One councillor wanted to see two long-time volunteers restored to their committee, while another openly questioned that same committee's relevance before voting against the re-appointments at Stratford city council Monday night.
The topic of committee appointments came up again at Monday’s council meeting, specifically on whether two volunteers for the Stratfords of the World (SOTW) committee would be granted the opportunity to continue their work. And just like two weeks ago, council voted to deny them that chance.
For now, at least.
Under the meeting’s new business, Coun. Bonnie Henderson put forward a motion that would have seen SOTW committee chair Joan Ayton and Susan Kummer put back on the committee with exemptions for both to continue serving. When council voted at their November 12 meeting to not grant Ayton and Kummer exemptions and thus remove them from the committee, actions were not taken at that time to reduce the number of seats on the committee. The two vacancies were posted, and Ayton and Kummer were the only applicants.
Following Henderson’s motion, Coun. Cody Sebben said that while in a normal case where candidates outnumbered positions he would have cause to reconsider granting exemptions for long-term members wishing to re-up with that committee. Given that this was not the case, Sebben supported the motion.
“I think it’s a good idea that we encourage more people to participate, not push them away,” he said.
It was at that point that Coun. Brad Beatty spoke out, wondering what the need for a large committee was in this particular case. He pointed out the SOTW committee had just finished their large project in hosting other Stratfords and he didn’t see the need to fill the two spots on the committee. His comments, however, didn’t stop there as he went on to question the relevance of the committee.
“I’ve spent 14 years on council and there is a time and place for those discussions,” he said. “It was a divided council with a 6-5 vote against the motion, and I think putting this off to a future date gives us time to reflect. Heck, I joked last night about punting the Erie Street parking lot down the line for 10 years, so I’m sure we can hold off on this conversation for a couple of weeks. If it is the will of council, as a ‘sober second thought’ to make an alternate decision, that is okay with me.”
Beatty disagreed with Sebben’s assertion that turning away volunteers would have serious long-term consequences, and backed up Coun. Mark Hunter when he asked why the city has term limits for committees if they’re not going to stick to them.
When this topic came up at the November 12 meeting, Beatty was asked why members of the Communities In Bloom committee that he helps oversee were granted exemptions but Ayton and Kummer were not for SOTW, he indicated that Stratford would be hosting the 2025 national symposium and needed ‘all hands on deck’ for that – which also included a request to increase that committee’s size. But asked that question again, Beatty laid part of the responsibility at the feet of previous councils.
“Every term of elected officials shouldn’t be held to their predecessors actions, and this council can make their own decisions,” he said. “Every exemption is based on its own situation, in my opinion.”
The motion failed in a recorded vote 6-5, with Coun. Sebben, Henderson, Geza Wordofa, Lesley Biehn and Jo-Dee Burbach voting in support. A motion to repost the two vacant positions was then passed.
