City of Chilliwack officials are scrambling in light of new COVID-related restrictions to provide Chilliwack citizens with options around participating in public hearings.
Changes coming include a shift the Oct. 5 meeting location to the Chilliwack Cultural Centre, as well as start times for city council meetings made one hour earlier.
“Keeping everyone safe while we make sure the business of the city continues to move forward is critical,” said Mayor Ken Popove in a release.
“We hope members of the public will continue to participate in the way that feels safest for them, and we look forward to the day when we can all meet in person again without restrictions.”
And part of those changes, the option to attend the Oct. 5, 2021 council meeting/public hearings “in-person” is available with strict distancing rules in place, even though virtual participation is being “highly recommended.”
“Due to the new health orders announced for the Eastern Fraser Valley region on Sept. 28, in-person participation options will be re-evaluated after the next meeting, and more information about how to participate in future meetings will be shared in upcoming meeting notices,” the city notice said.
In the meantime there are options.
“Virtual participation will continue to be an option for public hearing participation until further notice and is highly recommended,” the city release said.
“As the option to attend the council meeting and public hearing in-person is available on Oct. 5, it is necessary to temporarily change the location of the evening meeting in order to address public safety concerns.
“Due to physical distancing measures and capacity limits required during the COVID-19 pandemic, the evening portion of the regular council meeting will be held at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre (9201 Corbould Street) at 6 p.m.”
The afternoon meeting will be held in council chambers at city hall as usual, at the new start time of 2 p.m.
All regular meetings of council are livestreamed at chilliwack.com/live.
In keeping with provincial health orders, face masks will be required. Residents are asked to practise physical distancing and to stay home if they are feeling unwell. Virtual participation is highly recommended.
See chilliwack.com/PH for more details
RELATED: Zoom meeting allowed public participation during early pandemic
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