Parksville Council will not return to online meetings.
A motion by Coun. Adam Fras to hold meetings via Zoom until the end of the pandemic was defeated during council’s Jan. 17 regular meeting.
Coun. Al Greir said council should show leadership by attending in-person.
“We’ve gone two years now and we’re heading into a third year and I think the new variant, although it’s been affecting a lot of people, it’s not very serious and I think we’re looking at the end of this coming,” said Greir, who added he felt safe in the forum since people are spread out during the meetings.
Fras said he believes a hybrid format meeting, with some members attending in-person and others via Zoom, is the least desirable because any member attending virtually becomes disconnected from the rest of the discussion.
He added council should not assume the pandemic is almost over. “We never anticipated we’d be five waves into it. Is it going to go to six, seven?”
The motion was defeated 6-1 with only Fras voting in favour.
In-person council attendance is currently limited to 40 people. Meetings are streamed on the city’s website.
