Suddenly The Meeting Schedule Disappeared

This was a much lighter month for meetings for me. Out of nine that were scheduled, I attended five of them. One I missed due to a time conflict, another one was missed due to technical difficulties, and two others canceled. Regardless of what may appear to be not that much work for me during November 2020, there were meetings I attended where a lot of things were accomplished. Here is a breakdown of my month for you.


Regular Meetings


Monday, November 2 - Town Council, Town Hall


This meeting came with a 65-page agenda package. The big items that were taken care of included the authorization to use funds from nine different reserves for projects that were completed in fiscal year 2020. There was also a need for the council to authorize funds to be put into four different reserves for future use.


Another item of business was the adoption of the Sewer Connections and Regulations Bylaw No. 992, 2020.


Monday, November 16 - Town Council, Town Hall


During this meeting, a decision was made to send a thank you letter to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. The ministry had recently announced that the Town of Princeton was to receive $1,013,000 through the COVID-19 Safe Restart Grants for Local Governments program.


Special Meetings


Monday, November 9 - Special Meeting of Town Council, Town Hall


Although I was a few minutes late for this meeting (had a telehealth doctor appointment) Town Council authorized a Town of Princeton Christmas Light and Holiday Decorating Contest. Both businesses and homeowners can participate with prizes offered for both categories.


There was also the authorization to transfer up to $30,000 from the Economic Development external promotion budget to the Christmas Light budget. The move will permit the purchase of new Christmas lights for the downtown core.


Other Meetings


Tuesday, November 17 - Princeton Healthcare Steering Committee - Zoom Meeting
Wednesday, November 18 - Princeton Arts Council, Riverside Centre *


Canceled Meetings


There is a funny story in here somewhere. While sitting through a long and involved Arts Council meeting, the discussion moved to the future possibility of holding meetings virtually. I already attend Zoom meetings, so it seemed like a natural direction to go. However, in the discussion, I made a point of explaining the importance of meeting face-to-face (COVID protocols being followed, of course). The following morning the BC Provincial Health Officer (Dr. Bonnie Henry) announced a new wave of restrictions including the elimination of all social group activities which meant meetings on my calendar (the two noted below, in particular) had been canceled for the time being.


Thursday, November 19 - Princeton Museum Society, Princeton Museum - x
Monday, November 23 - Princeton Exhibition Association (AGM) - x


* - denotes meetings attended alone. All others include other members of the Town Council and/or Town Staff.
x - canceled


Health Update


There's not much new to share related to my health issues. I can tell you that earlier this month I set another personal record at Miners Climb. This time I managed to go up and down it a total of EIGHT times. That's 1,968 stairs traveled. I'm still walking and lifting light weights daily on the days I don't visit Miners Climb. I have more tests coming up in December to determine what my heart strength is at this point and I anticipate a possible prescription change if the results are favourable. Otherwise, I'm just working on building my heart strength.


In Conclusion


Will December see the return of meetings or am I going to be able to attend more online and just sit in front of my tablet with just my PJs on? Time will tell. One thing is for sure, Town Council will continue to meet as provisions have been made in the provincial orders to permit local governments to continue to function provided COVID-19 protocols are followed.