Coun. Dennis Nowoselsky sits alone on the left side of the council chamber. His regular neighbours, Coun. Charlene Miller, Coun. Evert Botha and Coun. Dennis Ogrodnick did not attend Monday's city council meeting. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Safety concerns

COVID-19 pandemic prompts call for remote council meetings

Mar 18, 2020 | 12:57 PM

Amid concerns of COVID-19, two Prince Albert city councillors are calling on P.A. to conduct meetings remotely or postpone them.

Only five of eight councillors, plus the mayor, attended Monday night’s meeting, which proved to be the shortest of the trio held so far in 2020.

Coun. Charlene Miller told paNOW that as a healthcare worker, who is in regular contact with seniors, she needed to be proactive and sit the meeting out.

“I do not need to expose them to that kind of situation,” she said. “There was one person in that room who was at a big conference and another who was on a trip out of our country.”

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Speaking about the city’s response to COVID-19, Miller said she doesn’t “feel that things are progressing as fast as they should.”

Coun. Charlene Miller speaks during a February council meeting. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff).

Coun. Evert Botha’s chair was also empty. He explained he’s in good health, but didn’t attend the meeting as a precautionary measure. Botha said he sent an email to the mayor and councillors ahead of Monday night detailing his reasoning.

“We should rather postpone the council meeting along with upcoming meetings and look at meeting electronically following the lead of other cities in the province,” he said, citing Saskatoon, Regina and Moose Jaw as examples.

“I think the health and safety of our community should be the most important consideration.”

Coun. Evert Botha speaks during a February Council Meeting. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

Botha pointed to Prince Albert’s procedure bylaw which allows for meetings to be conducted by electronic means in case of emergencies.

“I’d rather be prepared; we don’t know what’s going to hit us,” he said. “I’d rather overreact and overprepare and be ready, than be caught off-guard.”

On Monday night, Mayor Greg Dionne opened proceedings by telling the audience it could be the last time for a while they’re allowed in the council chambers.

“In the future, you’ll have to check. We may close it to the public,” he said. “We haven’t made that decision yet, but that’s one of the things that is on the discussion table.”

Councillors are scheduled to meet again on Monday, March 23 for executive committee. Botha and Miller both said they won’t be attending unless proceedings take place remotely.

Coun. Dennis Ogrodnick, who was also missing from Monday night’s meeting, did not respond to a request for comment.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom