41 Avenue/QEII Interchange	Green	Fall 2015	Fall 2015	$72.5 million (City) $205 million (total)
Milner Library Renewal	Green	December 2018	December 2018	$62.5 million
Great Neighbourhoods	Red	December 2018	March 2020	$60.4 million
The Quarters Phase 1	Green	December 2015	September 2015	$52.1 million
The Quarters Phase 2	Green	December 2018	September 2018	$43.2 million
102 Avenue Bridge	Red	December 2015	October 2016	$32.0 million

1 – Yes the Metro Line technically opens tomorrow, but it’s not what we were expecting.

Committee Recommendations

Recommendations that have come forward from Committee include:

That a report be brought to the October 29 Utility Committee Meeting with terms of an agreement with EPCOR related to the proposed Sanitary Grit Residuals Treatment Facility.
That the location of project elements for the Whitemud Equine Centre be “deemed essential and approved.”
That the Coates Residence, located at 13068 115 Street NW, be designated as as Municipal Historic Resource with approved funding of up to $75,000.
That the Yorath House, located at 13110 Buena Vista Road NW, be designated as a Municipal Historic Resource with approved funding of up to $75,000.
That Administration prepare a bylaw for a Neighbourhood Structure Plan (NSP) within the Decoteau ASP to be brought forward to a statutory public hearing.
That Mayor Iveson advocate for “tangible and critical steps to be included in the forthcoming provincial housing strategy to develop more units of transitional, supportive and social housing in Edmonton.” This is part of Project Watch.

Bylaws

There are a number of bylaws on both agendas. Here are a few highlights:

Bylaw 17298 makes amendments to the Community Standards Bylaw regarding backyard fire pit use, and is ready for three readings.
Bylaw 17297 makes amendments to the Public Places Bylaw to prohibit the use of e-cigarettes, and is ready for three readings.
Bylaw 17353 makes amendments to the Procedures and Committees Bylaw to ensure compliance with the Supreme Court’s decision prohibiting prayer at Council meetings.
Bylaw 17361 would rezone the property at 10349 122 Street NW in Oliver from RA7 to DC2, to allow for high density, mixed-use development. Plans call for an 11 storey residential building. I hope they don’t interfere with the beautiful boulevard trees on that street.
Bylaw 17347 would allow for the development of a grocery store at 403 McConachie Way NW.
Bylaw 17359 would rezone the property at 13218 102 Avenue NW in Glenora from RF1 to RF2, to allow for the existing house to be replaced with three new single detached homes. A notice was sent to surrounding property owners and the Glenora Community League, and in response the City received 8 letters and 23 emails of concerns and opposition. Such is the state of infill in Edmonton.

Other interesting items

Councillor Esslinger will be making a motion about parking regulations, asking for information on the current regulations in mature neighbourhoods with options to amend them, parking requirements in Blatchford and other TOD areas, and the parking regulations in mature areas of other Canadian cities.
There’s a private report on the Integration of High Solid Anaerobic Digestion Technology. This is a $30 million project to add a new facility at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre to “generate renewable energy from biogas produced through processing of the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes.”

Wrap-up

You can keep track of City Council on Twitter using the #yegcc hashtag, and you can listen to or watch any Council meeting live online. You can read my previous coverage of the 2013-2017 City Council here.

Share this:

Headlines

Upcoming Events

Share this:

Share this:

Meetings this week

Projected Year-End Operating Financial Results

Reserves

CRL Updates

Debt Update

Capital Finance Update

Committee Recommendations

Bylaws

Other interesting items

Wrap-up

Share this: