A week before the Alberta government declared a state of public health emergency, Woodlands County councillors passed a motion at a special meeting on Sept. 9 to direct administration to hold all council and committee meetings electronically until further notice.
Normally, council would have had a regular meeting on the first Tuesday of the month, which was Sept. 7. However, it had been cancelled.
Mayor John Burrows indicated that he called the special meeting in response to the new health guidelines announced by the province on Sept. 4, which required Albertans to wear masks in all public spaces and workplaces.
It is worth noting that there are two more council meetings left before the municipal election on Oct. 18. They take place today, Sept. 21, and Tuesday, Oct. 5.
Burrows said he preferred face-to-face meetings as they let you see more people and communicate more clearly.
However, given that Woodlands County had been holding virtual meetings for some time and they had enough bandwidth, Burrows indicated he was willing to go either way.
Coun. Dave Kusch made the motion to hold meetings electronically, which was passed unanimously.
According to the agenda for the Sept. 21 meeting, council will be discussing whether or not they can legally require individuals to be vaccinated in order to enter council chambers.
