Council approves new monthly meetings

Black Diamond residents will get more opportunities to meet with elected officials to share their thoughts and concerns.

Town council will host monthly informal community engagement sessions for a six-month trial period. The meetings were proposed by the Town’s new Mayor Glen Fagan during council’s Sept. 21 meeting.

“It’s basically a fireside chat where we can have an open discussion of issues or questions,” he told council last week. “It’s to give the community a better chance to engage with council.”

Fagan suggested the monthly meetings be held in the municipal building the second Tuesday of each month from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. until June 2017. Council approved the request, but agreed on a six-month trial instead of nine months and to review it after the last session in March.

The sessions will be an open format for general discussion between council and the public, said Fagan.

“There is no administration staff required and I will not charge a per diem for that time,” he told council.

Fagan was sworn in as Black Diamond’s mayor in early September in a byelection to replace outgoing mayor Sharlene Brown who is now the Town’s CAO.

Coun Jackie Stickel said she wanted to ensure there would be more than one council representative at the new meetings.

“I have a concern with you being here by yourself, that it would be really in the best interest of everyone on council that there be at least you and one councillor at each meeting,” said Coun. Jackie Stickel before the decision was made. “If we each took a turn that would be better than being by yourself.”

Coun. Mike Ross expressed concern over what information might be given to the public at the meeting.

“I have a concern that someone might have a question based on something we haven’t released any public information on,” he told Fagan. “Whoever is attending this meeting has to be extraordinarily careful how they respond. If there is no control over this I wonder how you’re going to be managing that.”

Fagan agreed other council members should attend the meetings and assured council he would be careful about what information he shares with the public.

“You are right, some things cannot be communicated until we resolve that issue and make a public announcement on it,” he told council. “That’s exactly what I would say: ‘We cannot respond at this time.’ I recognize there is probably a great deal of discomfort with opening the door to this kind of forum, so I leave it to council to make that vote.”

The only councillor to oppose the motion was Deputy Mayor Ruth Goodwin, who told the Western Wheel following the council meeting that she questions the need for it.

“I feel that there is plenty enough opportunity for community to engage council through phone, committees we attend and email,” she said. “I believe that council is very active within our community and if an individual chooses to engage with a council member or council there is more than enough opportunity to do that weekly and monthly.”

Goodwin also expressed some trepidation around the cost of hosting the monthly meetings.

“It’s nice that the mayor has indicated he will do this for free, but there is always going to be a cost with the expectation that there is going to be more than one council member present,” she said.

She is also concerned about time administration may have to spend to answer questions the council members in attendance aren’t able to. Goodwin said she looks forward to participating in the sessions, but she would like to see expectations set as to how the meetings will run.

“It does require a little bit more structure than we are going to put together a meeting and open it up to everyone,” she said. “We need to set expectations of how that meeting will be run and provide reasonable responses in a timely manner to those who pose questions that can’t be responded to immediately.”

The first community engagement meeting will take place at the Black Diamond Municipal Building Oct. 11 at 6:30 p.m.