Laurier Avenue
Port Coquitlam, B.
12 September 1980

The Mayor and Municipal Council
Corporation of the City of Port Coquitlam
Port Coquitlam, B. C.

SEP 15 1980

Members of Council;

This letter is to ask members of Port Coquitlam City Council
to consider and to vote on having Port Coquitlam City Council change
its weekly public Council Meeting from Monday evenings to Tuesday or
Wednesday evenings, | the reasons being as follows:

1) to enable the two local newspaprers, The Enterprise and
The Herald, delivered to homes on Tuesday afternoons, to inform the
public of what has gone on at the previous Council Meeting before the
next. Council Meeting.

2) to allow both local papers editorial comment before the

next Council Meeting
of the upcoming Council Agenc:.

3) to provide a complete, objective outlineafor all people of
Port Coquitlam, so that they can plan to attend or ‘contact ‘Council
representatives to make their views and concerns known before discussions
and decisions occur. The Enterprise newspaper has.offered to print
every week the outline of the upcoming Council Agenda free of charge
if Council meets on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday evening, making
this feasible for them.

The present situation, as we are all aware, consists of the two

local papers mentioned above reporting Council events in part, 3 days

after the fact, indeed, after the next weekly Council Meeting has taken place
, and Final Reading on many by-laws has been heard. The Vancouver Sun

‘and The Columbian newspapers do report on Council affairs, thou,sh

the Vancouver Sun, it seems, is not always in attendance. At best,

both of these papers coverage is only partial and limited, particula tly

as the majority of their readerships is outside this municipality, in other

areas.

Attached is a letter of endorsement for this proposed idea fron
Pat Tracy, Managing Editor of The Herald. A letter of endorsement and
the offer mentioned above is also forthcoming from Mr. Dave Moyer, Publisher
of. The Enterprise, I belief. Allow me to stress, however, that this.
propose. is being made not for the benefit of the local papers, though
I think “that an honourable goal, but for the benefit of the majority,
_ that is, the people of Port Coquitlam.

I personally prefer the idea of the Tuesday evening meeting as
possible being least disruptive to the present routine at Municipal Hall,
with Friday noon still being the cut-off time for placing items on the
upcoming Agenda, and allowing Council members to review Agenda material

and issues over the week- end, as is now done.

Teta tana reece”