Having bought a UV-emitting device during the last week in March the Town of Penhold will now offer indoor tanning at the fitness centre in the multiplex.
Confusion over how the voting process was handled spurred some councillors to push for a review of the town's electronic voting policy.
An e-vote was initiated when administration sent an email March 26 asking for a “yes” or “no” response.
The request for decision included information about the business case for operating a tanning bed and a majority of councillors gave permission to pull the trigger on the buy.
One councillor sent an invalid response and one was not included in any of the correspondence. Another councillor tried to “Reply All” but was unable.
On April 8 an official motion confirmed the decision during a regularly scheduled council meeting.
“I never saw any of those emails,” said Coun. Danielle Klooster, who voted for the formal in-council motion to purchase the tanning bed. “I never got any information on the business plan, the cost. I never saw anything about the tanning bed come across my emails at all.”
The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer designated UV-emitting tanning devices as carcinogenic to humans in 2009 and the Alberta government has been working with doctors and non-profit organizations to get the word out about the health risks.
Coun. Chad Hoffman said while he supports getting into the tanning business, the e-vote procedure needs to be looked at.
“I think we need a good solid policy around email voting so we know everything is being communicated,” he said, noting he tried to “Reply All” but couldn't. “I sent back my vote, but I didn't see anybody else's vote or any discussion.”
Klooster said she had done rough calculations even without formal numbers and was confident the tanning bed would be a good business investment for the town. But she said the electronic voting process should be investigated.
“I agree that the policy committee should look at the policy around email voting,” she said. “I'm completely in the dark as to what the information that came out was and what the final decision was.”
CAO Rick Binnendyk confirmed the tanning bed had already been purchased before council ratified the motion and noted one councillor had voted “on the fence” which is not an acceptable response.
“It was a yes or no request via email based on some further information including a little bit of a business plan,” he said. “Not everybody responded, but the majority voted to move forward.”
Coun. Wendy Dodman opposed the formal in-council motion, with all other council members in favour.
