081724 - Council sits for a regular meeting at City Hall in this 2024 News file photo
@MedicineHatNews
City council won’t meet in public Monday night with a lack of agenda items cited as the reason, but will discuss a personnel mater in a regular closed session that afternoon.
Coming out of a typically slower summer break for official council and committee business, only first readings for updated electric and natural gas bylaws are ready to proceed.
Minutes from three other committee meetings contain information items, or had decision items go back to staff.
“It doesn’t make sense to keep 12 staff there until 6:30 p.m, have a dinner break and hold what would be a two-minute meeting,” said Coun. Shila Sharps, a council alternate on the agenda committee that sets the meeting plans the week prior.
Mayor Linnsie Clark also informed the News this week of the likelihood the public session might be cancelled and items moved to the next scheduled meeting on Sept. 3.
Debate does not typically take place on first-readings, such as the utility bylaws, and a proposed but not required public hearing on updates to the city’s off-site levy bylaw is held over to meet advertising timeline requirements.
As well, council was to receive the minutes of the municipal planning commission, including a recommendation to adopt a change-of-use permit at the former Aurora Cannabis greenhouse. That facility, which sits on direct-control zoned land, is being changed to grow vegetable starters.
Council typically meets on the first and third Mondays of a month, but the first meeting in August was cancelled with the schedule was approved last October to allow for a summer break, as is usual.
