Two New West councillors are continuing to chat with constituents over coffee – and you could join them.
Councillors Daniel Fontaine and Paul Minhas, the two New West Progressives on city council, have been holding a series of Councillor Cafés in various neighbourhoods. Community members have been invited to drop by and talk about any issues pertaining to city hall.
Fontaine said the cafés have been great. He said most have been attended by five to 15 participants, with just over 20 people attending the gathering in Queensborough.
“They have been very useful in terms of being able to hear directly from citizens about issues impacting them in their neighbourhoods,” he said. “We are going to wrap up our pilot by May and assess if we will start up again in the fall with more café sessions.”
The next Councillor Café is on Thursday, March 30 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at Century House.
The duo will also be co-costing a Councillor Café – Business Edition on Wednesday, April 19 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Massey Theatre. Attendance is limited to about 25 attendees.
“This special edition of the Councillor Café is open only to small business owners/operators located in New Westminster,” Fontaine said in an email to the Record. “We will have a bit of networking at the beginning then open up a round-table discussion/feedback session on a few business-related topics.”
While anyone is able to drop in to the neighbourhood Councillor Café events, the councillors are asking that folks RSVP and pre-register for the business edition by email [email protected] so they can be added to the guest list.
Fontaine said that he and Minhas will be heading out to residents’ doors again the months ahead.
“Paul and I will soon be turning our minds to heading back out going door to door in a number of neighbourhoods in May and June,” he said. “We hope to use these one-on-one 'doorstep conversations' to help inform us regarding what more can be done to ensure city hall becomes better connected with our neighbourhoods.”
