To the editor:
In response to recent letters to the editor regarding the Jan. 24, 2017 public hearing minutes for the Tourism Kelowna application, we would like to provide some clarification and corrections about the correspondence received by council.
Correspondence identified at the public hearing, and subsequently included in the minutes, represented items received during the statutory “notification period” only and not everything that was received in the weeks and months prior to the meeting. In the case of the visitor centre, this notification period was between Jan. 11 and 4 p.m. on Jan. 23.
The city clerk will identify at all public hearings, and for all items, the correspondence that is received by the office of the city clerk during an official notification period. During this time, statutory notices are delivered and advertising of the public hearing is placed in the newspaper, as required under the legislation. Our practice is to include all written correspondence received by our office during the official notification period in the meeting minutes.
Correspondence related to Tourism Kelowna sent to city council through city channels in the weeks and months prior to and after the meeting was circulated as per normal procedure.
Stephen Fleming, City Clerk, City of Kelowna