City council is hoping for a good turnout at its first of three town hall meetings planned for this year where residents can come and speak their minds.
The first town hall is scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Lacombe Park Clubhouse. Deputy mayor Len Bracko will chair the meeting, which will last for 90 minutes.
“Our residents are concerned about what’s happening in St. Albert and we hope they do take the time to come out and meet with council,” Bracko said. “It’s our first town hall meeting and it’s important to communicate with all St. Albertans.”
There is an agenda set for the meeting, but it is not written in stone. The town hall will begin with an open mike session where residents can share whatever they wish with councillors and city staff in attendance.
“That open mike might dictate the rest of the morning,” said Mayor Nolan Crouse. “If there’s 500 people there and it’s an open mike, that might be all we get. If there’s one person there, we’ll deal with that individual’s comments and then go on with the structured agenda.”
As decided by council at a meeting two weeks ago, after the open mike, councillors and staff will discuss master plan work, council priorities, the animal bylaw and LRT, as well as economic development. Another open mike session will end the meeting.
“You need to be prepared for anything,” Crouse said. “You can’t walk in with a blank piece of paper.”
The Saturday morning time slot is part of a strategy to ensure as many St. Albertans who want to attend one of the three sessions this year can. The remaining meetings are scheduled for May 30 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and Oct. 4, from 1 to 2:30 p.m.
“This is a little bit of an experiment and we’ll see what the potential is,” Crouse said.
