Allegations of slander and mismanagement were made once again on Monday night as the City of Grand Forks council debated approving the fee-for-service agreement with the Boundary Country Regional Chamber of Commerce (BCRCC).
They ultimately decided to reduce funding after many heated exchanges during a nearly two and a half hour meeting.
At Monday’s regular meeting, council was asked to approve the fee-for-service agreement with the BCRCC after a resolution at the May 29 special meeting of council stated that council wished to proceed with the agreement for 2017.
The issue of the chamber was raised at two points in the meeting: first in Coun. Chris Hammett’s councillor report and later on in the meeting while debating the fee-for-service contract.
At the beginning of the meeting, Coun. Julia Butler voted against adopting the agenda as presented because of Hammett’s report, alleging that sections were factually incorrect and she could not accept the report into the agenda on those grounds.
In her report to council, Hammett stated that the two councillors were overheard planning to leave the meeting in the event of discussion of the chamber. Couns. Butler and Bev Tripp both denied this allegation during Monday’s meeting.
“We emphatically disagree, we did not have that conversation,” Tripp said.
“[I]t’s unfortunate that in recent months, members of council who have had no previous connection with either group have politicized both,” Hammett wrote in her report.
In response, Tripp said Hammett was making an attempt to polarize the community while Butler said she had suggested sections of Hammett’s report be pulled in order to avoid having the discussion of the chamber again at council table.
All councillor reports subject to approval by Mayor Frank Konrad before becoming part of the public council agenda.
Hammett also made the claim during discussion that the chamber has not registered as a non-profit society under the Societys act. That claim was later corroborated by a chamber board member who stated during question period that the chamber did not file for non-profit society status in 2016, and is now in the process of doing so for 2017.
As well, Hammett said that at the June 8 meeting of the chamber, whose minutes she cited, the chamber was cutting off the fee-for-service with the DBA and”revert” remaining funds back to the chamber.
At several points throughout the meeting, councillors made allegations about former chamber employees and the circumstances of their employment. When addressed by others at the table regarding their potentially “slanderous” remarks, at least one councillor apologized to one of the people in question, who was not present at the meeting.
As the discussion progressed, Konrad addressed Tripp regarding her and Butler’s departure from the COTW on May 15.
“Councillors will agree to disagree. Why would you so-called sabotage my meeting by causing it not to have quorum?” he said. “That is the worst, most unprofessional … if you do not agree with something you can still have been present and not squashed quorum.”
Butler spoke in response, challenging the mayor on his “berating” of Tripp and noting what she felt was a violation of parliamentary procedure.
“We need to stick to parliamentary procedure and that does not include berating councillors,” she said.
Bringing the discussion back to the chamber, Thompson said her main goal was always to see the chamber “get its act together.”
“This is not personal, but some people in this room make it personal. It has nothing to do with those elected . . but everything to do with how the meeting was conducted,” Thompson said. “Make up your minds, get it together … but get your act together. That is all we are asking. If some councillors want to make it personal and berate other members of council, that is unfortunate and just shows the type of person they are.”
“If you [Butler] weren’t connected with the chamber as you are now, I can bet if … I were to bring it forward, you would be fighting it tooth and nail because procedures weren’t followed,” Hammett said.
After the councillors reports had been received, council moved to the next item on the agenda, the chamber’s fee-for-service agreement. At this point, Konrad invoked Community Charter Section 131-1, which allows him to bring motions back to the table for reconsideration within 30 days of the original vote. During question period, he cited his reason as “confusion” around the original vote and absent councillors at the time.
The motion on the table for reconsideration, originally made by Coun. Colleen Ross at the May 29 special meeting, stated “Be it resolved that council reinstate funding for the Boundary Country Regional Chamber of Commerce for 2017.”
Tripp and Butler were opposed to the motion to bring the resolution back for reconsideration.
Ross, who was attending via phone from Ontario, reiterated her support for her motion and her desire to see the chamber move forward.
“I am listening to what is happening in Grand Forks. I will support my motion and I will continue to give them a chance,” Ross said. “One year is not a lot of time, and there is enthusiasm there. I will support my resolution and let it move forward.”
Coun. Christine Thompson said she had trouble devoting $20,000 to the chamber given the chamber’s membership numbers within the context of the city.
“Twenty-six per cent of business in the city belongs to the chamber, 74 per cent do not,” she said, citing membership numbers provided by the chamber and the city’s own business license records. “It sends to me the message that the business community itself does not support the Boundary Country Regional Chamber of Commerce.”
Coun. Neil Krog weighed in on the matter, stating it seemed as the chamber was “kind of imploding on itself.”
“What makes sense to me is just, hold another meeting,” he said.
Ross once again spoke in support of the chamber going forward, stating she didn’t believe it was in the chamber’s best interest to hold another annual general meeting.
At this point the meeting dissolved into a back-and-forth between Konrad, Thompson and Butler. Butler claimed councillors were only challenging the chamber because of who was elected president, stating “Councillor Thompson, it is personal.”
“You made an accusation, you better take it back,” Thompson said in response.
A gallery member abruptly left after calling the mayor and council names.
Konrad called the question on Ross’ motion; Ross, Butler, Tripp and Krog voted in favour. Thompson, Hammett and Konrad voted against.
After Konrad questioned Krog’s vote, Krog said he was swayed by Ross’ points and felt it was in the best interest of the chamber to move forward, at least for this year.
The discussion then turned to approving the fee-for-service agreement. Thompson promptly raised reducing the amount of the fee for service to $15,000.
Thompson asked interim Chief Administrative Officer Diane Heinrich about the possible scenarios under which the city could provide direct funding to the Downtown Business Association directly, given that it was not a society as of yet.
Heinrich said in response that although it would take some research, she could feasibly see the city arranging a fee for service with the DBA for $5,000 and would examine the possibility. That arrangement would only occur in the event that the DBA officially splits from the chamber and has a bank account and papers of its own.
Thompson made the motion to fund the DBA to $5,000, however withdrew the motion pending research from staff.
Council voted to allow BCRCC president Dean Engen to speak from the floor. Engen addressed some of the other claims in Hammett’s report, notably that the DBA has not received money for the signage project. He said that as soon as signing authority is sorted out as the chamber transitions to a new executive director, the DBA would receive its funds for that project.
At Committee of the Whole that morning Kendra Begg, the new executive director of the chamber (replacing Kathy Wright) was introduced. At the evening meeting Engen was effusive in his praise of Begg and said he had every confidence in her to set the chamber back on course.
Konrad called the vote on the fee for service, the motion to approve BCRCC’s 2017 fee for service agreement as amended (reduced to $15,000 funding) was unanimous.
During question period, in response to a question from the Gazette regarding councillors’ access to private, unadopted BCRCC meeting minutes from June 8, Hammett stated that she had access to the minutes through the DBA.
Several other councillors referenced those minutes throughout the meeting. According to Hammett’s report, it is in those minutes that the severed relationship between the chamber and the DBA is noted.
Also during question period, Butler said in response to a question from the Gazette that the claim that the issues with the chamber were “personal” came from a recording of the meeting made by Wright when she attended a DBA meeting.
“It had been taped at a [DBA] meeting by previous executive director Kathy Wright,” Butler said.