January 2022 Michener Park Update

Hello neighbours,

Below is the (slightly belated) report on the Michener Park redevelopment. Beside the ongoing removal of concrete from the site, the report says:

  • The tennis centre building has been demolished.

  • Vanier tower is being cleaned.

Ken Hemmerling

President, Malmo Plains Community League

Michener Park zoning changes

Hello neighbours,

Just in case people on the east side of the neighbourhood didn’t get the zoning change notice from the City of Edmonton, here’s a copy. In particular you will notice:

  • The strip along the south-eastern edge that backs onto the houses in Malmo Plains is proposed to be row housing with heights matching the existing homes in the neighbourhood.

  • The south west corner will be a storm water pond.

  • There will be a “general business” zone just off the entrance at 122 St and 48 Ave. This is for a possible grocery store.

  • The rest, as you would expect, will be zoned for a mix of low, medium, and high rise apartments.

Ken Hemmerling

President, Malmo Plains Community League

Michener Park Dec 2021 update

Hello Neighbours,

Here is the December 2021 update for the Michener Park redevelopment. Of note: no decision has been made regarding Vanier tower.

Ken Hemmerling

President, Malmo Plains Community League

COVID-19 Vaccines and children under 12

Hello Neighbours,

I know there are several households in Malmo Plains with young children and wanted to share the following announcement from the University of Alberta regarding COVID-19 vaccinations for children under the age of 12.

Ken Hemmerling

President, Malmo Plains Community League


Canadians under the age of 12 currently account for the highest number of new COVID-19 infections. COVID-19 vaccines for children aged 5-11 years old can protect them from infection and may reduce the number of new COVID-19 infections in Canada. If you are a parent or caregiver, you may have questions or concerns about the COVID-19 vaccines for children and wish to learn more. 

The Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology at the University of Alberta, in partnership with the Alumni Association, invites you to a public panel discussion: COVID-19 VACCINES and CHILDREN: Your Questions Answered.

This will be a free virtual panel discussion on Tuesday December 7th at 6:00 PM where our expert panelists will explore the issue of vaccines and children. You can submit your questions before and during the event.

https://www.ualberta.ca/li-ka-shing-institute-virology/news-and-events/2021-12-public-forum.html

Walkabout with Michael Janz

Good morning neighbours,

I know this is short notice but this weekend, Saturday November 27th, Edmonton City Councillor Michael Janz will be hosting a walkabout in Malmo Plains to meet residents and discuss their concerns.  We will meet at 1:00 PM at the opening in the fence along 111 St closest to the walkway to the LRT and then proceed south along the alley then west along the Whitemud Drive sound barrier.  Everyone is welcome.

Ken Hemmerling

President, Malmo Plains Community League

Wanted: Rink Maintenance Worker

Hello Neighbours,

The Malmo Plains Community League is looking to hire someone to do the ice for the skating rink this winter.  This is a paid position that is typically based on an hourly wage up to a maximum amount per month.  Duties include but are not limited to:

A) Clearing snow and building up a base of 3 inches of ice in the rink and the skating area to the south of the hall then maintaining the ice throughout the winter

B) Clearing snow from the skating areas and the walks between the building and the league parking lot throughout the winter.

C) Ensuring the rink lights are on between 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily for public skate time.

D) Emptying the waste receptacle located outside the change room doors putting in fresh garbage bags supplied by the Community League as needed and otherwise maintaining the cleanliness of the grounds.  Notifying the Facilities Director of any needed repairs and help with those repairs if appropriate.

E) Reporting to the Facilities Director or the police, as needed, situations where any person is discovered consuming alcohol or drugs and / or behaving inappropriately on the League premises.

Ice clearing and maintenance is not expected to be done when the wind chill is below -20 C or when the temperature rises above +5C.  Reimbursement for fuel and other consumables is in addition to the salary.  Note that the Malmo Plains Community League ice making equipment is to be used solely for the Malmo Plains Community League.  Keys are to be returned at the end of the season.  The person making the ice is responsible for their own personal protective equipment such as gloves, hearing protection, etc.  Finally, the candidate should maintain WCB coverage to provide coverage in case of an accident or injury.

Anyone interested in this position is encouraged to contact the Malmo Plains Community League at:

Please provide information on your experience, salary expectations, and any other related ideas that would benefit the community.  The reply deadline is Saturday November 27, 2021.

Thanks

Sidewalk work during neighbourhood renewal

Hello neighbours,

During the neighbourhood renewal the first few feet of your sidewalk will be removed to ensure it aligns with the new city sidewalk that will be slightly higher than the existing sidewalk. For those of you with a driveway that connects to the street, the same thing applies. The cost of this work is covered by the renewal fees that are part of our property taxes.

Some people have expressed an interest in getting their entire sidewalk and/or driveway replaced during the renewal process for an additional cost. If you are interested in this additional work, you can contact Matt at Lafarge at 780-239-2857 for a quote.

Ken

Ward Papastew Candidate Electoral Forum

Hello neighbours,

Sandra Marin from the Grandview Community League with help from the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues has organized a candidate forum for the upcoming October 18th election municipal election.

As you probably know, the City has changed from numbered to named wards and Malmo Plains is now in the Papastew ward (pronunced: Pah-Pah-Stay-Oh).  For your reference, please see the map here:  https://www.edmonton.ca/public-files/assets/document?path=PDF/papastew_ward_map.pdf

Ideally this would have been an in-person event with microphones available for attendees to ask questions.  Sadly, the fourth wave of COVID-19 currently overwhelming our hospitals makes that impossible so instead, there will be an online Zoom conference.  When registering for the meeting, you will be able to submit a question. Note that the moderator may group similar themed questions to allow as many questions as possible to be addressed.  

The event will start at 7:00 p.m on Wednesday September 29 and end at 9:00 p.m.  Organizers will do their best to “admit” attendees quickly into the meeting room but it is advisable to join on time to ensure there is time for this to happen.  

Only the candidates and moderator will be invited to turn on their cameras and microphones.  Each candidate will have the opportunity to share opening and closing comments, as well as answer questions.   

The organizers will do their best to ask as many questions as time allows and ask for your patience and understanding if do do not get to your question.  Please post your question when you complete the registration form.  During the event, questions may be posted in the chat box but time may not permit these questions to he addressed. 

Note that the screen name of all participants, the moderator, and candidates will be visible to all participants.  Please do not turn on your microphone or camera. If someone intentionally breaks the rules, they may be removed from the virtual forum.

Papastew municipal candidates forum 

Sep 29, 2021 07:00 PM Edmonton 

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://efcl-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcocOippjksHNb5OATrQ7nZkoSe8XbxUn5M 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.


Ken Hemmerling

President, Malmo Plains Community League

August Michener Park Update

Hello Neighbours,

The August update about Michener Park from Emily Ball at the University of Alberta is below for your information:

Ken Hemmerling
President, Malmo Plains Community League

Current Activities and what to expect during the month of August on the MP site:

  • Edmonton Police Services (EPS) continues to conduct police training on the MP site.

  • We ask neighbours to please continue to call the EPS with general complaints at 780-423-4567 and emergency situations at 911 and continue to call University of Alberta Protective Services UAPS) at 780-492-5050 regarding any suspicious activities that you may see. UAPS continues to patrol the MP site twice a day.

  • Demolition of buildings on the site continues. The target for completing the demolition continues to be December, 2021. You will see the demo crew begin to work on the buildings located in the northern section of the MP site near the Boardwalk apartment building. The crews will begin abatement soon and demo will begin in the coming weeks.

  • You will see that the demolition on eastern section of the site near your homes is now complete and the area has been covered with dirt. The dirt will be seeded for grass in the coming weeks.

  • The U of A has offered the MP playground equipment to the Malmo Community League. The community league executive continues to review the offer.

  • The demolition contractor is working to repair any fence issues as quickly as possible. You may see doors off units in the southern section of the site. Our crews are going into some of these units to begin abatement. The doors are locked each night and you may begin to see plywood being removed.

  • UAPTI held a virtual Open House on July 15, 2021 from 6 - 7:30 where neighbours were invited to provide feedback on the concept options. Please go to https://ualbertapropertiestrustinc.ca to view the information that was presented on July 15, 2021.

If you have any questions or comments please contact: Emily Ball, Director of Community Relations for the U of A, phone number: 780-492-4345, email: emily.ball@ualberta.ca. 

Emily Ball
Director, Community Relations
Office of the Vice-President (External Relations
University of Alberta

2-03 South Academic Building
Edmonton, Alberta  T6G 2G7
T   780.492.4345

Volunteers Needed - Two nights only

The Malmo Plains Community League has a fundraising opportunity with one of the casinos licensed by Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis.  With enough volunteers, the community league could be in a position to get close to $70,000.  In order to get this money, we need enough volunteers to work for just two nights, Wednesday July 28 and Thursday July 29, at the Starlight Casino in West Edmonton Mall.  

If you can volunteer, please reach out to casino@malmoplains.com for information on positions, times, and how to volunteer.  Even volunteering on one night would help.

As you might expect, the Community League’s income was down last year due to COVID.  Hall rental income was down significantly although membership sales and the City of Edmonton operating grant dropped as well.  In addition, some of our costs have gone up:  Many of you will will recall the skating rink not being cleared when the engine on our snowblower needed hundreds of dollars in repairs. The Community League also has to arrange and pay for our own garbage collection - something previously done by the City of Edmonton.  Any help you can provide would be gratefully accepted.

Again, please contact casino@malmoplains.com.

Ken Hemmerling

President, Malmo Plains Community League

Michener Park Public Engagement

Hello neighbours,

If you are curious about the plans for the Michener Park I've got some good news - the University Property Trust is having a meeting to discuss the initial plans for the site.  They will be having an online meeting on July 15th from 6:00 to 7:30 pm via:

    tinyurl.com/24n27tjx

Please see the attached PDF which has more information.

Ken Hemmerling
President, Malmo Plains Community League

West 240 Open House

Hello neighbours,

For years now, the University of Alberta has had a long range development plan (LRDP) for the farmlands north and northwest of Malmo Plains.  Recently, significant cuts to the UofA’s budget have changed those plans - specifically, the University needs that land to become a source of income to offset their funding cuts.  If this sounds familiar, it’s because it is:  This is exactly what they are in the process of doing with Michener Park.

In the short term, the UofA’s LRDP needs to be amended to allow the transfer of ownership of the farmland west of 122 St (informally known as the “west 240” but legally known as “sector 14”) from the University of Alberta to the “University of Alberta Property Trust Inc.” or UAPTI.  The University will be doing public consultations regarding this amendment on June 29 as shown in the attached PDF.

To the best of my knowledge, they will not be discussing the future plans for that land as those will be the responsibility of the Property Trust.  

If you have questions or are just interested in getting more information, I suggest you attend the session on the 29th.

Ken Hemmerling

President, Malmo Plains Community League

Green Shack 2021

Hello neighbours,

The City of Edmonton Green Shack is back this summer at the Malmo Plains school playground. See the PDF below for more information.

Michener Park Newsletter

Hello neighbours,

Here’s the link to the May 2021 Michener Park redevelopment newsletter. There’s nothing new to anyone that’s walked past the site recently to see buildings closest to Malmo Plains getting torn down. I’ve been taking pictures of the progress and will post some here when I get some time.

Ken. Hemmerling

President, Malmo Plains Community League