Town concerned over correspondence regarding Wheatland Lodge
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Town of Strathmore Committee of the Whole discussed during the May 8 meeting’s question and answer period, an information package relevant to the ongoing Wheatland Lodge and Hospice project.
Coun. Denise Peterson said she distributed to committee members a five-page packet which contained correspondence chain initiated by a local constituent regarding support for the lodge.
“(Included) on Page 2 is a letter sent by Coun. (Jason) Montgomery to the constituent and on Page 3 is a notification where the constituent called me and clearly in the Apr. 29, 3:46 p.m. notation indicates that she is concerned,” said Peterson. “My concern in all of this relates to the third-last paragraph in this letter where Coun. Montgomery asked the resident if they would put forward an extra $5,000 to $10,000 per year in support of the lodge and hospice, and went on to say ‘can we count on you to contribute extra to this project on an ongoing and yearly basis, and if so, how much?’”
Coun. Peterson explained Coun. Montgomery’s words caused “consternation” to the constituent and were of concern.
Additionally, concerns regarding the correspondence have spread to members of the Wheatland Housing and Management Board that people are disquieted they may be asked for similar amounts of money.
“Because it came from a councilor on (town) letterhead … and the term ‘we’ was used. They were thinking that this was a council initiative,” said Coun. Peterson.
She noted she brought the issue forth to the Committee of the Whole, as no decision would be made immediately by council, and Montgomery would be presented with an opportunity to ‘rethink this’ or retract his statement. It was also suggested that Coun. Montgomery issue an apology for his statements.
Similarly, this opportunity would be before Coun. Montgomery, Coun. Peterson and Coun. Richard Wegener be required to present concerns to the Wheatland Housing Management Board.
Mayor Pat Fule indicated the town’s Code of Conduct Bylaw, Section 5.1 states: “a member must not claim to speak on behalf of council unless authorized to do so.”
“That second-last statement, ‘can we count on you to contribute extra to this project …’ the ‘we,’ based on it coming from a councillor, could definitely indicate that it is on behalf of council,” said Mayor Fule.
“I think there are a lot of lines that have been crossed with this here, and … we are getting responses from our Wheatland Housing Management Body as to what the heck kind of council we are running here, so I think something has to be done,” said Coun. Wegener.
Coun. Montgomery was indicated during the discussion to not be speaking on behalf of anyone save for himself. He was also not present during the question-and-answer period to defend his statements, nor to answer for them at the time.