After a three-month leave of absence, Deputy Mayor Keith Hull will be returning to the council table as of Feb. 28, CollingwoodToday.ca has confirmed.
During Monday’s development and operations standing committee meeting, two councillors were nominated to the chair position for the 2022 year: Coun. Kathy Jeffery and Coun. Deb Doherty. Both nominations were defeated by tie votes of 2-2.
“We have our deputy mayor coming back to council on Feb. 28, so we can put this over until the March committee meeting,” said Mayor Brian Saunderson.
The committee agreed to also hold off on the election of vice chair until the deputy mayor returns.
When reached for comment this week, Hull confirmed he would be returning to council at their Feb. 28 regular meeting to finish out his term, and would return to County of Simcoe council for their next meeting after that on March 8.
Hull has not publicly stated the reasons for his leave, and declined to provide further comment on the matter.