Tim was first elected to Edmonton City Council in 2017. He is a Professional Engineer and small business owner. His business is about designing and managing building projects, including past projects like the Expo Centre for Northlands and three seniors lodges for the Greater Edmonton Foundation. Prior to serving in public office Tim also worked for Alberta’s Treasury Board.

Giving back to the community has always been very important to Tim. He has over three decades of community volunteer experience, including various community league roles, coaching minor hockey, and various roles on discipline and practice standards committees with his professional association (APEGA).

In 2013, he received the APEGA Summit Award for Community Service and in 2014, he received the Engineers Canada Meritorious Service Award.

Tim and his wife, Cathy, were born and raised in Edmonton and live in South Edmonton with their three children: Matthew, Riana and Justin.

Tim currently serves as Member of the Executive Committee, Member of the Inter-Municipal and Regional Development Committee, Member of the Audit Committee, Member of the Edmonton Metro Regional Board's Integrated Regional Transportation Plan Task Force, Member of the Edmonton Police Commission and is on the Board of Directors for the Fort Edmonton Park Management Company.

Tim cares about his community and is now ensuring that the voices of Ward 9 residents are heard at City Council.

What steps do you believe are necessary for Edmonton to achieve balanced growth between greenfield and infill development as outlined in the City Plan?

There are a few high level issues that we need to resolve. The first is basic utilities, primarily potable water and electrical services. Our established neighborhoods have existing infrastructure that was likely designed for less density than infill development brings, and in many cases is nearing the end of its economic life. Upgrading and replacing those utilities is arguably more expensive than building new in greenfield areas. Further, there is not generally a developer involved installing those base utilities ahead of building contractors, and the upgrading cost then falls to the building contractor. Who ought take on that neighborhood developer role? A aspect matter to be considered is commercial infill. Our focus has been on residential infill, however if we are to turn some of our established and mature neighborhoods into those 15 minute communities our City Plan describes, we need to consider commercial infill as well. A third concern is how input and engagement is properly undertaken when developing in established neighborhoods. Often infill projects represent a significant imposition on the surrounding neighborhood, and it is important to do a better job of understanding those concerns and ensuring the infill development is seen as compatible with the existing homes and businesses.

How will you support Edmonton’s competitive advantage and market affordable housing? How do you see fees, levies, taxes and municipal cost control playing a role in housing affordability? Note: CHBA-ER refers to “market affordable housing” as housing that is market priced and meets the general requirements of affordability based on household income. Market affordable housing may include market rental housing and market home ownership.

We need to strike a balance between ensuring that the proportionate taxes, fees and levies are paid by the infill developer, while ensuring we are not overburdening the infill development process with red tape. There are ways in which City Administration could be much more responsive to the development and construction communities generally - greenfield and infill. Both cohorts have concerns about market affordability and a competitive cost regime for Edmonton when compared to the Edmonton region and other cities.

What steps do you believe are necessary to reduce red tape and support business investment in the residential construction industry?

I think we need to do a much better job of assessing and approving permit applications. Reducing the time it takes to get to approval is a direct benefit to the bottom line. I also think that some sort of trade organization that establishes performance measures - impact on adjacent properties during construction, preservation of trees, preservation of existing infrastructure, etc. - so that the City does not feel compelled to create a bunch of policy and regulation would be helpful. An industry that presents solutions, that has a code of conduct, that is self-regulating will go a long way to reducing the red tape and cost that ALL will experience because of the actions of a few bad actors.

Do you support welcoming a diversity of housing types throughout Edmonton?

Yes. In greenfield and infill developments.

How do you envision City Council expanding infrastructure capacity to support future development as outlined in the City Plan?

Some of our utilities operate on what is essentially a shared cost for shared benefit. One example is drainage, which is working on flood mitigation solutions and odor reduction actions across Edmonton - but not everywhere in Edmonton. The costs of those initiatives are contained in rate filings that determine what every drainage account in Edmonton will pay, even those that won't derive a direct benefit. Perhaps this philosophy can be employed to achieve the required infrastructure investments to support infill and renewal.

Do you support the goals of the Community Energy Transition Strategy? How do you envision the City of Edmonton achieving these goals?

I support the general goals of the Energy Transition Strategy. However, many of the actions contained in the strategy are exceedingly expensive. Particularly on the heels of the current pandemic, financial resources will be scarce. We need to be careful of adding to much cost to development as that will adversely affect affordability, which in turn will affect our ability to attract and retain the talent we will need to make Edmonton their home. I think therefore we need to find the most cost effective strategies that will have meaningful impact as our first steps. One aspect of the Energy Transition strategy that will be particularly valuable is the City's carbon budget evaluation of new projects. This is a first step in making more careful evaluations of our investment choices.

Is there anything about your platform that you think CHBA-ER members should know?

I am an engineer, and I have over 30 years experience designing and managing building projects. I continue to operate my small consulting firm, albeit at a much reduced capacity. I have shared your experiences when dealing with permit applications, inspections and approvals at the City of Edmonton and with other code authorities. I have an excellent working knowledge of the life cycle of a building project. That shared experience allows me to speak intelligently to you about your issues, and interact in a meaningful way with City Administration when trying to bring about positive change for all stakeholders. I hope that you consider my pertinent experience when considering who you may endorse as an industry association and who you may vote for on October 18th.