More businesses are now open under Phase 3 of Re-Open Saskatchewan, but City Hall operations remains severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
At a meeting of city council Monday, Councillor Kelli Hawtin asked whether City Hall might reopen and when council might be able to meet in person again.
In response, City Manager Randy Patrick said City Hall remains closed to the public. “We simply don’t have the safety structures,” he said, referring to the Plexiglas that is increasingly being seen at businesses to protect staff at the counters.
Those are on order but Patrick said it is going to be at least three weeks before those come in.
As for council meetings, those continue to be conducted by teleconference on the Zoom platform, with the mayor and councillors appearing from home. But with the province recently expanding indoor gathering sizes to 15 people, there is the potential to include more people in the room for council meetings.
Patrick said they could start “any time” to bring more people into council chambers. They could bring two or three members into the chambers and also some staff, but “they’ve got to be scattered all over the place,” Patrick said.
The indication is the issue will be brought back to the planning committee next Monday for further discussion.
