Mayor Linnsie Clark and councillors attend a committee of the whole meeting in council chambers at City Hall in March 2024. Council this week approved a series of special meetings to tackle a number of large pressing issues as the term draws closer to conclusion.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
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A series of meetings for council members this spring will outline large issues, including a potential rearrangement of the city’s energy company, community wellness plan and others.
Four sessions would be held alternating with regular council meetings after they were approved Tuesday.
“I’d rather they be scheduled,” said Coun. Alison Van Dyke, citing the end of the term in October. “We do have a lot of work that we have to get done.”
Mayor Linnsie Clark expressed concern that large issues are moving quickly, and wondered if newly scheduled meetings could be made more convenient.
“I still object to the pace at which the MCC is moving,” Clark said. “If they go ahead they go ahead, but we’ll have to make sure we get quorum.”
Committee of the whole meetings involve presentations from staff and a more free-flow of questions and information with elected officials. A series of such informational meetings were held in 2024 toward building the new two-year city budget, but no official action can be approved during the meetings. Items pass through to regular council meetings for discussion, amendments and voting.
A closed meeting on May 15 would involve councillors and administrators working through facets of the “energy business strategy”, potentially including a number of issues, but likely a discussion of financial analysis for creating a municipally controlled corporation to oversee the power production business, plus gas and electricity distribution systems.
That was discussed Tuesday, with council hearing that staff planned to bring more analysis on May 20.
Another open meeting would be tentatively set for late June related to energy business strategy.
Next Monday, a committee meeting would go through the ongoing Community Well Being Plan (loosely described as tackling social disorder), discuss city service levels (a matter discussed as a prelude to budget adjustments last fall).
Staff will also go through the proposed changes to the Transportation Master Plan, which is ready to move to council for approval. The first update in 10 years would add active transportation and traffic safety plans.
An open council committee of the whole on Monday, May 26 would see a first quarter economic development report presented by Medicine Hat Economic Development officials. An overview of the city’s financial reserves would also be presented.
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