Bear with us, asks mayor

By Chris Lewis | June 25, 2020

The Town of Conception Bay South is asking people to be as patient as possible.

Over the last month or so, the Town has seen a significant influx of applications from residents for everything from construction permits to agricultural use permits. Mayor At last week’s public council meeting, Mayor Terry French plead for patience as staff work their way through them.

He recognized that people who put in applications are often in a bit of a rush, hoping to get projects completed within a certain time frame.

“I know you need some patience sometimes when dealing with these things, but it’s certainly a requirement,” French said. “I know there are hoops that you sometimes feel you have to jump through, but please bear with us. Call in, and staff will get it back to you as fast as we possibly can … I just want people to know that there is a big influx.”

To that end, French noted there are plans in the works for residents to be able to conduct business at the Town Hall – from which he attended the meeting, the lone person present in the chambers that night. The rest of the councillors were tuned in, also online, from their respective homes or offices.

Town staff are still working from home for the most part, said the mayor, though the Town Hall has reopened for a handful of employees. Still, it remains off-limits to the general public for the time being, which is why residents are needing to rely on phone calls in order to get their applications sorted out.

“We’re going to get this opened as soon as we can, but we have to follow the advice of the Chief Medical Officer and follow the guidelines they put in place,” French said. “When we can safely open it, based on the advice we’re given, we’ll open.”

Newfoundland has seen only a small number of cases of COVID-19 over the last few months compared to other provinces in Canada, and for several weeks now there have been no confirmed cases during the province’s daily updates. Still, many municipalities in the province are playing it safe, as is Conception Bay South.

“I think it’s important we listen to the experts on this one. That’s who we’re taking our leadership from, you could say,” French said.