Creemore Medical Centre Board cut
As part of an ongoing debate about what to do with Clearview’s overabundance of volunteer boards and committees, the mayor called a special meeting Monday to consider further reductions.
CAO Stephen Sage presented the fifth report on the subject, containing three options. Council debated and passed the option to dissolve five committees, including the Creemore Medical Centre Board, as of Jan. 1. Deputy Mayor Barry Burton proposed an amendment to the motion to preserve the board saying, the medical centre was built by the “heart of the community” and dissolving the committee would disillusion the volunteer members and hinder doctor recruitment efforts.
The decision took Creemore Medical Centre Board chair Marg Purkis by surprise.
“I am very disappointed, especially in the way the motion was brought forward because there was no notification to the boards that this was going to happen,” said Purkis.
“I was told by the mayor, when he asked me to take the position of chair, that I would have the support of council and staff,” said Purkis. “I feel they have reneged on that deal.”
The agreement was that the medical centre board would continue in an official capacity to recruit doctors, while township staff would manage the finances and the maintenance of the building.
“I have no sense of what they continue to expect from the board if they dissolve the board,” said Purkis.
There has been no official notification about this vote and what it means for the board. She said the board will have to wait and see what happens and discuss how to proceed.
“You can’t cut it two ways. You still need the authority of a board behind you to represent the medical centre in terms of recruitment and rental of the available space,” said Purkis. “Where is the authority for me to approach anyone on behalf of the medical centre in regards to recruiting or tenants, I won’t have that authority.”
They have been working through the Rural Ontario Medical Program (ROMP) to find doctors who would like to work in Creemore and interest has been expressed but nothing is signed.
Part of the concern about the number of volunteer boards and committees relates to proper reporting as new integrity legislation comes down the pike but Purkis said the board has followed all the rules.
An amendment proposed by Councillor Thom Paterson did spare the Creemore Log Cabin Service Board, which was also up for dissolution Monday. The proposal was to dissolve the board and make programming the responsibility of the parks and recreation department.
Paterson said the move would be a poor treatment of volunteers and asked for an exception for the log cabin.
In a split vote he, Burton and Councillor Shawn Davidson – who said he didn’t see much difference between the log cabin and the township’s community halls, which were not on the chopping block because of the amount of work needed to manage bookings – voted to keep the board in place. Councillors Doug Measures, Deborah Bronée and Robert Walker voted to dissolve it. The mayor broke the tie to maintain the board.
“We are very gratified that we can continue our programming and promotion as we have been doing, effectively, we think,” said Creemore Log Cabin chair Chris Raible. “It was a surprise to me to learn about it without being directly informed.”
He said he doesn’t fault the municipality for reviewing the relationship between volunteers and administrators.
“I think council has had a difficult time sorting out a variety of problems and I can’t tell them how they should go about dealing with them. I think it’s perhaps unfortunate that they tried to deal with them all in one bunch rather than dealing with individual problems…,” said Raible. He added that the log cabin board has had no issues with its procedures.
The Cybergnomes, Clearview’s competitive robotics team, will also be dissolved as of Jan. 1, with the plan of making it a parks and recreation department program.
Committee chair Gary Page said that plan was rejected by the committee and the organization is now looking at other affiliation partners.
The Sunnidale Winterama board will become Friends of Clearview Township and continue to organize the annual event in New Lowell, and the New Lowell Recreation Board will dissolve and the park will become the responsibility of staff.
Bronée chairs both committees and supported the transition. She also moved to dissolve the Recreation and Culture Advisory Committee, which passed. Her reasoning is that a lot of the duties and decisions are already being made by council and staff.
In an earlier round of restructuring, committees for Carruthers Memorial Park in Avening and the Nottawa Ball Park were also dissolved.
At this time, the Youth Services Committee, the cemetery boards, and the hall boards will remain in place but the Clearview Small Halls Committee will be reviewed after the event this fall. Four legislated committees – the library board, committee of adjustment, the accessibility advisory committee and the Creemore BIA – are also not affected.
The committee review has been ongoing for a year.
“Beginning in early 2015 Mayor Vanderkruys approached both the CAO and Clerk Fettes with some concerns around the operation and the mandate of some of Clearview’s committees and boards,” reported Sage. “Due to pending changes to legislation staff felt that it was imperative to provide council the opportunity to prepare for the possible consequences of the legislative changes, particularly as they may relate to requirements placed upon municipal volunteers. Both staff and members of council have heard from Clearview’s volunteer organizations with respect to their needs and concerns. Unfortunately, due to the dynamic nature of all of Clearview’s committees and boards it has become obvious that a consensus as to the needs of the various groups has not been realized. Some of Clearview’s volunteers have requested very little input or oversight by council or staff. However, there are numerous instances from the other end of the spectrum where the volunteer organization has asked for significant help from council and staff.”
Sage said communication with boards has been a struggle. Council members were tasked with communicating with volunteers about Monday’s meeting, and their options for restructuring throughout the process.
“I don’t know what staff could bring to the table that we haven’t already brought,” said Sage. Later adding, “Maybe you sense some frustration from the report. We are frustrated.”
He went so far as to advise that if a decision could not be made, the issue should be set aside until the next term of council.
The concern is that with new legislation, comes requirements for a code of conduct for council and local boards, and the possibility of being investigated by an integrity commissioner.
As a result, council also agreed to hire a committee clerk who would attend all committee meetings, work with chairs to prepare agendas, take minutes and administer volunteer training among other duties.
