Another Normal COVID Month For Me

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This month was much like the last one. Not a lot of meetings, and when they did happen, most of them were on the same day. No kidding. It is normally quite easy for me to schedule around the meetings I attend as a member of Princeton Town Council. But, for some reason, I had three meetings scheduled for the same day. Luckily, these were all online meetings as I would never have been able to drive to all of them and get to them on time.

The Meetings

Here is a quick breakdown of the seven meetings I attended in May 2021. There was another one scheduled, but due to technical difficulties (on my end) I couldn’t make it. In case you are not aware, not all online meetings are conducted on Zoom. The meeting I missed was on a platform I have never used before and could not get downloaded. I now have it, so hopefully, this won’t happen again. I currently attend meetings on four different online platforms.

Town Council Meetings

Monday, May 3, 2021 - 7:30 PM - Regular Meeting of Town Council, Town Hall
Monday, May 17, 2021 - 7:30 PM - Regular Meeting of Town Council, Town Hall

Other Regular Meetings

Wednesday, May 19 - 3:00 PM - Princeton Healthcare Steering Committee - Zoom Meeting
Wednesday, May 26 - 5:30 PM - Princeton Arts Council - Zoom Meeting
Thursday, May 27 - 5:30 PM - Princeton Museum - Zoom Meeting (*)

Other Events/Activities

Wednesday, May 19 - 5:00 PM - Canadian Mental Health Association - Zoom Meeting (*)

(*) - denotes attendance at a meeting as the only member of Town Council

Some Details From The Town Council Meetings

The May 3, 2021, Town Council meeting featured an interesting request. Titled the 2021 Sports Box Agreement, Town Council granted authority to the Princeton Lacrosse Association to build a “multi-sport box facility” on the property where the Princeton Arena sits. The sports box will go either between the building and the skateboard park or between the building and the bike park. What makes this so interesting is that a sports box is the shape of an outdoor ice rink but can have lines on it to permit pickleball, basketball, hockey, lacrosse, and other outdoor sports.

The May 17, 2021, Town Council meeting almost didn’t happen as the only members of the council present at the start of the meeting were Mayor Coyne and me. Without a quorum (three members of council) the meeting would be canceled. Fortunately, following text messages and a few minutes, a quorum was met. Probably the most interesting item on that agenda revolved around the Old Town Clock. I have always known the timepiece as the “Hugh Miller Memorial Clock” and it had been sitting outside of the former Town Hall (now the Visitors Centre) since I moved here in October 1986. I used to time my arrival at Town Council meetings I covered for the radio station I worked for at the time by minute hand on the old town clock.

The clock has had a long history here. It was donated by the Miller family in early 1958 in honour of Hugh, who had passed away the previous year. It was originally in front of the post office building and was moved in the 1970s to where it sat until it was removed in 2020 during renovations to the visitors centre building. The clock had quit working about six months before that. The clock has been repaired and remodeled several times over the years and currently, replacement parts are difficult to locate. Town Council chose to preserve the clock by donating it to the Princeton Museum and looking at an alternative clock to replace it. At least one local service club stepped up during the month with a plan for the project.

Health Update

I’m doing rather well these days. I’m still on a waiting list for my kidney operation, but the longer it takes for that to happen, the more time I have to build my strength. I have increased the intensity of my “light jogging” intervals, increased the minimum number of stairs I will climb at Miners Climb, and I have increased the intensity of the light weightlifting program I have been on. I am also contemplating writing an eBook on the topic of congestive heart failure and injecting my story and tips that I have developed that seem to be working for me. My first virtual walk/run is the RUN for WOMEN in support of the Canadian Mental Health Association. It is set to take place between July 4 and 11 this year and that is the event I have been preparing for. If you’d like to donate, you can do so by clicking HERE. Any size donation is gratefully accepted.