BARRHEAD - Town of Barrhead councillors have opted to return to their previous council summer meeting schedule.
On June 25, council unanimously supported a suggestion by mayor Dave McKenzie to return to holding one monthly meeting over July and August, canceling the second Tuesday meeting.
He said that traditionally, over the summer months, the municipality reduces the number of council meetings to one a month as the agendas and workload tend to be lighter.
McKenzie also noted it is helpful as municipal office and department head staff members also tend to take vacation time in the summer.
"We changed that last summer [on a suggestion by Coun. Ty Assaf] because we had some things on the go," he said, suggesting going back to the old scheduling, dropping the second meeting in July and August.
Coun. Rod Klumph liked the suggestion, noting that he would not be available for the second meeting in August. He then asked the administration if they saw a reason to have the full slate of council meetings in the summer.
Chief administrative officer (CAO) Edward LeBlanc said the council would make the final decision, adding that he did not believe it would be a particularly arduous summer.
He added that if councillors wanted more details on what was potentially coming up for the summer agendas, the discussion should take place in-camera.
Coun. Dave Sawatzky agreed that, given their traditional workload, the council could likely hold only one meeting in July and August.
His only concern was whether council might need the extra meetings to discuss items related to the municipality's search for a new CAO.
McKenzie replied that anything regarding the CAO search, such as interviewing potential candidates, would happen outside a regular council meeting regardless.
The search for a new CAO became necessary when LeBlanc announced retirement in April. Officially, his contract with the municipality ran out in May; however, he agreed to stay until his replacement was in place.
Council also cancelled the Sept. 24 meeting as several councillors would be attending the start of the ABMunis fall conference.
Alberta Municipalities is an advocacy group that works to lobby the provincial and federal governments on issues concerning its members (summer villages, villages, towns, cities and other specialized municipalities).
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
