Breaking a streak of Webex meetings that even a few councilors said they were getting tired of, Creston’s Town Council convened at Millennium Park.
Mayor Ron Toyota was warm to the July 14, 2020 experiment.
“It is really nice to be able to use one of our community facilities and this is a beautiful setting. Of course if it was raining or a little cooler it wouldn’t be so enjoyable,” said Toyota.
Though the July 21 Committee of the Whole meeting will be indoors for the sake of allowing a delegation to interact with Council online, the Millenium Park setting is planned for the following two Council meetings.
“It’s all about necessity, because of COVID-19 and the government rules we must follow,” said Toyota. “This is an opportunity to do something a little bit different and it’s just super.
Many COVID-19 measures are being adopted long term as unorthodox ideas rise out of necessity.
So will the Town of Creston be hosting any more Council Meetings in the park next summer, pandemic or no?
“Hey, if it’s a way of getting participation, why not consider it?” Toyota added.
Tuesday did indeed have a delegation and gallery in attendance, which allowed a few citizens to voice their concerns regarding increased foot traffic next to the skate park and community centre.
Karen and Karl Mottl told the Town of the alarming amount of vehicles not respecting the 30 Kph speed limit on Hillside and 20th / 16th Avenue. To make matters worse, the amount of children crossing the streets to access the new outdoor facilities has increased “Ten to Fifteen-fold” according to another neighbouring resident, Doug Johns.
Creston’s Chief Administrative Officer Mike Moore told the delegation that in order for the Town to implement or build any signage or speed-bumps, a formal traffic study would have to be conducted. He explained that it could take months before results would come back, but Council did say they would look into it further.
There were no other delegations on Tuesday, but Council was briefly interrupted by a man shouting incoherent obscenities. He left only a few moments later without incident.