(Image credit: CFJC Today/File photo).

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Well, there’s a Tuesday afternoon we’ll never get back

Mar 1, 2023 | 4:56 AM

I COULD WRITE A BOOK about Tuesday’s Kamloops City council meeting. A title comes to mind: Gong Show 2.

Unfortunately, I have only 325 words, so let’s hit some highlights.

At 2:27 p.m., after an hour of preliminaries, public inquiries begin. Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson tries gamely to invoke the five-minute rule even before it’s a rule.

He soon calls a recess when one resident doesn’t behave himself. That doesn’t stop Coun. Bill Sarai — demanding that speakers stick to items on the agenda — from berating the mayor for not interceding quickly enough.

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Inquiries continue. The mayor carefully times them to the exact minute and second. Most are within the limit, a couple go over. One goes way over.

Shortly before 4 p.m. the first meaty item of the day comes up: plans for the Campbell Avenue property behind the Duchess.

Then, a recommendation from the Community Services Committee asks that a permit be issued to the Kamloops Aboriginal Friendship Society and The Mustard Seed to once again operate a day space for the homeless beside the 48 Victoria Street West storage facility between April and October.

This sparks another round in the question of Mayor Hamer-Jackson’s possible conflict of interest. It’s a replay of what’s been talked about before. The mayor recuses himself.

After much discussion, council approves the recommendation.

In due course, it’s time for Notices of Motion. Council shoots down RHJ’s proposal to seek funding to hire 15 more outreach workers, while offering assurances they’re all in favour of more outreach workers.

This is accompanied with copious lectures on how the mayor should write better motions.

Coun. Dale Bass has better luck with her motion to limit speaking time for members of the public to five minutes, but not without a couple of unnecessary amendments.

As 6 p.m. approaches, an exhausted Armchair Mayor breaks for dinner, convinced this council will never get its act together.

Mel Rothenburger, your humble scribe and Armchair Mayor, reporting.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops, alternate TNRD director and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.