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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2016-09-28, Page 11Wednesday, September 28, 2016 • News Record 11 Ombudsman cautions Rec. Board to better adhere to Municipal Act Darryl Coote Postmedia Network The Ontario Ombudsman has cautioned the Goderich Recrea- tion Board of Management to better adhere to provincial open meeting procedures and rules concerning the creation of com- mittees to be more transparent, although it acted in good faith. Two town councillors who sat on the now -disbanded Agricul- tural Park Ad Hoc Committee committee, which advised the town's Recreation Board of Management about revitalizing the park, said any transgressions were unintentional. But the woman who filed the complaint with the Ombudsman said if the public had been more informed and involved, things might have gone differently -- especially when it comes to the demolition of barns on the property used by the Goderich Trotting Association (GTA). The Ontario Ombudsman, Paul Dube, published his find- ings Sept. 14 after a three- month investigation into the complaint that the ad hoc com- mittee did not comply with the Ontario Municipal Act concern- ing open meeting procedures. Formed in the summer of 2013, the ad hoc committee was supposed to be limited to 12 members, two of whom were council members with the remaining being volunteers. It was also required to have one municipal staff member. According to the report, it was not limited to 12 members and did not have a municipal staff member. Council dissolved the committee on May 24, 2016, stating it had fulfilled its mandate. The investigation report pub- lished Wednesday states that while the ad hoc committee and the recreation board had "oper- ated in good faith," both were under the "mistaken impres- sion" from town staff that they did not have to follow the pro- vincial Municipal Act and could hold closed meetings. "The Recitation Board of Management should turn its mind to the open meeting rules and the definition of a commit- tee when creating bodies like the ad hoc committee to ensure that the requirements of the Municipal Act are met," Dube said in his report. The ombudsman, an independ- ent investigator into government complaints, then made four rec- ommendations to council. Those recommendations to Goderich council are: • Goderich should formally recognize the Recreation Board of Management as a local board subject to open -meeting requirements under the Munici- pal Act. • The Recreation Board of Management should adopt a procedure by-law governing the calling, place, order and proce- dures for its meetings. • All members of the Recrea- tion Board of Management should be vigilant in adhering to their responsibilities to ensure the board complies with the Municipal act and its applicable procedure by-law. • The Recreation Board of Management should ensure that it and its committees adhere to PLEASE RECYCLE SEAFORTH HARMONY KINGS BARBERSHOP CHORUS Presents THE BEST WORST MUSICAL EVER SONGS AND SKIT GUEST QUARTET CHORDIOLOGY SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1 at 7:30 PM doors open at 6:45pm SEAFORTH PUBLIC SCHOOL Tickets $20 (Kids under 12 - Free) Pay at the door, or reserve at 519-238-5419 www seaforthharmonykings.ca the open -meeting requirements of the Municipal Act, especially with respect to public notice of its meetings. According to its website, the ombudsman has no power to enforce any recommendations he makes but most are imple- mented by the offending governments. Councillor Trevor Bazinet, one of two councillors who were on the ad hoc committee and who still sits on the recreation board, told The Signal Star that any transgression committed by the ad hoc committee was not done purposefully. "I don't think anyone who sat on the committee had any intent at all to not be open or transpar- ent with the public," he said. With the ad hoc committee dissolved a steering committee has been formed to spearhead the multi -million -dollar plan to revitalize the aging Agricultural Park, and its has learned from its predecessor's mistakes, he said. "We're moving in the right direction and we're doing things properly as per our ombudsman report. There was nothing done with any ill intentions whatso- ever," he said. People make mistakes, he continued. "[You] learn from your mis- takes and you move forward. Everybody makes mistakes and we thought we were doing what we were supposed to be doing," he said. Councillor Myles Murdock, the other councillor who was on the ad hoc committee and who also sits on the recreation board, clintonnewsrecord.com Vanastra Curling Club Starts Week of Nov. 7th MON. - Men's 7 p.m. TUES. - Adult 9:30 a.m. WED. Open Adult 7:30 p.m. THUR. Junior at 6:30 p.m. FRI. Mixed 7 p.m. To Register CaII CONNIE @ (519) 482-3338 or email: ' connievanloo08@gmail.com New Curlers Welcome said he didn't see the report as a criticism but a learning opportunity. "Things could be tightened up in terms of governance and the way you run things. And that's really all I took from it," he said. "I certainly didn't take it as a criticism as to how we were operating." He said that the ad hoc com- mittee should have made sure the public was aware of when the meetings were being held and that anyone could attend. The meetings, the investigative report says, were announced to members of both bodies through emails and members of the pub- lic only knew of the meetings if they had asked to be notified of them. The ad hoc committee was not trying to hide anything from the public, Murdock said. "It's simply a matter that we're trying to do the best job possible and sometimes we're pretty amateurish about the way we run things, instead of being more professional like the staff committees are in town hall," he said. Bazinet said going forward the steering committee will make sure a member of staff is in attendance. "We had our first steering committee and we had three staff members there. And it was open to the public and no one from the public attended ... and that would have been the exact same thing with the ad hoc committee," he said. However, for Michelle Gaynor, who filed the complaint with the ombudsman, disagrees. "If those meetings had not hap- pened, it wouldn't have gone this far," she said. ':.. There's no way it could've happened." In early September barns that housed the Goderich Trotting Association (GTA)'s horses in the Agricultural Park were torn down as part of the revitaliza- tion plan, and if the report was released earlier, it might have prevented the barns from being demolished, she said. "[I'm] angry -- Very angry because it's too late for the horses and our family because the barns are gone," she told The Signal Star on the phone the day after the report was published. She said if the public had known about the meetings, there would have been push back to keep the barns. "If the community said, 'No, you're time is up. You've been there for a number of years. It's an eyesore.' If it was done fairly, so be it. But it wasn't. And that's what makes me mad," she said. She continued that the report from the ombudsman is too lit- tle too late and that the two councilmembers should have known better. "They should be punished," she said. "Especially the coun- cilmembers who were on that board. Volunteers can't possibly know the rules, they are volun- teering their time. Council members know the difference." She is examining her legal options and may follow with a civil suit against the town, she said. "There should be some reper- cussions," she said. ATTENTION ADVERTISERS! DEADLINES Our Weekly Deadlines are as follows: ADVERTISING & EDITORIAL Friday @ 2:00 pm Clinton e Nws Record www.clintonnewsrecord.com 53 Albert St. S, Clinton PH: 519-482-3443 POSTMEDIA OH -ICE HOURS: Mon. - Fri. 9am - 5pm CLOSED TUESDAYS