Council also discusses rotating community meetings, cyanobacteria education
By Erin Griffiths
Code of conduct
The August 17 Lakeland Ridges council meeting began with Mayor Greg Grant explaining that several code-of-conduct complaints have been filed against council members.
Without going into any details, he explained that the CAO receives the initial review, then it is sent to the mayor. If the complaint is about the mayor, it will be sent to the deputy mayor, Tanya Cloutier.
These complaints have seven days to be addressed and will be dismissed after 45 days if nothing is filed.
Asbestos
Asbestos concerns continue to plague this council’s meetings. Council reached a band-aid agreement to update the Meductic Community Hall washrooms for $510 and unanimously agreed to seal off a contaminated furnace room while awaiting further reports from Occupational Health and Safety.
The municipality is currently facing two charges from Occupational Health and Safety and has pleaded not guilty.
On the advice of legal counsel, council isn’t sharing any information on the case, but promises transparency once the legal battle is over.
Community committees
Councillor member Hans Stevens moved to involve various flexible committees across the communities and to define what they should entail. There was some back-and-forth on how much say committees should have in council decisions and how often council members would need to meet without committee involvement. Ultimately, the issue was deferred to the next meeting, and they were unable to reach a decision at that time.
Meeting rotation schedule
The location of rotating council meetings was raised again at council, with Councillor Lisa Antworth saying she’d like to see a final decision on the meetings soon.
Council members agreed that meeting in each ward would benefit the community, while CAO Susie Patterson expressed concerns about proper scheduling, Wi-Fi, and overall accessibility in each community.
It was agreed that plenty of notice would be given via social media about the location, and that each meeting location would be up to code to host the meetings properly.
Cyanobacteria
Councillor Barb Glanville moved a motion, which was passed unanimously, to display flyers throughout Meductic explaining cyanobacteria, providing community members with a visual aid on what to look for, what to do, and how to proceed regarding the harmful bacteria that can threaten everyone, including pets.
