Edmonton City Hall reopening to public Aug. 9, about 1,000 laid off city employees returning to work as COVID-19 restrictions ease

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About 1,000 City of Edmonton employees are headed back to work after being temporarily laid off for more than a year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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City manager Andre Corbould informed city council of several positive updates Tuesday as the city continues to ease restrictions following the province’s third stage of reopening on July 1. Under this stage, most restrictions have been lifted except for masking requirements on transit systems, vehicle-for-hire services and some healthcare settings.

Most of the staff, that were first laid off last April, will be returning to front-line positions at recreation facilities, pools and city attractions that are reopening. Of the 1,300 employees laid off, 994 have received their return to work notice and 133 staff resigned upon receiving their recall notice. There are still 254 employees on layoff who are set to return within the coming months.

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Recruitment is ongoing to fill vacant positions, Corbould said, and this hiring blitz will impact the city’s ability to increase capacity limits at outdoor pools and recreation centres, which have been popular since reopening. Drop-in visits are now allowed at fitness centres and attractions such as the Edmonton Valley Zoo and the Muttart Conservatory, but a pre-booked timeslot is still required for the city’s three open outdoor pools due to the high demand.

“Some sites may experience operational impacts while the return to work and recruitment processes are completed,” he told councillors during the emergency advisory committee meeting. “We anticipate welcoming more patrons to the outdoor pools as more employees are brought on board this summer.”

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City Hall reopening

With no restrictions on indoor gatherings, Edmonton City Hall will be reopening to the public after council returns from a month-long break. Access to city hall will resume on Aug. 9 in conjunction with the ability for the public to attend and speak at council and committee meetings in person. Council chambers will be open to 33 per cent capacity with 45 seats available to members of the public.

The City Room will be publicly accessible but will not be available for event bookings until after the Oct. 18 municipal election. Council chambers will be open at full capacity after the election as well.

Festival season

Many festival organizers are gearing up to go ahead with their annual events this summer, but they may look different than past iterations.

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The Edmonton Folk Music Festival and International Street Performers Festival will be taking to the streets and having smaller gatherings throughout Edmonton neighbourhoods rather than just one big event like in previous years. Taste of Edmonton will be going ahead July 22-Aug. 1 back in its old home at Churchill Square and Heritage Festival will also take place at Hawrelak Park July 31-Aug. 2.

Council approved a new festival and event grant program Monday afternoon that will dole out a total of $1 million to organizations needing help to get their events off the ground this year.

Large sporting events are also being planned including games for the Edmonton Elks, FC Edmonton and the Edmonton Stingers. A “major stadium event” at Commonwealth Stadium is also being planned for Aug. 26-28, but Corbould didn’t provide any additional details.

Council’s next COVID-19 update will be in August after the summer break.

duscook@postmedia.com

twitter.com/dustin_cook3 

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