Good news for district residents - the municipal office hours have been extended as of the beginning of March.
The reception desk hours extended from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, excluding holidays. In addition, the reception desk will now remain open over the lunch period from noon to 1 p.m.
From noon to 1 p.m., and from 4.30 p.m. to 5 p.m., basic reception desk services will be available, with full regular municipal office services will be available the rest of the time.
Basic reception services include all the services that the front reception can perform. Regular municipal office services incudes municipal services beyond what the front reception can perform (e.g. building inspection services, planning and development services, corporate services and economic development services).
The motion to increase hours was approved at a District of Kitimat council meeting on January 7 for implementation at the beginning of March.
Speaking in support of the motion, councillor Mario Feldhoff said it was high time that the hours were increased.
“The public expressed frustration with not being able to conduct business at city hall during their work schedules. This motion will make municipal services more accessible for people during their lunch hour and for people might only finish work at 4 p.m.”
He said the motion, which would incur a minimal cost, would mean a significant improvement for people, giving them the opportunity to be able to conduct their business before the end of the day.
Kitimat mayor Phil Germuth said extending the hours was another step forward in better serving the public.
“Council believes that this is a perfect time to extend the hours, as we are anticipating a higher volume of reception desk traffic due to increased activity in our community during the construction of the LNG Canada project.”