High River council has put off any decision on returning to council chambers to hold its meetings in person.

They moved to ZOOM meetings during the pandemic and Mayor Craig Snodgrass says he's against going back just for what he calls "political optics".

CAO Chris Prosser is concerned over potential technical issues that could arise in returning to council chambers themselves, though ZOOM is also known to provide its fair share of technical difficulties.

According to Prosser, while they could live stream the meetings, it wouldn't allow for interaction between council and delegations.

He says some town staff have expressed a desire to continue to work from home, even well into the future.

They had been aiming for September to have staff back and comfortable, but some staff members have expressed apprehension about returning.

Prosser says the province has discussed having some of its staff work from home permanently.

Mayor Snodgrass said, during the discussion, some things have been missed because people weren't at their desks, although he didn't elaborate.

Councillor Don Moore pointed out if staff in the town and county administration building and the provincial building don't return it could be detrimental to downtown businesses.

Mayor Snodgrass says at his own business he'll ask clients if they're fully vaccinated and if they say no, or don't want to answer, they'll have to wear a mask.

Even if they say they are fully vaccinated, Snodgrass intends to continue to wear a mask at the office.

A decision on a return to Council Chambers is being left up to the council elected October 18th.

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