Trail council meetings reconvened in-person at city hall last night, which is all part of the municipal transition into a phased reopening plan that’s been underway since mid-May.
“We have been conducting council meetings online through the Zoom platform since the end of March,” said Sandy Lucchini, Trail’s deputy corporate administrator.
“As we revert to in-person meetings, the city will ensure that COVID-19 preventative measures are in place and implemented for all members of council, city staff, and members of the public who attend the meetings.”
The meetings take place in council chambers, and precautions include mandatory hand sanitation, arranged seating for council to maintain physical distancing, a maximum of five persons in the public gallery, and availability of disposable face masks, which are optional for all attendees.
“Public participation is essential in the operation of local government,” said Lucchini. “Although this revised format is very different from our past practices, our COVID-19 preventative measures will allow us to resume the meetings while still being able to accommodate the members of the community.”
Anyone wanting to address council and delegation requests for an upcoming regular council meeting should be made in advance with city staff. To make these arrangements call Lucchini at 250.364.0809 or email slucchini@trail.ca.
In another move forward last week, the city extended hours of service at the Trail Riverfront Centre in both the library and museum.
While the library stacks and museum galleries are now open Monday through Friday 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., only 10 people are permitted in the facility at one time, and staff asks all patrons to respect the posted signage.
At the Monday governance meeting, council reviewed a reopening strategy for the indoor pool and the fitness area of Trail Aquatic and Leisure Centre.
As well, city leaders looked at a number of public works reports and considered several contract awards related to infrastructure improvement, including a $338,000 contract for paving jobs around the city this year.
The Trail Times will report on these decisions later this week.
Read more: Trail council delays property tax payments
Read more: Latest on COVID-19
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