Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Council must lift dome of silence and explain itself on St. Andrew’s

Nov 6, 2019 | 6:45 AM

KAMLOOPS — TIME FOR KAMLOOPS CITY COUNCIL to lift the dome of silence from the St. Andrew’s on the Square mess.

It’s been a month since it was revealed right here that the City was about to yank the rug out from under the Kamloops Heritage Society and pull what amounts to a hostile takeover of management and operation of St. Andrew’s.

In the wake of that news, a lot of things became clear. City staff and Council itself had not done their homework.

As it turned out, there was no prior written agreement that the City would take over the facility after expiration of the current lease. As it turned out, there was no written business case for making a change. As it turned out, the facility has been well-run, it is well-used and the society has money in the bank. And, the public is overwhelmingly happy with the way things are.

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None of the things put forward as an excuse for turfing the society were borne out.

There was supposed to be a council discussion on whether or not to reconsider the decision. Apparently, that happened Tuesday but we don’t know what happened because it was behind closed doors.

The rationale is that this is a contract matter and must be dealt with in camera.

But this is no regular contract matter. It’s about a society of volunteers, not a commercial entity.

This should be dealt with in public by a council that can prove it is able to think on its own, not in secret with the convenient rationale that it’s just another contract. Maybe the only way that can happen is for the public to get mad and let council know it’s treatment of the society is totally unacceptable.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and newspaper editor. He writes five commentaries a week for CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.