Inside baseball

How the County voted when asked if they wanted to see a review of Council in 2010. Every corner of the County said this is what it wanted. A special council meeting this evening will try again to break the deadlock.

Few residents participate in size of council public meetings

There are a couple of consistent trend that can be reported after a series of town hall meetings held across the County over the past couple of weeks to consider a smaller counciland a revised ward structure.

First, only a very small number of folks appear to be interested in the issue, at least interested enough to attend a town hall meeting; and second, of those who did show up, a great many were former councillors who dearly want things to stay the way they are.

The always colourful Gord Fox, former councillor for Hallowell and one-time mayoral candidate, suggested the many empty seats scattered around the old Town Hall in Picton last Wednesday proved “people don’t give a damn.” This, in his view, and the view of other former representatives, means it isn’t an issue at all—and that council should abandon the non-issue.

“Who said we have to change it?” said Fox, gathering a head of steam. “Our system works. The province said it was fine. I’ll be damned if I am going to be held ransom by people who want to change my County.”

But these views don’t square easily with the fact that 81 per cent of the electorate, when asked in question on the ballot in the last municipal election, voted in favour of a review of the size of council. A result mirrored in every ward and township. Or that a randomly selected group of residents chosen to consider the issue over three Saturdays this summer concluded council should shrink from 15 to 10 members.

Kathleen Vowinckel, a former member of the pre-amalgamation Sophiasburgh council, is among those who feel strongly that “council should not be changed.” Vowinckel was also a member of the Citizens’ Assembly. Over her objections the Citizens’ Assembly recommended council reduce its numbers. Unable to persuade her fellow CA members of her argument, Vowinckel campaigned at town meetings in Ameliasburgh, Wellington and Picton to head off any change.

Yet when each town hall meeting gathering was asked their view—a large majority in each community indicated they were in favour of the Citizens’ Assembly recommendation of 10 councillors. A fewer number are in favour of the five-ward map proposed by Mayor Peter Mertens. Many of the objections are technical. But not all.

A handful of residents from Ameliasburgh attended each town hall meeting to voice their objection to the proposal that Rossmore and Fenwood Garden residents might vote in Sophiasburgh rather than Ameliasburgh.

Former Ameliasburgh councillor Bill Bonter figures 99.9 per cent of residents in this corner of the County are unhappy with this idea.

“I’m unhappy with the process,” said Bonter. “I’ve gone down there. There is lots of discontent. We need more consideration. We are moving too quickly.”

Keith MacDonald says such concerns aren’t sincere.

“You don’t need 15 councillors and a mayor,” said the Hallowell representative. “Hallowell doesn’t need Keith MacDonald. Heather Campbell does a fine job of representing the people of this ward. The people who don’t want this to happen are trying to stall this.”

Jim Dunlop urged those unhappy with the proposed map to suggest changes, rather than list their complaints.

“I think we could get more done if we put more energy into making this map work, rather than taking it apart.”

The meetings in Wellington and Picton were hosted by the councillors from Wellington, Hallowell and Picton—though one councillor from Picton, Brian Marisett, was conspicuously absent from both meetings.

In Hillier, in the best attended of the four public meetings this correspondent attended, Alec Lunn expressed his unhappiness with the way the size of council issue has been managed. He made no attempt to hide his disdain for the process from the gathering at the town hall in Hillier. He said he and fellow council members should have, and could have, sorted through the issues and come to a resolution.

In fact, he has his own idea for reducing council size to 12 and he’s frustrated that he has not been able to present it to his fellow council members.

Lunn figures both Picton and Sophiasburgh could make do with one less representative. Picton is compact and Sophiasburgh, with two councillors, has just 200 more voters than Hillier with just one. He also suggests Bloomfield could become part of Hallowell.

“I think we should have been allowed to figure this out,” said Lunn. “That was what we were elected to do. It is a shame we can’t work this out.”

Former Hillier councillor Peggy Burris was unhappy with the proposed electoral ward map.

“I hope it gets turned down and councillors come up with something else,” said Burris.

But many voices in the Hillier hall didn’t share the former councillor’s past and present view.

One resident asked Lunn to explain the downside of the map proposed by the mayor and the reduction of the number of councillors to 10, as recommended by the Citizens’ Assembly.

Another said he liked the idea that for the first time he would be able to vote for the same number of councillors as Ameliasburgh, Hallowell, Picton and Sophiasburgh residents do.

Another offered the view that concerns over the electoral map seemed overblown.

“Waupoos will still be Waupoos,” said Bill Wightman.

This seems to be much ado about nothing.”

Another Hillier resident stood up to make the disappointed prediction that council will be deadlocked again.

“We will be stuck with the same number of councillors,” said Jerry Mattis, a former Hillier council representative. “It was planned to fail.”