The following are brief items of interest from the Sept. 23 regular council meeting and other town news items.
Meeting delayed
The beginning of the meeting was delayed by 45 minutes when a member of the public refused to remove his hat. Mayor Rick Bonnett informed the person they were required to remove headwear to show respect for the council proceedings and the image of the queen in the chambers.
After two refusals, the meeting was adjourned and the RCMP were called to remove the person from chambers.
At 7:45 p.m., the meeting was reconvened.
The mayor apologized for the delay to the town staff, councillors and the media, saying council has policies and procedures that had to be followed.
Council procedures bylaw 413-18 states members of the public must refrain from wearing headwear in council chambers except for ethic or religious reasons.
ARPA Conference
Town council approved the attendance of two members of the Parks, Recreation and Culture Advisory Committee to attend the 2019 Alberta Recreation and Parks Association (ARPA) Conference Oct. 24 to 26 in Lake Louise, Alberta.
The cost per person is $1,400, which will come out of council’s conference and travel expenses budget.
Code of Conduct
Council voted unanimously to approve the revised Town and Council Appointed Boards and Committees Code of Conduct.
Appointments
Council appointed Greg Braat to the Heritage and Downtown Revitalization Committee and Sharon Rowland to the Ponoka Jubilee Library Board, both for three year terms.
Ponoka airport
There was informal discussion about the airport by council at its Strategic Planning workshop Sept. 17.
The matter is expected to come back before Council later this fall for council’s consideration.
Economic Development Strategy Workshops
The town held workshop sessions for the public and the business community to receive feedback on its Economic Development Strategy on Sept. 18, 19 and 20.
A summary of feedback received, from these sessions as well as other public consultation methods, will go before town council sometime this winter.