On Fri, 18 Sept 2026 at 18:12, Tim Parenti <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Thu, 10 Sept 2026 at 13:57, Tim Parenti <[email protected]> wrote: > >> It seems, then, that the Town of Golden is likely to revisit timekeeping >> at its next meeting on Tuesday 22 September at 13:15 UTC−6 and may decide >> to keep itself aligned with RDEK, Alberta, and America/Edmonton after all. >> > > Indeed, an agenda for next Tuesday's town council meeting in Golden, BC > was published today, and it seems there will at least be some further > discussion on the topic of timekeeping: > https://golden.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&Id=1433 > In a letter to Golden Town Council, Councillor Wes Routley formally requested reconsideration of the motion previously adopted on 1 September, writing "My view of the underlying merits has not necessarily changed; I remain deeply concerned about the morning safety risk Daylight Time will pose and feel we must manage those risks where possible. However, the process for our decision failed to ask an important question for residents. The RDEK survey asked people to choose between Daylight and Standard Time; it did not ask whether alignment should take precedence where the two conflict. That is a very different question, and one that our decision on 1 September did not have the benefit of. Because that question went unasked, many residents now understand this decision differently than intended. Instead of a considered choice made with the best available information, many feel their views discounted or dismissed. The public must be able to trust the process Council uses to arrive at a decision. That trust has eroded and restoring it is the most urgent matter before us. It is consuming attention Council and staff need for the work ahead in our community." https://golden.civicweb.net/FileStorage/8FE840BAF09E4BB3BFD319A56A45A3A6-Routley_Reconsideration-20260922.pdf In introducing his motion to rescind the previous resolution, Routley added, "[a]t times, we're faced with really difficult considerations…and sometimes we get tossed curveballs with no clear authority." Mayor Ron Oszust thanked Routley for having "identified the concerns that the majority of council had on September 1 and supplementally provided strategies to either address them or work towards mitigating them." Following a unanimous vote to rescind, Routley moved a superseding resolution to adopt UTC−6 (Mountain Daylight Time) in alignment with the Regional District of East Kootenay; to direct staff to work with school districts, the surrounding rural areas, and the provincial Ministry of Transportation and Transit to work on various safety and streetlighting concerns; and to commit to reviewing time observance in October 2027, "including ongoing dialogue with [RDEK], community partners, and residents." Routley stated the proposed path "weaves a delicate balance of recognizing the realities for service access down south, as well as the public sentiment around the importance of the access there, as well as striving wherever possible to mitigate the risks that were raised", while maintaining flexibility for ongoing engagement in the future as "Alberta has made clear that they're going to be reviewing their decision in 2027". Councillor Joy Guyot, serving as acting chair, congratulated the petition organizer and residents on an impressive effort, while Oszust restated his "appreciation for the focus of [Routley's] resolution", recognizing the "shared responsibility" across all levels of government to ensure safety. He further reported to the Council that the issue of time observance in surrounding Rural Golden which was deferred at Columbia Shuswap Regional District's 20 September board meeting will come back at its next meeting on Thursday 15 October at 09:30 UTC−7. Karen Cathcart, director of CSRD Area A, was asked to speak and thanked Routley "for his very thoughtful resolution" as well as "all of the residents for the number of emails, phone calls, letters, and coffee chats". She added that while, "the original decision to move to Mountain Standard Time was not made lightly", she's "said…from Day One, I will support the Town of Golden's decision" to "give this a try." The resolution passed unanimously. Acknowledging the fuller-than-usual council chambers, Routley closed by addressing potential mental health impacts, commenting that "[t]his community is really good at being there for each other" and that he expects "folks will be looking out and supporting their neighbors… checking in, making sure we're all doing good over this first winter". So there should be no need for a new zone in and around Golden after all. -- Tim Parenti
