Your City Hall Meeting Had Two People There
The things that happen quietly at City Hall can sometimes be the most revealing, you know? While we're all busy trying to find a parking spot on Whyte Avenue or marveling at the River Valley changing colours, actual decisions are being made.
Take the April 14, 2026, Agenda Review Committee meeting, for instance. All five motions, from adopting the agenda to approving past minutes, passed unanimously. Two votes to zero, according to the official council motions record. Just two votes. That's Councillor Anne Stevenson and Councillor Jo-Anne Wright, making all the decisions for that committee. It’s certainly efficient, if nothing else. One of those motions even took the committee into a private session, citing advice from officials under the *Access to Information Act*.
Here's what else we're seeing:
* **Councillor Travel:** A few councillors are already booking their tickets for the 2025 Alberta Municipalities Convention in Calgary. Councillor Aaron Clarke is looking at $825.88 for accommodation and $685.00 for registration. Councillor Karen Elliott has similar accommodation costs at $825.88, plus $348.00 for food and incidentals. * **Gifts to Council:** Councillor Stevenson also received a gift valued at $120 from Edmonton International Airport on November 24, 2025, as listed in the gifts to council members registry. * **Top 311 Calls:** "General Information" leads the 311 service requests with a staggering 160,623 calls, followed by "Routes and Schedules" at 112,470. Snow and ice maintenance still clocks in at 43,660 requests, even as winter starts to feel like a distant memory. It always comes back, though. Edmonton doesn't need your approval. Never did.
Honestly though, it's worth keeping an eye on who is at the table when decisions get made, especially with these smaller committees. It gives you a better sense of where the gears are actually turning.
Darren Fedoruk (@deepnorth_yeg)
Darren Fedoruk and the crew hash out these details every weekday morning — catch it live at mornings.live.