A big loss, with nothing gained

A4

By Jim Dumville

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It came as a shock. Halfway through the usually mundane reading of correspondence at Monday's council session, Mayor Art Slipp delivered the letter which dropped the bombshell.

It was the letter of resignation tendered by Coun. Charles Depow. His seat – as well as that of Coun. Theresa Blackburn – sat empty at the start of council. But, this was vacation season and it is not unheard of for a member of council to be out of town.

That was the case with Blackburn. But it was obviously not the case with Depow.

The fuel which ignited Depow's frustration occurred a month earlier when council pushed through final reading of the amended Woodstock Municipal Plan.

Coun. Depow and Deputy Mayor Catherine Sutherland raised a valid question at that time. What was the rush to approve the plan in July? Why couldn't a plan which was decades in the making, and had been studied and amended over several months, wait just one more month.

In the eyes of Coun. Andy Leech – who chaired the committee studying the plan – no one was rushing anything. For the past nine months or more they held meetings, created the plan, held public forums and studied and amended the plan to death. He stated emphatically he wasn't interested in waiting one more minute.

He should have. At Monday's meeting, he could have been watching the plan go into effect with Deputy Mayor Sutherland and Coun. Depow comfortable in the fact they would be providing an informed vote. Regardless of how they voted, at least they would know what they were voting for.

Instead, Coun. Leech, three of his colleagues and Mayor Slipp ignored Sutherland's and Depow's concerns in July and forged ahead to approve the plan.

Perhaps Coun. Depow overreacted by tendering his resignation on that single issue. But obviously he viewed that issue as an indication of how council worked. My experience in covering most members of this council for several years is this is not how they work. They generally give most issues ample debate and careful consideration. This time they didn't.

Coun. Depow and Coun. Blackburn were elected to council in May. All other members have been their for at least one term, maybe more. Since council meets only once a month in the summer, the new councillors were attending only their third council meeting. But the real kicker is the amended version of the detailed and complicated document was delivered to members of council late on Friday, three days before the July council meeting.

Coun. Depow was heading out of town that weekend. That meant he had "less than an hour" to study the plan. He even admitted he was a tad overwhelmed by the complicated document. Obviously he didn't have the time to give this important plan proper consideration. The deputy mayor agreed.

Coun. Blackburn disagreed, saying she spent the entire weekend reading and re-reading the plan. The newly elected councillor should be praised for that type of commitment. But it is unfair to say another councillor lacks commitment, because he didn't change weekend plans when unexpectedly delivered a document late on a Friday afternoon, especially when there was no official deadline requiring the plan to pass the following Monday.

There are those who will say – and they are right to a point – that Coun. Depow overreacted. After all, Deputy Mayor Sutherland faced the same dilemma and she remains on council. Of course, you should remember, the deputy mayor had been a member of council for those many months the municipal plan was under study. She wasn't playing catch up like Coun. Depow.

This comes down, as so many things do, to hindsight. By pushing through that plan, Woodstock lost a member of council who has a long history of strong service to his community. Was it worth it?

Personally, I think it was a big loss with nothing gained. Some members of council – all of whom by the way I have great respect for – may disagree, but I still would like to know what made it so important to pass the plan in July.

It was obvious to every one in the room at the July meeting that two members of council did not feel equipped to provide an informed decision at that time. They were not disagreeing on substance, they simply wanted to make sure they understood the consequences of the municipal plan on all Woodstock residents.

Unfortunately, for these two members of council, their five colleagues decided their clear understanding was not worth 30 days wait. Isn't that a touch sad.

Council made the right decision in giving third and final reading to the Woodstock Municipal Plan. They just did it one month too early and lost a lot in the process.