Medicine Hat Minute: Spring Scooters, Truck Convoy, and a Monarch Theatre Proposal

Medicine Hat Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Medicine Hat politics

This Week In Medicine Hat:

• There are four meetings scheduled this week, starting with a Special Public Services Committee Meeting at 3:00 pm this afternoon. At this meeting, Council is set to receive a presentation on the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. This presentation will be quite extensive, providing a general overview of the City’s vision for the future development of recreation facilities, services, and programs. While parks and recreation are certainly important for quality of life, community health, and the well-being of Hatters, so is fiscal responsibility and economic sustainability. Let’s hope Council’s plans don’t break the bank.
  
  
• On Tuesday, there will be a Council Employee Committee Meeting at 1:30 pm where Council will discuss a performance evaluation of the City Manager and other staffing issues. Also on Tuesday, there will be a meeting of the Administrative and Legislative Review Committee at 3:30 pm. Two items are on the agenda - the Council Code of Conduct Bylaw and the Procedure Bylaw - and they will both be discussed in camera.
  
  
• Finally, on Wednesday there will be an Energy and Infrastructure Committee Meeting at 3:30 pm. No agenda is available for this meeting yet.

Last Week In Medicine Hat:

• The City is starting a formal process to identify potential operators and evaluate proposals to reopen the Monarch Theatre. This call for expressions of interest is the first step to reopening the historic venue. The 110-year old theatre has sat vacant since the City purchased it last June. Let’s sincerely hope they find an operator sooner rather than later because we really don’t need Council getting any ideas about involving themselves in the movie business!
  
  
• City officials are in talks with a private company to launch an e-scooter pilot program, similar to those operating in other cities like Calgary and Edmonton. Administrators say they are in the early stages but are “eagerly exploring” the idea.
  
  
• A large convoy of trucks passed through Medicine Hat on Monday en route to Ottawa. When they arrived in Ottawa, the convoy participants held a protest focused on ending a vaccination mandate for cross-border truckers, as well as putting an end to vaccine mandates in general across the country and internationally. With Parliament set to return today, the protests are continuing.

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