Coffee with a Councillor

Coffee with a Councillor

Rosanne Fortier News Correspondent

Citizens were able to address issues and concerns they had to Vegreville Town Councillors Tina Warawa and Marielle Brodziak during the second session of Coffee with a Councillor at Vegreville Centennial Library on February 18.

Warawa said she feels a program like this is so important because it is an opportunity for citizens to sit down and talk to town councillors instead of the councillors coming in as a delegation as there is never enough time in a meeting to be able to answer questions back and forth.

On left is Councillor Marielle Brodziak speaking to a citizen.

(Rosanne Fortier/photo)

“Meetings are held to legislative rules too where you have to apply to be a delegation and then you are given only so many minutes. I think us giving up and volunteering our time in rotation, it gives the citizens a chance to ask about anything. Today, they asked about the museum because it was a hot topic. This was important for us to speak about because we shared what we were doing. We did not say we want to keep the museum in the form it is in but we would like to see a form of a museum being maintained in Vegreville.”

Resident Peter Thompson said he came to this program because someone told him about it at the walking group he participates in. “I wanted to know what was going on with the museum. My questions and concerns were very well addressed as Councillors Warawa and Brodziak gave me a lot of information about what is happening with the museum.”

Bob Paul, another citizen who participates in the walking program, said he came to the meeting because he was concerned about the museum. “I think my questions and concerns were addressed by the town councillors as I got a good understanding of the situation and I think it will be resolved somehow.”