If committee chairs in Qualicum Beach want to meet more frequently over the course of the next council term, it will be the councillors involved who make the decision.
That was the outcome of a contentious vote recently, when outgoing councillor Jack Wilson called on his colleagues to consider allowing commission chairs to schedule meetings more frequently than once every three months.
Wilson, who sits as the chair of both the Heritage Forest Commission and the Recreation and Parks Commission, wanted the flexibility to schedule more meetings, as he said it is difficult under the current quarterly meeting schedule to get any sense of continuity.
“We’ve dealt with this schedule for a year now and I find it frustrating,” Wilson said.
“It’s difficult to have continuing business if you only meet every three months. We should get rid of any reference to specific scheduled dates and let the commissions set their own schedule.”
Although his motion was seconded by Coun. Kent Becker, Wilson found himself isolated.
Coun. Barry Avis said some committees and commissions found themselves with nothing to talk about when they met more frequently and he urged instead that any scheduling decisions for committees and commissions be dealt with by the incoming council after the November election.
Becker agreed with Wilson, noting the public safety committee also found the infrequent meeting schedule too restrictive.
Mayor Teunis Westbroek agreed with Avis and called on council to allow the new councillors to make the decision. To that end, he called for a motion to defer the issue for the next council.
The motion passed, with Wilson casting the lone vote in opposition.