People will have the option to attend council meetings in-person, or view them online instead. (File photo/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

New Location

NB council in-person meetings to resume at new location

Oct 2, 2020 | 3:23 PM

The City of North Battleford will be moving to in-person council meetings again, but at a new location.

Starting Nov. 23, meetings will be held temporarily at the Chapel Gallery building. The date will mark the first full meeting of the new council after the municipal election.

The larger space is needed for COVID-19 social-distancing protocols, compared to the existing council chambers site.

People can also continue to view the meetings online if they are not able to attend in person, as part of this hybrid model.

“The [Chapel] Gallery will allow a full council to meet, along with staff and members of the public,” city manager Randy Patrick said. “We would still be limited to the total number of people in the facility by COVID rules.”

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People attending will also need to sign in for contact-tracing requirements.

Patrick mentioned an important part about having in-person council meetings is so “democracy is seen and heard.”

Council meetings have been held online via Zoom since the start of the pandemic in March.

Council approved administration’s recommendation at its recent meeting to hold the meetings at the new location temporarily. They also authorized spending up to $35,000 for the electronics required so council members, staff, guests and the public can view council meetings in safety while reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission. The city will use funding from the Safe Restart Canada Plan program provided by the federal government.

Administration proposed the Chapel Gallery as the infrastructure at this site is suitable for the technology, and the arts venue is currently closed on a temporary basis for COVID-19 precautions.

Council favoured the location as a meeting place that is accessible to people with mobility issues, compared to the existing council chambers on the upper level of City Hall, accessible only by climbing the stairs.

For Coun. Kelli Hawtin her only concern was the choice of using the Chapel Gallery as the venue for the meetings.

“We have not decided that the Chapel Gallery is not opening next year. So it sort of puts us in a position to make a decision about the Chapel Gallery, and the ability to use that as an arts venue,” she said. “I think that’s a discussion in itself that sort of warrants more time.”

Coun. Kent Lindgren said he hopes administration will resume discussions with council in 2021 about whether it is possible to make some of the Chapel Gallery space usable and open to the public for its intended use.

“We do need to think about how that might look in the new year,” he said.

Later start-time

Regular council meetings start times are changing in the near future. Effective Nov. 1 council meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. instead of 6:15 p.m. The meetings will start a few minutes later to allow a little more time for the executive meeting held prior to council’s meeting to wrap up first. This will help prevent the need for executive meetings to resume on occasion after council meetings are completed.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW