Council to be asked to approve needle debris collection funding

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on March 23, 2024.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Lethbridge city council on Tuesday will be asked by City administration to approve the expenditure of provincial needle debris mitigation funding,
A presentation to be presented to council by chief financial officer and treasurer Darrell Mathews says the City has entered into a funding agreement with the province to support the costs related to the collection and disposal of drug-related debris.
Administration needs council’s approval of the money – a total of $115,000 for the provincial fiscal year of 2024-25 – which isn’t identified in the operating budget as per Section 248 of the Municipal Government Act.
The province since 2019 has been providing the City with funding for needle-related debris collection and disposal with the goal being to mitigate potential harm in the community that could occur because of improper collection or accidental contact.
The Downtown Business Revitalization Zone’s Clean Sweep Program has the contract to provide he city service.
If council doesn’t approve the expenditure, Mathews’ report says mitigation measures will become a tax pressure or the service will cease and there could be an increased real or perceived safety risk.
Also on Tuesday, mayor Blaine Hyggen will be presenting an official business motion to declare April 7 Green Shirt Day in honour of Humboldt Broncos player Logan Boulet who died in the bus crash the previous day in which he and 15 others perished.
His parents, Toby and Bernadine Boulet, offered to donate the organs of their son who told them he was registering as a donor after being inspired by mentor and former coach Ric Suggitt who saved the lives of six people with a 2017 organ donation. Six lives were also saved by the donation of Boulet’s organs. The act prompted a huge response in Canada with more than 150,000 people registering as donors in the aftermath.
Council has declared April 7 Logan Boulet Day every year since 2019.

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