‘It brings democracy closer’: Nanaimo council moves committee meetings back to old venue
NANAIMO — After less than a year in a new venue, Nanaimo Council’s Committee of the Whole meetings are moving back to familiar, larger digs.
On Monday night, Council endorsed a motion from coun. Diane Brennan to move the COW meetings back to the Shaw Auditorium at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre. In December 2016, Council agreed with a staff recommendation to shift the venue to the boardroom at the City’s Service and Resource Centre to potentially save $21,000 per year.
“In my estimation it doesn’t work,” Brennan said of holding the meetings in the SARC boardroom. “It makes it very difficult for people to see us work, see how the money they give us is spent and to see how we deliberate and make our decisions.”
Brennan referenced issues with the size of the room, audio quality and sightlines. The SARC boardroom has a capacity of 25 people, while the VICC can accommodate 200. Meetings in the smaller boardroom also can not be live streamed through the City’s website.