Festival season is here! 🎉

IN THIS ISSUE

➡️ OmbudsPEI not a fan of closed council meetings

➡️ Housing funds aims to boost builds

➡️ Photo: Meet Susan the Pig

QUICK HITS

💰CMHC Housing Accelerator Fund: Charlottetown has been invited to submit an advanced application to the $4B Housing Accelerator Fund being managed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. There will be a lot of money on the table if the city’s application is successful. With funding of between $20,000 to $54,000 for each newly approved housing unit between September 2023 and September 2026, the fund incentivize communities to fix inefficiencies and boost housing density. One goal the city has in mind would be to use some of the funds to hire new staff to work on bylaw and policy changes needed to put the city’s new official plan into practice once it's adopted.

👮 Creepy! A search for a night prowler turned up empty Saturday night after RCMP responded to a complaint of a man peering through the windows of a residence in Stanley Bridge. Police released a faint image from a security camera that shows a person wearing a white ski mask and dark jacket. Officers were assisted in their search by a police dog.

🗑️ Council going paperless — maybe: If you were reading Island Edition last fall you may remember the one about city councillors spending nearly $30,000 on ten new tablets. There was a discussion yesterday during the strategic priorities committee meeting that council should finally go paperless when receiving meeting packages – some packages containing in excess of 500 pages. Most at the meeting agreed that paperless is the way to go, but some felt a few paper lovers on council would oppose it. No action item was born from the discussion, but there was a need identified that IT staff should provide some training to members on how to actually use their tablets.

🏗️ New apartment building: Charlottetown’s planning board reviewed an application Monday by Bevan Enterprises for a six-storey mixed-use apartment building at 600 North River Road. The building would contain 90 market-rate housing units and 3,600 square feet of commercial space. Traffic congestion along North River Road was the only concern raised, partially alleviated by staffs’ commitment to filter the project through public works for a traffic study. The application now moves to city council to review a variance request to increase the height limit from 49 to 72 feet.

Added context: a study is underway as part of the North River Road Masterplan project that will include options for upgrading road and transit infrastructure, active transportation paths, stormwater management, and overhead utilities. The master plan should be ready this fall.

TRANSPARENCY

Council’s closed-door decision on warming shelter draws attention from OmbudsPEI

The way Charlottetown council conducted a meeting to discuss and vote against opening a warming shelter last February has caught the attention and scrutiny of OmbudsPEI.

As Islanders braced for a cold snap, council went into a closed session on February 2 to discuss whether the city should open a warming shelter. A vote was held, also in closed session, to not open a shelter.

OmbudsPEI opened its own investigation into the matter and found what many had suspected – the discussion and vote should have been public. As a result of its investigation, the ombudsperson is asking for a commitment from the city to adopt and adhere to four recommendations.

1️⃣ The mayor, committee chairperson and the chief administrative officer will strenuously test if a topic meets the closed-session provisions of the Municipal Government Act before adding it as a closed session item on an agenda.

2️⃣ Use plain language on an agenda to describe an item that will be discussed in a closed session by listing the legal requirement and offering a brief explanation of the topic at hand; E.g., to discuss development of land or to negotiate the CAO’s contract.

3️⃣ Have the mayor or chairperson rise and report in council or committee after a motion is made to come out of closed session. This report will update the public on why the meeting was held in closed session and if the item was resolved or ongoing. Any resolution resulting from the closed session would then be made in public.

4️⃣ Adopt a continuous improvement culture as it relates to good governance.

Council will review and vote on adopting these recommendations at a future meeting…hopefully that happens in an open session. 😏

📢 SHOUT-OUTS 

🐶 To Blue Ribbon Pet Supply staff and loyal customers on donating thousands of dollars worth of pet food and supplies to Nova Scotia’s SPCA and the Bide Aware Animal Shelter to help furry family members impacted by the wildfires.

🙏 To the volunteer members of the Island’s fire service and members of the provincial forestry wildland firefighting crew who headed to Nova Scotia to help battle the fires. Your dedication to service and community extends well beyond our shores.

🏠 To the Island’s seasonal residents who discovered Island Edition and shared it far and wide - thank you! If PEI is your home away from home, consider joining the Seasonal Residents of PEI Association.

Island Edition Shout-Outs are paid messages. Buy one to help support the sustainability of this newsletter, or share Island Edition to earn one for free.

#PEIslandEdition

Meet Susan the Pig 🐽

Laura and Kevin, a young Island couple, are in their fifth year of running a 1.5 acre micro farm. Their goal is to raise and grow as much of their own food as possible. You can follow their journey to self sufficiency (and see more of Susan) on their Instagram page.

Tag @PEIslandEdition or use #PEIslandEdition to get your post featured in Island Edition!

COMMUNITY CORNER

🎟️ Tickets are now available for the QEH Foundation Ultimate Shed Giveaway! This year’s stunning shed is better suited to be a backyard office than a holding spot for your dirty yard tools. Here’s a video of Arsenault Bros Construction delivering the “shed” to Sherwood Timber Mart where it will sit on display until a winner is chosen on July 5th.

🗳️ The Prince Edward Island Marathon, Spinal Cord Injury-PEI, and Rowing PEI are teaming up to raise funds to support their mental health and wellness programs. They’re hosting an online 50/50 raffle and a silent auction, which you can find under the discussion tab on the event's Facebook page. The draws take place Friday, June 30.

🧸 Join the 2023 PJ Walk for Ronald McDonald Charities this Sunday, June 11, at Confederation Landing Park. Start your day with a pancake breakfast and enjoy a variety of fun activities including bouncy castles, face painting, and the teddy bear clinic. Register now atwww.pjwalk.ca.

Send a quick message if your organization would like to publish a PSA. There's no charge for these. Max three per-issue.

WEATHER

Wednesday

🌧️ H 15°C 🌡️ L 9°C 
💨 SSE 15 km/h, gusting 32

Thursday

🌧️ H 16°C 🌡️ L 8°C
💨 SE 9 km/h, gusting 22

Looking Ahead

👀 Soggy rest of the week, but drying up this weekend. 

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