Don Cody was the lone councillor on the right-hand side of the chamber after the departure of two of his colleagues during a March 23 meeting. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

COVID-19

Monday’s council meeting to be held half in-person, half via teleconferencing

Mar 31, 2020 | 1:17 PM

Prince Albert city council will use a mixture of remote and in-person attendance for Monday’s meeting.

Four councillors and the Mayor will be in the chamber, while the other four councillors will join via teleconference from home.

Mayor Greg Dionne said the change was made to comply with public health orders .

As of March 26, gatherings of more than ten people in one room are forbidden in Saskatchewan. The order is one of several put in place by the province to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Three city staff will be allowed in the council chamber, while additional staff will wait in the lobby until they are called to the podium one at a time as needed.

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The meeting will be closed to the public, but media will be allowed to attend.

Tables have been set up for staff and media in the lobby of city hall so they can watch the meeting but maintain social distancing protocols. (Submitted photo/Greg Dionne)

Prince Albert city council has suffered from low attendance since mid-March, when two councillors began staying away as a precautionary measure and calling for meetings to be conducted remotely. A further councillor is self-isolating. At the most recent city council meeting on March 23, two councillors left early, forcing proceedings to stop as there was not the minimum five-person quorum in the room.

Dionne said he believes the half in-person/half teleconferencing plan they’ve come up with is a good option.

“I think it’s important when you’re cutting people’s jobs and you’re affecting people’s livelihoods that you want to have a good conversation, a good exchange, and that just does not happen in teleconferencing,” said Dionne, adding that the city won’t be recalling their seasonal staff or casuals.

“It’s affected about 165 people so far,” he explained.

Furthermore, Dionne said, as leader, it’s important for him to be physically present.

“We ask our staff to show up for work,” he said. “I was brought up by grandparents to not ask my staff to do anything that I wouldn’t do.”

Councillors have been asked to decide amongst themselves who will be physically present at the meeting and who will join via teleconference.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom