Port Coquitlam council meetings will take place an hour earlier under newly elected Mayor Brad West.
This week, Mayor West announced the time for regular council gatherings will begin at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month.
As well, as part of West’s restructuring of council business and in an attempt to be more efficient, statutory committees will be replaced by a Committee of Council — a committee-of-the-whole format that’s currently used in Coquitlam and Port Moody.
Committee of Council will meet every Tuesday at 2 p.m. at city hall, except for the fifth Tuesday of the month; their recommendations will be forwarded to council for formal votes.
Meanwhile, councillors will be responsible for portfolios to lead municipal policy.
West will be in charge of development, planning, downtown and economic development while Coun. Dean Washington will continue to steer the city’s budget and finances; he is also vice-chair of Committee of Council.
Coun. Laura Dupont will also remain as the environment, climate action and parks champion, Coun. Darrell Penner will continue in his role as public works and transportation advocate and Coun. Glenn Pollock as housing, sports and recreation head.
Newly elected councillors Steve Darling will take the reins of community safety — that is, bylaw enforcement, fire, RCMP and emergency preparedness — and Nancy McCurrach will promote the arts, culture and heritage.
As well, Mayor West announced a new Mayor’s Citizen Advisory Roundtable that will comprise of up to a dozen volunteers who will give feedback to council and city staff; successful candidates will represent a cross-section of the community.
“The roundtable will have a direct voice to the mayor’s office and be a sounding board on residents’ priorities,” said Mayor West, in a news release. “It’s a way for council to continue to engage our citizens and businesses — find out what matters to them and come up with creative ways to make Port Coquitlam a better place for everyone who lives, works, visits and invests here.”
Appointments to external committees were also announced this week:
• Mayor West on the Metro Vancouver board (Coun. Penner as alternate) and TransLink Mayors Council (Coun. Washington as alternate);
• Coun. Pollock representing the city on the PoCo Community Foundation, Fraser Health Municipal Government Advisory Group and Tri-Cities Healthy Communities Partnership;
• Coun. McCurrach as the council liaison on the Fraser Valley Regional Library board and PoCo Arts;
• Coun. Dupont on the Coquitlam Watershed Roundtable;
• and Coun. Darling as the city’s official for School District 43.
jcleugh@tricitynews.com
