The Residents are rumbling...

City council members perhaps were taken just a little aback at their most recent public forum on the topic of the Emergency Services Building.

If reports from the Northern View are any indication, the taxpaying population, or at least those that feel the need to attend such public forums, may be feeling just a little overburdened by the quest for their dollars.

On more than one occasion, the Fire Chief, City Manager, Chief Constable, city staff and councillors felt the wrath of the small, but apparently vocal group, a collective who don't seem to be buying into the need to add on to the tax dollar load with spending on aging infrastructure, or at least on infrastructure to be used by the Fire and Police services.

The outbursts of anger seemingly led to admonishments from councillor Thorkelson to show a bit more decorum towards the civic employees in question, trying to keep the discussion on track about the need to replace the two buildings currently housing the city's RCMP detachment and fire department.

The meeting is but the first of five, though if the process is as heated as this initial meeting suggests, a bit of consolidation might be required to bring the debate to a sense of order.

More importantly to that process might be better planning by members of city council itself, for this first meeting on what is clearly a controversial project, only four members of council were in attendance, the Mayor and two Councillors reported as absent by the Northern View.

Perhaps those in attendance can bring them up to speed on the reaction to the city's reconstruction plan and suggest that they share in some of the fire next time around.

To help those that missed out on this initial debate, the Mayor, councillors and citizens alike can catch up  when the City provides the video of the discussion courtesy of the City's archived video section.


CFTK-- Rupert Council held first public meeting about Emergency Buildings
CFTK -- Rupert Building Meeting (video)
CFTK-- Emergency Services Building (video)
Northern View-- More concern over tax increases than condition of emergency buildings...