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In-person Council meetings under review, no timeline set

November 22, 2021   ·   0 Comments

By Sam Odrowski

With the recent reopening of in-person meetings for federal and provincial politicians, in Parliament and Queens Park, a former Town Councillor in Orangeville has been pushing for them to resume locally.

Nick Garisto, who has served for 13 years as Orangeville Town Councillor and Deputy Mayor, said he feels strongly that the virtual meetings provide barriers for the public to access the meetings.

Sheila Duncan, manager of communications for the Town of Orangeville said the Council Chambers at Town Hall remain closed to the public as part of the Town’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, protecting individuals.

“The Town has been looking into how to resume in-person meetings in a way that would allow both in-person and virtual attendance in accordance with Public Health guidelines,” she said, in an email. “That is currently under review, recognizing there are a number of factors to take into consideration a formal timeline hasn’t been set. The Town is also completing some facility upgrades in Council Chambers while the room is not in active use.”

Information Technology Manager at the Town, Jason Hall said upgrades to electrical equipment have been undertaken in Council Chambers, with some equipment delayed by supply chain issues. Due to the delay, there’s no firm timeline for when the upgrades will be complete.

“The Town is in the process of adapting Council Chambers into a modern hybrid meeting space, allowing constituents, staff and Council to leverage in-person presence along with the seamless integration of virtual conferencing tools, improving the visibility of presentations, voting and overflow capacity enhancements,” Mr. Hall said.

He added that once the equipment is received, the Town will evaluate the project’s timing and a decision will be made public with respect to resuming in-person access to Council Chambers.

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