INNISFAIL – Just a handful of Innisfail residents showed up for the second annual Relay with Town Council.
The informal evening event took place at the Innisfail Library/Learning Centre on June 20.
The first Relay with Town Council was held in March 2018 and was considered a success. This year’s event was held later in the year and saw less community participation and attendance.
“I’m a little disappointed. I thought we’d have a little better response,” said Jim Romane, Innisfail's mayor. “We’ve had a couple of people out and we’re hoping for the best.
“It does give people the opportunity to voice their concerns and opinions,” he added.
Romane was joined by all six Innisfail councillors, Innisfail Library manager Tara Downs, Innisfail CAO Todd Becker and several town staff members as well.
The low turnout may actually be a positive sign, said Romane.
“I’m hoping it’s an indication that we’re doing some things right,” he said. “We’ve been very aggressive in addressing some of the concerns over the years, (including) the sidewalks, the streets, (and) housing development.”
Many councillors agreed.
“Because we don’t have people here to ask us questions, we have to assume that we’re doing a good job,” said Coun. Glen Carritt. “We’re always open to emails, a phone call. If you’ve got concerns let us know.”
Innisfail resident Michael Barclay was one of a handful of people that showed up for the Relay with Town Council on June 20.
“This is a good chance for us to engage with the council, to see if there’s any community concerns,” said Barclay, noting he was pleased to speak with council members one-on-one about some of his concerns. “The big one for me was community standards when it comes to other people keeping their yards and houses up, snow clearing and other maintenance.
“I’m very happy with the answers. I found out that (the enforcement) is being pro-active and they have a schedule in place to hopefully fix some of these problems,” Barclay concluded.
