Town council to discuss ‘Coffee with council’ sessions

By Rob Vogt
Soon, residents of the Town of Claresholm may have a regular opportunity to meet with mayor and council on a less formal basis to discuss issues in the community.
At its Jan. 22 meeting, after a discussion on the topic, Claresholm town council directed administration to prepare a formal proposal for future council discussion on “coffee with council” events.
Abe Tinney, the town’s chief administrative officer, advised council Mayor Brad Schlossberger received a request asking if council would dedicate a 15-minute constituent question/concern period at each town council meeting?
Schlossberger asked administration to look into the question and come up with options.
Tinney suggested “Coffee with council”, possibly quarterly.
“People could just show up and talk to councillors about interests and items that are of concern to them,” he said.
Tinney added there is a little bit of concern about having an open question period at council meetings.
Sometimes it catches council off guard and can lead to inappropriate interactions that council is not ready for.
Tinney said he thought a more informal meeting would be more appropriate because people can bring their issues to council and they can still be followed up.
“I am totally against having a question time before a council meeting, only because I fear it would lead into people getting cut off and not getting their answers,” said Coun. Mike Cutler, adding that would lead to more frustration especially with time limits and an unexpected outcome.
He stressed he is totally on board with regular communication between council and ratepayers, noting the Municipal District of Willow Creek has “Coffee with council” sessions.
“They say it goes well,” Cutler said, adding he is willing to commit an hour for coffee.
Coun. Kandice Meister said she is open to “Coffee with council”.
“But anybody is welcome at any time to reach out to any of us to talk about any of their concerns ever,” she said. “If they want to meet for coffee with one of us one on one – I’ve never said no.”
Coun. Rod Kettles said the town is looking for a way to re-invigorate town open houses, and wondered if this might dovetail with “Coffee with council”.
“Maybe this is a way to get people chatting,” he said, adding he is fully in favour of “Coffee with council” and would attend whenever his schedule allowed.
“I’m good with it, I think it’s a great idea,“ said Coun. Diana Ross, noting if council provides answers to resident’s questions, residents will feel involved in their own community.
“I agree, we need more communication,” said Schlossberger, cautioning council nights are not ideal.
He then asked if council preferred morning or afternoon sessions, or both, and once per month or more, or less.
Coun. Craig Zimmer responded maybe one group of council could do a morning and another group an afternoon, to give people more options to attend.
Cutler agreed and is completely open, while Schlossberger agreed with monthly sessions.
Kettles said they needed to do one or two to see what the uptake is.
Zimmer agreed with monthly meetings, so people do not have to wait months for an answer if an issue comes up.
Tinney then suggested administration structure a formal proposal to bring to council, have them discuss it, then approve it.
Council then directed administration to prepare a formal proposal for future council discussion on “Coffee with council” events.