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Mono council urges participation on town committees

November 28, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

Council committees’ volunteer needs will be addressed in Mono.

The issue of committee vacancies and how to fill them returned to council’s Nov. 26 meeting, the second time it was broached this month.

Elaine Kehoe said the holiday season is fast approaching and it’s a time when people will have opportunities to visit with neighbours and friends.

“Has council made a decision whether they will allow a committee to be formed with respect to finding the replacements for the two different committees?” she said.

The Committee of Adjustment and council’s Planning, Environment and Natural Heritage Committee have vacant seats following recent member resignations.

Kehoe suggested during the Nov. 12 meeting that council consider supporting the creation of a panel of residents tasked with recruiting replacement volunteers to fill vacancies on committees of council.

She said the recruiters would bring candidate resumes to council for consideration.

“It would engage the citizens of Mono in helping to find new candidates for those positions,” she said at the Nov. 12 meeting.

Councillor Ralph Manktelow applauded Kehoe’s idea for recruiters of sorts to attend to the committee’s vacancies.

Coun. Melinda Davie agreed.

“It’s great that you bring a solution to us right off the bat as opposed to a complaint about how things went,” Davie said. “I really appreciate that and that’s an interesting idea.”

“I think the idea has merit,” Mayor John Creelman said.

Coun. Elaine Capes said there’s already an open process for recruiting people to municipal committees. It involves advertising and a call for applicants.

“And there’s no reason why community members, such as (Kehoe) suggests, couldn’t recommend people to apply,” Capes said.

Creelman said during council’s Nov. 26 meeting that committee member recruitment through advertising is going to be addressed.

“When we get to that point in the agenda, council could have a discussion about your suggestion as well,” he said. “I think, frankly, in my opinion, we sort of have to do both. But there’s no reason one could be done to the exclusion of the other.”

Davie clarified that councillors discuss issues as a group only when they meet in the council chamber. Other agenda topics such as finalizing the 2025 operating and capital budget may push some other items farther down the agenda.

“We’re on it, but it just is slower than (anticipated),” Davie said.

“It’s just that the Christmas season is coming and that’s when everybody sees one another,” Kehoe said.

“Good point,” Davie said.

“The notion of encouraging our neighbours and friends to participate in town committees and activities, that can apply to any town committee or activity,” Creelman said and suggested that Kehoe’s recruiter committee idea might enable the town to cast a wider net to attract volunteers.

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