Duane Hicks
Having moved committee of the whole meetings back downstairs shortly after the current term began in late 2006, town council has decided the meetings now will be held upstairs in Council Chambers.
Mayor Roy Avis made the request for the change of venue last night as it has become evident the committee room can become cramped when more than a few people, other than those at the committee meeting table, attend meetings there.
Coun. Rick Wiedenhoeft agreed with the change, noting that in the past two years, there’s been several occasions when “people were jammed in here, didn’t have a place to sit, stood at the back—some actually left because there was no more room.”
“I think that is really unfair to the public’s ability to be present and to be heard at a public meeting, and to hear what’s being said,” Coun. Wiedenhoeft noted, adding the fixed angle of the TV camera in the committee room doesn’t allow everyone speaking to be seen or heard.
Coun. Wiedenhoeft said he felt having the committee of the whole meetings in Council Chambers from 2003-06 worked very well, but didn’t object to moving them back downstairs at the time as the rest of council wanted to try it out.
Coun. Andrew Hallikas said he originally felt two years ago that it was a good idea to move the meetings back downstairs, but has since changed his mind.
“I have seen too many people not find a place to sit when there’s public delegations,” he noted. “I’ve seen other cases where people were upstairs waiting for us upstairs because they thought the meeting was up there.
“I think in terms of having a good, open meeting, we’re best to have committee of the whole upstairs.”
With the committee of the whole moving back up to Council Chambers, the committee chair (currently Coun. Sharon Tibbs) will sit in the mayor’s chair during that meeting, with the mayor taking it back once the regular council meeting begins.
Committee of the whole meetings take place prior to regular council meetings on the second and fourth Monday of the month. The in-camera portion of those meetings will continue to be held in the committee room downstairs.
Special committee of the whole meetings, like next Monday afternoon’s budget meeting, will continue to be held in the committee room.
For many years, committee of the whole meetings were held in the committee room downstairs, but were moved to Council Chambers during the 2003-06 term of council when the council of the day decided it would be more accommodating to the public.
After the 2006 election, the current council opted to move them back downstairs.
Also at last night’s meeting, council:
•passed a bylaw to prohibit the feeding of wild animals (excluding birds, squirrels and chipmunks), within the Town of Fort Frances (see tomorrow’s Times for the full story);
•passed a bylaw to amend Bylaw 35/79 regarding the use of off-road vehicles within the Town of Fort Frances, and a bylaw to amend Bylaw 66/90 regarding the use of motorized snow vehicles within the Town of Fort Frances (both of these amendments are to exempt enforcement and emergency service personnel from the bylaw provisions while in the performance of their duties);
•passed a bylaw to assume, stop up, and close a lane on the 1000 block of Third St. East;
•passed a bylaw to approve agreements with the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. for financing post-secondary co-op work placement under the Northern Ontario Youth Co-op Program;
•received a police services activity report from A/Insp. Steve Shouldice;
•received a project update from Public Sector Accounting Board project co-ordinator Meghan Haehn;
•received an activities report from economic development advisor Geoff Gillon, who gave the town an invoice for its share ($8,360.63) of the Northern Ontario Economic Development Fund project;
•received, with appreciation for service, a letter of resignation from Connie Schwartz from the Fort Frances Public Library Board effective Jan. 16, 2009; and
•approved a request from K. Gaudette to proclaim March, 2009 as “Epilepsy Awareness Month” and March 26, 2009 as “Purple Day” in the Town of Fort Frances.
