The four-against-four deadlock splitting West Nipissing mayor and council into two camps stymied several more resolutions during the committee of the whole meeting Tuesday evening.
One of the few things the majority of elected officials agreed upon was ending the interest-free grace period for outstanding tax and water balances Oct. 31.
A staff request for direction about how to deal with a handful of businesses seeking relief from water and sewer service charges, due to COVID-19 commercial shutdowns, was killed by a tie vote.
A motion to look into a possible discrepancy in the two bylaws involving the integrity commissioner – as well as a call to name councillors when they make complaints against other councillors – died in the same crossfire.
And then time ran out on a tie vote to extend the meeting after the 9:30 p.m. curfew, despite a “good news” item about the Weyerhaeuser mill property needing “time-sensitive” in-camera discussion. A special meeting is now needed to continue the agenda despite possible availability issues before and after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
None of it impressed a Verner resident who is willing to run in a by-election to fill the vacant Ward 7 seat and provide the odd-person vote necessary to break up the democratic logjam.
“Clearly, this is not working,” Josee Trepanier told BayToday Wednesday, referring to the virtual Zoom meeting that’s live-streamed on YouTube. “It’s only going to escalate from there. They are just going to hate each other more and more.”
Council missed a Sept. 18 deadline to decide how to replace Jeremy Seguin, who resigned partly due to the dysfunction in mid-July. Choices include a by-election or appointing someone, either through a call for applicants or swearing in the second-place candidate.
Trepanier said they were hoping the issue of filling the vacant seat was going to be discussed along with outstanding issues about the Verner arena and moving the gym for seniors to use. Unless it is discussed at the special meeting by next week, she said there are plans to get a petition circulated asking the province to intervene.
“I think now they realize nothing is being done, so this petition is probably going to get going sooner than later,” Trepanier said.
In the meantime, she took to Verner's Let’s Talk Facebook Group Tuesday morning to make public her concerns about key Verner issues not being addressed. She fears there is no thought being given to eventually reopening the Verner arena.
“All topics brought to the table were not resolved as it continues to be four against four,” she stated using her JoseeMarc Ducharme handle. “Without a ninth person, council will not agree on anything especially with regards to Verner.”
Trepanier suggested they “reach out to municipal affairs if council fails to recognize the concern.” She provided an email for regional contact Bryan Searle [email protected]
Trepanier explained her fears in more detail to BayToday.
“Why go without representation when you have such a dysfunctional council,” she explained. “It would be one thing if things were going smoothly and they just agreed to disagree … and they could have actual resolution on half of what they have on of the agenda.”
She said there is a growing concern that the COVID-19 pandemic situation, with resulting economic impacts, will give some Sturgeon Falls factions the excuse to close the arena. Trepanier said some people dream about building a twin pad in Sturgeon Falls and this might work in their favour, she said, especially after the elevator stopped working this summer. The gym seniors use upstairs was supposed to be moved to the township facility, but even that hasn’t been done and considered a low priority, she said.
The split includes Mayor Joanne Savage and councillors Lise Senecal, Denis Senecal and Yvon Duhaime often voting together. They support a by-election to replace Seguin. Councillors Chris Fisher, Dan Roveda, Leo Malette and Roland Larabie want to appoint 2018 runner-up Norm Roberge.
Roberge, a former councillor, lost his Ward 7 seat to Seguin in the 2018 election, with the votes tallied 375-227.
After council missed the 60-day deadline to have a plan to fill the vacant seat, Municipal Affairs and Housing said it would not intervene and West Nipissing CAO Jay Barbeau said somebody would have to change their mind at council.
"In speaking with Municipal Affairs, this situation is rare but does happen," Barbeau said, noting they don't expect the province to dictate a response and it will be up to council. "There may be a change of heart" among the council members that will alter the deadlock and until then, we are all in a holding pattern."
A spokesperson for the province confirmed that with BayToday, although the reason for having a deadline with no ramifications was not explained.
"The Municipal Act provides that the responsibility for making a decision related to filling vacancies rests with council," said Conrad Spezowka, of the media relations office in Toronto.
