INNISFAIL — Town council has held its first full daytime meetings in as long as anyone can remember.
And members rolled through their biweekly Agenda & Priorities Meeting pandemic-style.
Mindful that there are still provincial COVID-19 regulations in place, public gallery seating for the inaugural dayrtime July 6 was restricted, with at least two yellow-taped blocked chairs separating citizens.
Mayor Jim Romane, who has been on council for every year but three since 1988, said he did not know of any previous full council meeting that was held during the daytime.
"Other than the odd special one that was held I can't ever remember one in the daytime," said Romane, adding he liked the idea of trying them out.
"It's tough on the staff. Working on Mondays they are there eight hours all day. They get an hour break and quite often don't even go home," said the mayor. "Then they do council at 6 p.m. and work until 9 or 10 at night. That is a big commitment on staff."
Romane noted there were discussions before summer that the idea for daytime meetings might appeal to single family parents who would love to become more involved in local affairs but could not attend evening council meetings due to family commitments.
"This might offer an opportunity for more people to consider council," said Romane. "My biggest concern is that people who make a commitment to council are usually in a flexible position with their employer if they are even considering council anyway because there are a lot of daytime meetings that you would end up missing work time.
"Generally, people would have a bit of a flexible schedule anyway to consider council," he added. "it doesn't mean a heck of a lot to me. I like the idea because it gets to be a pretty long day."
For citizens who may still feel uncomfortable attending a live council meeting during the pandemic, the town is continuing its live streaming coverage on YouTube. The online access can be found on the Meetings, Agendas & Minutes page on the Town of Innisfail's website at https://innisfail.ca/
Todd Becker, the town's chief administrative officer, said the online service, which began in the spring after the pandemic forced the closure of the administration building, is being watched by "numbers" of citizens.
"We are showing some numbers actually. We don't know who is watching but we do have numbers and people are watching the meetings," said Becker. "We want to make sure that it is consistent and continues on. This will be maintained as an option for people to engage with council by viewing meetings."
