LAC LA BICHE - At an emergency council meeting Friday afternoon, Lac La Biche County councillors have decided not to implement a COVID Restriction Exemption Plan at municipal buildings, including the Bold Center, the Plamondon arena and the Portage Pool.
The exemption plan would have seen patrons at municipal buildings being asked for proof they had received vaccinations for the coronavirus.
A third option being discussed at Friday's last-minute meeting would have completely closed all recreation facilities until AHS regulations were relaxed.
Open but restricted
Instead, council opted to keep facilities open, but to follow the Alberta Health Services COVID restrictions that will reduce services and availability for all users.
Going forward, new mandates for the Bold Center will cancel all adult fitness and sport activities, but still allow limited youth programming and limited capacity and occupancy for individual bookings and events.
Muncipal staff admit that there are still a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to limitations and exceptions that administrators will be exploring in the coming days.
For now, says Lac La Biche County spokesperson Jihad Moghrabi, the Bold Center and other facilities will remain open at their posted hours — but with new restriction based on the existing AHS guidelines.
Council sends a message
Following the decision to sidestep the exemption option, councillors publicly showed how much they took exception to being put into the position in the first place.
Councillors agreed to create a resolution to be presented to the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association and the Rural Municipalities Association stating that any further decisions relating to provincial health restrictions be made by the provincial government and not "downloaded" onto municipalities.
Moghrabi said the public will be kept informed as quickly as new information is made available.
Municipal officials will also be discussing the operations of municipal administrative offices in the wake of the new provincial health measures.
