For those wanting a primer on what’s happening with the lands of the former Penetanguishene Secondary School at 51 Dunlop St., an upcoming committee of the whole meeting should meet those needs.

At a recent council meeting, CAO Jeff Lees provided notification of the March 22 meeting for the new term of Penetanguishene council as well as any members of the public who might be interested.

“(There) will be a presentation around the history of 51 Dunlop St. property as it relates to the evolution of the purchase (and) the arena and recreation centre study that was done," said Lees.

"There’s going to be a component about land use and considerations for future land use; there’s also going to be a component around community consultation and public engagement that occurred where we engaged a third party in the middle-to-late 2022 timeframe," he explained.

“It’s really an opportunity to bring this council up to speed and really ensure this council has all the information, and (staff) asks for some direction on next steps on that particular subject matter.”

Late last year in the first council meeting of the new term, Mayor Doug Rawson had asked council what their thoughts were on the future of 51 Dunlop St., with a diverse range of opinions and thoughts given by returning councillors as well as newcomers to the position.

Also on the March 22 agenda will be another topic of discussion aimed at having council dictate how to govern.

“The second predominant piece that will be discussed at that meeting on the 22nd will be around the procedural bylaw,” Lees explained.

“We will be looking to get some feedback and have some discussion with council, and have council get engaged around the process that we’re going to undertake as it relates to considering changes to our procedural bylaw, which – as council is aware – that’s a key document in terms of how council and committees function and operate from a governance perspective.”

The special committee of the whole meeting is scheduled for March 22 starting at 7 p.m. Information regarding the meeting can be located on the agenda page of the Town of Penetanguishene website.

Meetings of Penetanguishene council are held on the second Wednesday of each month, and can be watched live on Rogers TV cable 53, or on the Rogers TV website.

Archives of council meetings are located on the Town of Penetanguishene YouTube channel.

Derek Howard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, MidlandToday.ca