City Council's Conversation Piece in clear view ... but no conversation on water issues sparked by it on Monday night

The giant piece of rusted out water pipe that serves as the centrepiece for the City Council chamber desk is supposed to represent the singular focus for Council members on the city's water infrastructure woes.

Though on Monday evening it was mainly just another piece of furniture and hardly made for the thing of a conversation starter.

At the October 10th Council session, Mayor Herb Pond pointed to the pipe and highlighted what it represents for Council and how it would serve as their guiding star until the water issues in the community were resolved.

"That's why we put that pipe in the middle of that table, we want to be reminded at every single meeting, every time staff gather around this table, they are talking to each other over that piece of pipe. 

Because there is nothing that we are working on that comes close to the importance of getting that piece of infrastructure replaced". -- Mayor Herb Pond at City Council on October 10th

Yet just two weeks later, you'd be hard pressed to think that there was anything to talk about, that despite a rather concerning situation  on October 17th that had Mayor Pond proclaiming near Armageddon in media reports.

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On Monday, in the period of thirty minutes where the Council members spoke on civic matters, they took a pass on any kind of update from the Operations Director, his report on the progress for Major Projects including the city's water issues, passing through the session with nary a word.

In the free form conversation period that wraps up the council night, they spoke to items such as road safety, the city's potential rekindling of relations with a twin city in China and recounted the community event from last weekend of the totem pole raising at Galloway Rapids.

The only nod to the events of October 17th a mention in passing, that the city workers had been celebrated by the Mayor earlier that same day at a long service ceremony and how they had then taken up their tools to head for Montreal Circle to tend to what the Mayor described as the "event'

"In the same day, the same day that afternoon our fire fighters went to a call where they were able to save two lives and our public works employees went to that event that took place on Montreal Circle and worked their buns off all night long and got water back on with the help of contractors. 

You know so ... at lunch time I'm thanking them and before the days out they've done more  heroic service ... we work with a great group of people here and they deserve to be recognized"

Considering the list of items since their last session  that the Council members felt deserved our attention on Monday ...  they left the one significant item from the last seven days that many in the community were talking about, off of their talking points list.

An important topic that if they are truly inclined to keeping the community informed  towards, proved to be another missed opportunity for more expansive information sharing.

What has been shared to date on the city's infrastructure work can be reviewed through our archive page.

A review of what was discussed on Monday at the Council session can be reviewed here.