The first notice of motion by Coun. Rick Bonnett fell flat among councillors.
His wish is to see some organizational changes to the Town of Ponoka’s administration.
Bonnett presented his motion but some councillors were confused with the wording and felt the motion was more of a discussion item.
He presented a list of items May 14 he feels would benefit the Town of Ponoka administration. “You’ve got some ideas in front of you but they’re not written in stone.”
In the notice of motion, Bonnett suggested a human resources committee composed of councillors and at least one town employee be able to hear issues from town staff.
Areas Bonnett would also like to see addressed:
• A staff member dedicated to social media for Ponoka.
• Staff re-organization.
• Recreation programming director to deal closely with community needs.
• A tourism and business group liaison to assist with economic development in Ponoka.
• A facilities manager to oversee and maintain building repairs rather than having separate managers for the Ponoka Culture and Recreation Complex and the aquaplex.
• A bylaw officer who is mandated to be out and about in the community, not just giving tickets but also educating residents.
Coun. Doug Gill was concerned that dealing with staff as councillors would compromise the town with its unions. “The way that it is set up right now I would definitely speak against this committee.”
He suggests a conflict resolution strategy would be a better option for staff who might have exercised all the options available to them.
Coun. John Jacobs feels the motion was more of a discussion item and suggested councillors discuss the items during a committee of the whole meeting.
No decisions were made, only to have further discussions when a proper motion is presented.