Arena inspection underway and delegation powers reconsidered after construction scandal rocks Rossland
By Andrew Bennett
Following the townhall meeting of Jan. 4 when more than 70 Rosslanders packed the Senior's Hall to demand action on long-suppressed "mistakes" made during the arena upgrades project of 2010 and 2011, council and Mayor Greg Granstrom convened a special, closed-door meeting on Jan. 8 to decide what action to take.
At the regular meeting on Jan. 14, the mayor announced that an inspection of the upgrades is now underway. In addition, a select committee of three councillors has been formed to review the Delegation Bylaw, widely viewed as a core reason for the "oversights" that allowed former building inspector Jason Ward to allegedly award his own company, ADA Co. Inc., approximately $185,000 in untendered contracts, violating both his own contract and the city's purchasing policies.
Although it only just began, the inspection has already found faults in the new electrical system installed by ADA, for which no building permit was taken out. The inspection's final report is expected in two months, at which time council will consider further action.
Finally, the mayor announced that he had contacted the RCMP.
"I can't say much right at this time," Granstrom said, "but I will say that I've had some discussions with the RCMP regarding the arena project, and just what the process would be if there were a need to proceed with any other efforts."
Arena inspection underway
"Council, at the meeting on Jan. 8, made a resolution to do an inspection on the arena upgrades," Granstrom said on Jan. 14. "That inspection is now underway. There will be a report coming to council, I suspect within two months, at which time council will deal with it."
The Jan. 8 meeting minutes do not indicate the debate that took place, but council "resolved that council direct staff to hire a qualified inspector to review the work contracted to ADA Co. Inc. at the Rossland Arena performed during 2010 and 2011, and a review of the invoices associated with this work."
Furthermore, council "resolved that council direct staff to ensure that the structural component of the work performed on the Rossland Curling Arena is structurally sound." The curling rink upgrades were also performed by ADA Co. Inc.
“I will also say that part of the inspection will involve the electrical. In fact, there was no permit taken out on the electrical. We have a report—that we have not seen yet—that says there were problems with the electrical. So there are problems there the city has to take care of.
“I cannot say any more at this time because we don't know it. The resolution by council to do this inspection has resulted in this finding, and council and the city are dealing with it.”
The mayor then moved to the public input period, but none of the public in attendance chose to address council.
Committee to reconsider delegation powers
The mayor raised a motion during members' reports: "I would like council to strike a select committee to discuss a new delegation bylaw,” he said.
Delegation bylaws are intended to relieve councils of some of their decision-making burden, placing the responsibility on the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) instead.
The particular Delegation Bylaw that Rossland passed in 2009—replacing an earlier bylaw from 2007—gives the CAO, "all the powers, duties and functions of council" to make agreements on behalf of the city, particularly with respect to development permits. The delegation power is currently only limited only by the city's purchasing policy, financial plan, and the Officers Bylaw, and the ability for complaints to be addressed to council within 30 days.
The complete bylaw is attached below and available online
The mayor continued, "I suggest Coun. [Tim] Thatcher, Coun. [Jody] Blomme, and Coun. [Cary] Fisher be the committee members due to the fact that they can have a fresh look at things, and at the Delegation Bylaw, and come back to council with recommendations."
Coun. Kathy Moore and Coun. Jill Spearn objected. "I think we should have at least one experienced councillor on there," Moore suggested. Thatcher, Blomme, and Fisher were all new to council after the 2011 election.
"I agree with Coun. Moore," Spearn added. Moore asked, "Why don't you just do it as a COW [committee of the whole]?"
"Because I'd like three people to sit down and go through this thing, and then it will come back to council and we can discuss it, okay?" Granstrom replied.
"So, it'll all be ex officio, alright?" he continued. Ex officio members of a committee are members appointed “by virtue of their office," according to Robert's Rules of Order, in this case by virtue of the councillors' positions on council.
Council carried the motion.
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| delegation_bylaw.pdf | 16.42 KB |
