Week Nine

The purchasing and the credit card use policy were completed on Wednesday. I engaged with almost all city departments to redraft this policy; however with the credit card policy I had to engage the finance department more to ascertain what limit was reasonable and determine who should ensure the compliance with the policy. Through my work on this policy, I have learnt how decentralized the purchasing process is. It is decentralized because of the unique and specialized need of individual departments; nonetheless, certain capital purchases can be centralized because of the level of expertise required in the procurement process. The credit card use review also revealed how important it is to review this policy. It is significant because it confirmed that not all departments needed the maximum credit limit the old policy had, as well as it redressed the existing internal controls for the card use.



I met with the Director of Municipal Planning and Development to discuss my next project: The Development Standards for the Highway 13 Entry Corridor. We discussed the expectations of the policy which includes enhancing the visual aesthetics of the entrance corridor and developing precise specifications for the development that needs to be done in terms of landscaping, lighting, fencing, and signage. As well, part of my task was to design and develop a policy document that will be easily comprehended by the council members for them to go along with the policy.



I conducted research on the following: East Gateway Structure Plan, Government of Alberta Corridor Development, Intermunicipal Development Plan, West End Corridor Urban Design Guidelines for the City of Edmonton Planning and Development, Yellowhead Corridor East Design Guidelines, The Engineering Departments’ in-house research for Entrance Corridors, and some other relevant municipal design guidelines.

Learning Outcomes:
• The five key aspects of urban design and some design elements for entrance corridor designs which includes, but not limited to, edge, nodes, pathways, landmarks, districts, signage, lighting, fencing, theming, landscaping, access and eggres, conservation natural areas.

• The importance of always communicating in a clear, concise, and easy to understand manner irrespective of the target audience you are communicating with. Communication is important because most of the councillors come from different backgrounds and experience. The key here is to sell your policy which entails the councillors understanding the policy and for them to make the right decisions to approve the policy.

• City of Camrose is a winter city. What this means is every design project has to incorporate provisions for the winter weather.

• The need for branding. What is easily identifiable with Camrose as a city and ensuring there is consistency in the image that is portrayed to visitors when they come through the Highway 13 entrance corridors.

Bibliography
Government of Alberta: Corridor Development
http://www.transportation.alberta.ca/604.htm

East Gateway Structurre Plan
http://www.camrose.ca/index.aspx?nid=220

Engineering Services:

Intermunicipal Development Plan
http://www.projectupdate.ca/camroseidp.html

East Gateway Area Structure Plan
http://www.camrose.ca/index.aspx?NID=220

West End Corridor Urban Design Guidleines for the City of Edmonton Planning and Development
http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/documents/InfraPlan/West%20End%20Corridor%20Urban%20Design%20Guidlines.pdf

Yellowhead Corridor East Design Guidelines
http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/planning_development/entrance-features-national-des.aspx