17th Regular Meeting of 2009 - November 9

Pomp, Yes, Circumstance, No.

It took about forty minutes to swear in the new city council on November 9. This included a speech by the re-elected mayor, in which he asked councillors to accept "social and environmental responsibility for the generations that follow." [This might mean that city council will finally adopt a Green Plan, but I doubt it: the mayor is fixated on his Green Energy Industrial Park in the airport area. Other than that, it's unsustainable business as usual - except that there's new skin for the old ceremony (with my apologies to Leonard Cohen . . . .)] He also seemed confused about how many years there are in a decade, when he said, "Council, this is your next decade, three years of service . . . ." Even after checking the speech against the pre-delivery text it was hard to tell why "decade" was mentioned.

Surprisingly, the formal council meeting - held after a 15-minute break for congratulations from and kibitzing with the new council's family and friends -actually lasted 23 minutes.

Deputy Mayor Appointments Show Failure to Consult (or "Who's on first?")

In an unusually frank (and easily avoidable) exchange, problems with the six-week deputy mayor appointments were the subject of the new council's first foray into the forbidden land of needless commentary. No one had bothered to consult with the returning councillors, so it was necessary for Councillor Dionne to switch with Councillor Atkinson [so Dionne can indulge in his usual Hawaiian winter holiday without civic worries], and Councillor Ring to switch with Councillor Zurakowski.

Ring noted that the mayor usually "skips the country" in February - and this is Winter Festival month, so he was thankful to be able to hand off the multitiude of deputy mayor duties to Zurakowski.

"Special" Means 'We Don't Want Anyone to Come'

Councillor Dionne felt the need to editorialize about a perceived misconception with respect to "special" meetings of city council. He said this came up during the election campaign, and he wanted to make it clear that these "public" meetings are not "secret." He wanted to know if they could be re-named "Special Public Meetings." City Clerk Cliff Skauge replied that the wording in provincial legislation has to be used.

While ostensibly trying to clarify council meeting types (to make himself look diligent and forthright), the Ward 2 councillor misled people, as explained below. [When it comes to full disclosure, the councillor and the concept are perfect strangers . . . .]

The issue was especially confusing to people who do not know that there are two types of special meetings; and there have been 21 more "special" meetings in the past three years than "regular" meetings [76 "special" meetings, versus 55 "regular" meetings, were held by Prince Albert City Council from January 1, 2007 to September 30, 2009. Prior to 2005, there were 24 "regular" council meetings a year, and short-notice "special" meetings were rare.]

The problem is that "special" meetings are usually held with less than 48-hours' notice [and often just 24-hours' notice - if the mayor can find the four councillors he needs to hold such a meeting], so Shaw Cable and Rawlco Radio aren't there. Even the Daily Herald can't always find someone to attend these (from a building that's less than 100 meters from the council chamber). Brian Clavier rarely finds out about them, so there is no one from "the public" at them. These are the "special" meetings that people (voters and council candidates) complain about, which might as well be called "secret" because only some members of council and administration can adjust their schedules on exceptionally short notice to fit the mayor's need for a "special" meeting on something he deems urgent.

There is another type of "special" meeting - of which almost no member of the public is aware. These are always held after an in camera Committee-of-the-Whole meeting, and they are "public." They're held earlier in the day when a "regular" council meeting is scheduled for either 4 PM (July and August) or 7 PM (the rest of the year). Their purpose is to ratify motions made at the in camera (yes, "secret") meetings - motions, in theory, that are restricted to "land, legal, and personnel matters - and the motions at them are famously bland, repetitive, and uninformative.

Both types of "special" meetings have been used to pass bylaws and motions - without public or press scrutiny, on topics that are both lacking in urgency and controversial, as detailed below.

Here's a summary of 24 "special" meetings of city council since November 2006.

2006

November 9: to deal with "land and legal" matters, items that missed the November 6 special meeting - duration 5 minutes.

November 27: "land and legal" matters were cited on the notice, but the only business conducted was ratification of committee appointments, plus the establishment of a PAGC-City Liaison Committee and the [perpetually-urgent-and-important] Golf Course Advisory Committee.

2007

March 19: to address replacement of the roof at the PA Golf & Curling Club - an item missed at the March 12 special and regular meetings, which could not wait until the March 26 regular meeting.

June 5: rezone A1 land to R5 - which could not wait until the June 11 meeting - plus two other items added (literally) at the last minute.

July 9: bylaw to ratify water utility budgets and rate changes, which could not wait until the July 16 meeting.

August 23: to discuss PA Golf & Curling Club roofing options - which missed the August 13 meeting, and could not wait until the September 10 meeting.

October 15: to authorize the Request-For-Proposals (RFP) for installation of underground utilities - which missed the October 9 meeting, and could not wait until the October 22 meeting.

November 19: to create new ground rules for information requests from elected officials [specifically, to reduce the opportunities for Councillors Atkinson and Williams to have their questions answered] - which could not wait until the November 26 meeting.

December 31: a noon-hour meeting on New Year's Eve, to hire a field house architect, and give operating budget pre-approval to transfer $35,100 to Economic Development & Planning Travel and Accommodation - duration 15 minutes.

2008

May 5: to discuss additional revenue-sharing money, school mill rates, the tender for the Riverside Drive overpass, and (added at the last minute) the farmer's market on Central Avenue, as well as "Summer in the Square" - none of whihc could wait until council's May 12 meeting.

May 20: to approve a retail store on 6th Ave. East and a condo development on 1st St. East, neither of which could wait until council's May 26 meeting - duration 5 minutes.

August 5: to deal with "land and legal" matters that could not wait until the August 11 meeting - duration 2 minutes.

September 2: to approve the law office at 1200 Central Ave. and 2007 financial statements, which could not wait until the September 8 meeting - duration 10 minutes.

October 6: to deal with "land and legal" matters" that could not wait until October 15 - duration 5 minutes.

December 17: to deal with issues that were missed at the December 15 meeting.

2009

January 5, 4 PM: advertised as dealing with "land and legal" matters (that could not wait until the January 12 meeting), but only addressed the Olympic Torch Relay Task Force - duration 1 minute [but urgent!]

January 5, 4:40 PM: to deal with "land and legal" matters.

April 8: to pass the property tax bylaw, which could not wait until the April 27 meeting.

July 6: to allow a new Carlton High School sign, review the status of the bridge cameras (a $41,800 expense), traffic light controls, a day care centre, and hockey rink specification tender - none of which could wait until the July 20 meeting.

July 27: to approve SaskPower easements and the 2009 land fund - both of which were missed at the July 20 meeting.

July 31: [the finale of "Special Meeting Month". . .] to deal with the water treatment plant, a Request-For-Proposals for sewer cleaning, the transit system RFP, and a development on Kernaghan Cres. - none of which could wait until the August 18 meeting.

September 14: to deal with a development permit for 211-20th St. West [to which Brian Clavier had previously objected, since the hand-made drawing looked like it was copied from a napkin, whereas this meeting's drawings were bought off the internet] and a Green Energy Park press release, neither of which could wait until the September 21 meeting.

September 28: to purchase golf carts (28 gas-powered, and 30 electric) and other assets (driving range equipment, pull carts, clubhouse shelving, and 19 cairns) from Danny Jutras, the departing professsional at Cooke Municipal, for a total cost of $326,200, and add that to the operating cost of the golf course, as well as approve downtown defibrillators - neither of which could wait until the October 5 meeting of council.

October 15: to approve a fish and seafood store on River St. West, missed at the October 5 meeting - which could have been addressed at the October 19 meeting (that council cancelled at the end of its October 5 meeting . . . .)