With the November elections behind them, Potton Mayor, Bruno Cote and Municipal Council members: Jason Ball, Christine Baudinet, Andre Ducharme, Emilie Hebert-Larue, Francis Marcoux and Cynthia Sherrer are looking toward the coming year as an opportunity to roll up their sleeves and get to work. At a recent meeting each council member was assigned certain committees to be responsible for. The list of committees includes those that are both consultative and administrative.
The council will meet monthly and as a rule the meetings are held the first Monday of the month except when a change is noted. Meetings are held at 7:00pm at the Town Hall and due to Covid regulations it is best to consult the Municipal website at www.potton.ca for instructions. The first meeting of 2022 will be held exceptionally on Thursday, January 13. Due to the present Government regulations it is almost certain that attending in person will be unlikely however Potton records the meetings and the recordings are posted on the website.
All decisions and filing made by Council at a public meeting are written in the minutes of the meeting. The minutes are published three working days after the meeting in draft form; they must be adopted by Council at the next meeting in order to be final. The adopted minutes and public documents which can be consulted and a copy of which can be obtained in person at the Town Hall, upon payment of fees for photocopies. Alternatively, they are listed and downloadable on the aforementioned site.
“We are well aware that the public appreciates being able to access information and to be informed,” said Mayor Bruno Cote. “We are making this a priority,” he added. “The pandemic restrictions have not always made this easy for the past two years but we are determined to improve and move forward with this goal in mind.”
With the Pandemic restrictions aiming to put the health and well-being of citizens at the forefront for the next few weeks, the Potton Mayor and Council will support its Civil Security committee working alongside Municipal Prevention Coordinator, James Bouthillier and the Firefighters and First Responders as well as the local organisations and businesses in keeping people as safe as possible. With restrictions in place and respected it is hoped that families can get outside and enjoy skiing, skating, snowshoeing and walks as Potton is as breathtaking in winter as it is the rest of the year.
“We must support our local CIUSSSE-CHUS/CLSC Medical Clinic and assure that our medical services are remaining strong,” stated Cote. “Potton like many other communities is facing a shortage of doctors and this must remain a priority with the Municipality aware, informed and active in assuring the health of its citizens, now more than ever,” he emphasized. “We will be looking into this and initiating discussions and action in this regard.”
Local businesses and community organizations have done well in continuing to strive to meet the needs of citizens over the last two years during the challenges presented by a Pandemic that no one really saw coming. Potton continues to push forward and double its efforts to get the community through the difficult winter months as the pandemic continues to present challenges.
“We are all human and while the restrictions put upon us can sometimes be frustrating and difficult to manage,” said Cote, “We must remember that the end goal is to keep our citizens safe and in good health and that must be the focus.”
The Potton Municipal Council like so many others are facing 2022 in a less than ideal situation given the Pandemic however, like other municipalities, optimism in moving forward and achieving positive goals while keeping citizens safe gives this group something important to work toward.
