Two empty chairs at city council Monday did not go unnoticed by a fellow councillor in attendance.
Councillor Grace Lang made an issue of the absenteeism of both Councillor Brad Pattinson and Councillor Trent Houk.
She wanted to know if the City was made aware they would be missing the meeting.
"I wonder if they sent regrets, anything to notify," Lang asked Mayor Ian Hamilton during the announcements and inquiries section of the meeting.
"Generally when we can't come to council we usually try to notify. Were you aware that we had councillors not attending this evening?"
Hamilton responded that notification came from Houk just as they were concluding their executive committee meeting, but "to my knowledge no regrets were expressed by Councillor Pattinson."
But Hamilton also noted the city clerk was away and he was not sure whether a message got through.
The reasons why the two councillors were not in attendance at Monday's meeting were not immediately known.
This is not the first time Pattinson has been a target of Lang for his attendance record at council meetings.
Lang previously brought up the issue in 2009 by posing a question directly to Pattinson on the subject during the Rotary Club's election forum, when Pattinson was running for mayor. Pattinson has said health issues involving a family member were the reason he was forced to miss a number of meetings that year.
The issue of absenteeism has also come up in discussion in council chambers during this latest term. Ideas have been floated from councillors about possibly compiling and making public their meeting attendance records.
