Monday evening meetings have been running long for members of Summerland’s municipal council.
On March 11, the evening meeting concluded around 10:40 p.m.
And while the Feb. 25 meeting ended around 10:15, several of the items were tabled until a special meeting could be held on the afternoon of March 11.
Mayor Toni Boot said a resolution of council is required if the meetings will go past 10 p.m.
The recent meetings are not the first times council has extended its meetings.
“Over the past term, there were meetings that ran past the 10 p.m. time,” she said, adding that there were also meetings that concluded in less than an hour and a half.
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The agenda packages were lengthy for the last two council meetings.
The package accompanying the March 11 meeting was 248 pages and the Feb. 25 meeting had a 351-page agenda package.
Boot said the lengthy meetings are not because there are too many items on the agenda but rather because of the nature of the agenda items.
“Sometimes there is a lot of discussion on the items that are on the agenda,” she said.
The last few meetings have had some significant development applications and council members have asked questions for clarification.
“It’s our responsibility to get as much information as possible,” Boot said. “We were elected to make these decisions.”
In addition, the municipality’s development services department has gone through staffing changes and the new department members are dealing with some significant pieces of legislation and development proposals.
The next council meeting will be held on Monday, March 25, beginning at 7 p.m.
“My hope is that we can deal with as many resolutions as possible without going past 10 o’clock,” Boot said.
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