Tuesday - Nov. 12, 2024 - Langley councillor, MLA now able to attend local meetings virtually

🌧 High 9C | Your forecast

Good morning!

Until I had children, I never knew there were so many names for the same little germs. There is slap cheek a.k.a. fifth disease a.k.a. hand, foot, and mouth. Or Human respiratory syncytial virus a.k.a. RSV. Or Mycoplasma pneumonia a.k.a. walking pneumonia. The list goes on.

And on.

And on.

Until you catch one.

So far we have been lucky to just get the generic, No Name brand diseases. (The 24-hour flu, the common cold, you know the ones.) But with one kid in daycare and another in school, it’s only a matter of time before we’ll come home with name brand.

– Grace

NEWS

What Harrison’s new mayor has to say about collaboration, emergency preparedness, and more

Harrison Hot Springs Mayor Fred Talen may be relatively new to the community, but he already has a lot on his plate: stabilizing council and reviewing a report with updated wildfire risks in the community.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Current, Talen talked about how he plans to address council dysfunction, why his background as an Indigenous rights negotiator in the Northwest Territories may help, and whether a secondary evacuation route will be built along Rockwell Drive. (This interview took place shortly before the destruction of local hot springs prompted outrage among locals.)

• Today, Josh checks in with Talen at the start of his term, with two years to go until the next election.

• This is part of a series of mid-term interviews with the mayors of Fraser Valley communities. You can read the others here: Ross Siemens (Abbotsford) | Paul Horn (Mission) | Ken Popove (Chilliwack) | Victor Smith (Hope)

• Interviews with the mayors of the valley’s other municipalities will be published later this fall.

Related

Need to Know

⚠ A boil water advisory was issued Saturday for thousands of people in central Abbotsford [CBC] / The advisory remained in effect as of Monday evening [City of Abbotsford]

📔 A corvette called HMCS Chilliwack patrolled the Atlantic during the Second World War [Chilliwack Progress]

😡 Someone stole a memorial plaque for a Chilliwack woman who died in 2021 [Chilliwack Progress]

🗳 A date has finally been set for the federal by-election in Langley to replace Liberal John Aldag, who resigned six months ago; the election will be held Dec. 16 [CBC]

👉 Abbotsford Police busted 11 impaired drivers Friday evening [CityNews]

🚔 A standoff between police and a man with a weapon briefly closed Highway 1 Sunday [CityNews]

🍺 Homemade alcohol was seized during a search of Mission Institution in late October [CTV]

❌ ‘WorkSafeBC issues’ have prompted the cancellation of an annual food drive by Abbotsford firefighters [Abbotsford News]

👉 Langley Township hopes to create a harm reduction team with federal money [Langley Advance Times]

🥫 Mission’s food bank is serving 2,000 people—including 600 kids—every month [Mission Record]

🚧 A developer is plotting a 349-unit townhouse project in Langley; one neighbour worries about drainage issues [Langley Advance Times]

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SPONSORED BY CITY OF ABBOTSFORD

Take the Sports Field & Sports Court Strategy online survey TODAY!

The City of Abbotsford is seeking input about the future of sports fields and courts.

Attend an info session Nov. 15 at Matsqui Recreation Centre (MRC) and Nov. 29 at Abbotsford Recreation Centre (ARC). Sessions run 2 - 5pm.

Complete your survey online or in person at MRC, ARC and City Hall.

The Agenda

Langley councillor, MLA now able to attend local meetings virtually

When Langley Township councillor Misty Van Popta won the Langley-Walnut Grove riding in the recent provincial election, she said she had no intention of giving up her council seat. New rules around virtual attendance at Langley council will make the logistics of that decision a little easier. (Van Popta has not responded to an interview request from The Current.)

A bylaw amendment approved by a majority of Langley Township council members will now allow councillors to attend meetings virtually if they are attending a federal or provincial activity. Before, councillors could only Skype in if they were doing something for the Township, if there was a state of emergency, or if they were sick. The change will allow Van Popta to join council meetings when she is in Victoria while the legislature is in session. Without the amendment, Langley’s council may have been faced with more situations where they failed to meet quorum. The township needs at least five of council’s nine members to be present to start the meeting.

The amendment passed with all in favour except Coun. Kim Richter. Richter is not not part of Mayor Eric Woodward’s Contract with Langley slate, which holds a majority on council. She recently claimed that Woodward and staff were providing members of his slate with more information than the unaffiliated councillors.

Richter made a motion in an October meeting asking staff to “provide all of council with exactly the same information at the same time and in the same format as both the mayor and/or his majority CWL [Contract with Langley] slate members.” That motion failed.

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