A special meeting of Peterborough city council scheduled for Friday afternoon (March 13) was adjourned due to a lack of quorum.
Just prior to the 1 p.m. meeting, council held a closed session of general committee to discuss a matter related to “facility use” that was subject to solicitor-client privilege. As the meeting was closed, details about the matter under discussion were not disclosed, and it is unknown how many members of council were present at that meeting.
Following the closed session, the matter was supposed to be considered by council in an open session of general committee, followed by a regular council meeting where the matter would be ratified.
Mayor Jeff Leal and councillors Dave Haacke, Kevin Duguay, and Gary Baldwin were present in council chambers in person, and councillor Lesley Parnell was participating by phone. To reach a quorum of six members of council, one more councillor needed to be present at the meeting.
Councillors Matt Crowley, Don Vassiliadis, Keith Riel, Andrew Beamer, Joy Lachica, and Alex Bierk were not in chambers. Unsuccessful attempts were made to reach councillor Bierk by phone.
After around 40 minutes, city clerk John Kennedy advised Mayor Leal that quorum could not be reached and the meeting was adjourned.
In a media release issued later on Friday afternoon, the City of Peterborough stated the closed session general committee meeting also did not proceed due to lack of quorum.
In the release, the city added that council would hold a special virtual general committee meeting at 8 p.m. on Friday “to consider a verbal report related to the St. Patrick’s Day 5K Run road closure for Sunday, March 15, 2026.”
At its meeting on Monday (March 10), city council voted to authorize a temporary road closure permit for the St. Patrick’s Day 5k Run and Walk after the city clerk’s office declined to issue a permit due to safety concerns. It is unclear whether the earlier council meetings on Friday that did not proceed due to lack of quorum were on the matter of the St. Patrick’s Day 5k Run and Walk.
The original version of this story has been updated with additional information from the City of Peterborough.
