Harrison Hot Springs councillors have been formally asked to resign.
Harrison resident Gabrielle Thornton appeared as a delegate before Harrison Council. She presented two petitions to council, one calling for the resignation of four members of council and to call on council to rescind the 30-per cent pay raise and allowances they recently approved.
Roughly 150 people signed the petition calling for the resignation of Couns. Leo Facio, John Buckley, Allan Jackson and Michie Vidal. The petition states the undersigned “oppose the playground politics of the self-serving members of council” and that council fails to represent the wishes of the village’s residents. The petitioners expressed confidence in the abilities of Mayor Ed Wood.
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“They have lost our trust to make wise decision for this village,” Thornton said. “Their efforts to blindside our mayor was like slapping the residents in the face with their vote of no confidence towards him. We are confident in our mayor to make the right decisions for the residents and the village.”
All four councillors responded to Thornton’s petitions.
Buckley said the non-confidence vote was meant to be a way to open up dialogue between the mayor and council to settle their differences and get back to governing effectively.
“It was never and I repeat, never our intention to try to remove the mayor from office,” Buckley said. The step of asking for a provincial municipal facilitator was intended by council to find ways for all of us to work together cohesively for the good of the village of Harrison.”
Vidal acknowledged that Wood was the duly-elected mayor; by the same logic, she noted the members on council were also representative of the people’s wishes. She decried the role of local social media groups in fuelling misinformation and conspiracies.
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“Let’s remember that often these postings are personal interpretation of events, and do not always reflect the accurate information,” she said. “As I have stated in the past, and will state once again, please contact myself and I will do my very best to provide you with the most factual and correct information on any issue or concern.”
There were no names put forth on the petition of who the petitioners would rather have on council. Outside of the four who were elected in 2022, only one other candidate ran – Leslie Ghezesan.
Voter turnout for 2022 was about 50 per cent in Harrison Hot Springs.
About 180 people – accounting for just under one per cent of the village’s population – signed the petition to roll back the pay raise and allowance increase the council approved during a Committee of the Whole meeting earlier this year.
Councillors voted 4-1 to increase remuneration for mayor and council by 30 per cent; Wood cast the only dissenting vote. Additionally, council also approved a $10 increase per meal, a cell phone usage allowance as well as the option of being provided a village-issued laptop or an annual $1,000 allowance to conduct municipal business on personal computers.
None of the councillors directly addressed the petition about the pay raise.
In other council business:
– Council unanimously approved Facio’s request to have staff research indemnity bylaws to create one for Harrison Hot Springs.
– Council unanimously approved the 2023-2027 Financial Plan.
– Council authorized staff to set up public consultation as the Official Community Plan (OCP) revision process begins again.
– Council received a report from staff on the 2022-2023 operations report from the Starlight Skating Rink. This report is the result of Buckley’s request to village staff to analyze seasonal operational costs of the rink before investing in a roof for the outdoor, seasonal rink.
The next regular Harrison Hot Springs Village Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 17, at 7 p.m. at Memorial Hall (290 Esplanade Avenue). Venue may be subject to change; check in at www.agassizharrisonobserver.com for any updates.
Online attendance is also available via Zoom; those interested can register through harrisonhotsprings.ca. Video recordings of the meetings will be archived on the village’s YouTube page.
adam.louis@ ahobserver.com
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