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Medicine Hat’s new mayor on first month in office

Dec 9, 2021 | 5:33 PM

MEDICINE HAT — Medicine Hat mayor Linnsie Clark gave CHAT News a glimpse of her first month in office on Thursday.

Clark was elected as the first female mayor in Medicine Hat history in October. And while transparency at city hall was a hot topic during the election, some council matters have been discussed behind closed doors since Clark became mayor.

She says transparency remains a work in progress and changes could be on the way.

One idea being considered is bringing forward information after in camera discussions are held.

Meanwhile, the mayor also says there’s been a lot to learn in a short time, and action hasn’t happened quite as fast as she’d like.

“It feels a bit like walking through quick sand and driving a race car all at once. It’s.. everything’s coming very fast but its hard to get anywhere yet. We are still working on this budget and we haven’t done our strategic plan yet so hopefully once we get that plan in place we can start running a little faster,” Clark said.

Another major issue council has been dealing with is the future of two recreation facilities.

Members of the public services committee are scheduled to tour Crestwood and the Moose recreation centres Monday.

The uncertainty around these facilities is one of the reasons Clark and the majority of council delayed passing budget amendments this week for a second time.

Clark campaigned on the importance of recreational facilities in local neighbourhoods, and she says she won’t be rushed into making a decision.

“If we get the information we need in there to be able to make decisions that’s when we’ll make the decision. If we have more questions than we’ll ask those questions. I don’t think anyone’s in the position right now to know what the right thing to do is.

The mayor says she hopes council’s strategic plan will be ready in March.