by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
COBDEN — The three new members of the Property Standards Committee for the Township of Whitewater Region were appointed by Mayor Hal Johnson following a discussion at a recent closed door meeting. However, two council members appeared to have some concerns with the appointments during last night’s council meeting.
Chief Administrative Officer Christine FitzSimons said the former committee, whose members were Donna Burns, John Cull and Art Cobb, had not met in the three years they were a committee due to there being no issues.
They were each sent a letter thanking them for sitting on the committee and providing a service to the municipality, she said.
The new committee members, Andrew Coulas, Mel Langton and Ed Desjardins, were each sent a letter advising they had been appointed to the committee.
Councillor Chris Olmstead suggested the bylaw for the appointees be tabled.
“I cannot get my head wrapped around it completely,” he said.
He recalled “names being bantered around” at a previous meeting, but nothing had been approved. He understood there would be further discussion about the members.
Reeve Terry Millar, who was chairing the meeting in the absence of Mayor Johnson, said he was away when the matter was discussed and wanted to give more thought to the appointments.
Councillor Charlene Jackson recalled that in the last number of years, this committee has never sat and meets only when there is a discrepancy between what the bylaw officer wants done and what the property owner believes should be done according to the Property Standards Bylaw.
The committee members get together and review the situation and decide who they agree with, she said.
“I don’t know how much more information you need,” Coun. Jackson said. “It’s appointed by the current council. It doesn’t mean these people will be appointed next year or that they will continue on for the next 10 years or they will continue on for the next term of council.”
She noted these three people give a broad spectrum of representation in the municipality, adding, Mr. Coulas has a lot of business knowledge; Mr. Langton is a business owner in the municipality and Mr. Desjardins is from the Westmeath area.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” she said, with a chuckle, adding, “I don’t know that there’s much more thought that needs to be put into it.
“To put it off just because you may or may not like these people,” she said trailing off, and then adding, “I don’t understand. You may or may not agree that the names need to be changed, but, the bylaw needs to come into play because the (previous bylaw) expired.”
Coun. Jackson said it’s important this bylaw be passed in case something arises from another bylaw passed earlier in the meeting.
“Moving forward, these are as good a-people as any and if they are called upon, they are willing to be called upon,” she said.
Reeve Millar said this is a “touchy issue.”
He said this matter of the expired bylaw was brought to the attention of council by those who were on the committee.
“I think in Donna’s case, she wrote a letter making us aware that this committee had to be redone,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of division in this community.”
Reeve Millar said he was not able to attend the closed meeting on Jan. 20 when this issue was discussed because he was away.
“…I questioned a little bit if it should be a closed meeting, but I’m not an expert on municipal law,” he said.
CAO FitzSimons, who pointed out items in a closed meeting were now being discussed in an open session, said the committee had agreed the mayor would provide her with three names and she would draft the new bylaw.
Reeve Millar then asked that Ms. Burns, who was at the meeting, be allowed to talk at the meeting.
“She is a member of our community and out of respect for her, I would like to let her speak to this,” he said.
While no council member put up his or her hand, Coun. Olmstead said he was hoping to talk “before we even went down that road. I don’t think it’s a good idea to let someone speak at this point and time on this.”
He said it’s healthy that members of a committee be changed. He noted the bylaw states these new members will sit until Dec. 31, 2018, which is when the current council’s term ends.
Coun. Olmstead added that it’s “probably not a big deal,” since the members who are stepping down, did not meet as a committee because there were no issues.
Reeve Millar said, “I don’t think the committee itself is a big deal, like you say, but I think the connotations that go along with some of it might be a bigger deal, but that’s just my opinion.”
.
