Angry that the Heritage Advisory Committee was slated to be shut down without any prior warning, committee chairman Scott Hellings made a persuasive presentation to city council about why the idea was wrong.
Hellings spoke to council during its Oct. 28 executive committee meeting. His presentation came before a council discussion that looked at a report from the city clerk’s office that summarized a review of all the municipality’s advisory boards, committees and commissions.
The report put forward a recommendation to disband some committees, to combine others, and to leave some as is. The Heritage Advisory Committee was one group recommended for disbandment.
Council eventually approved a recommendation to keep the heritage committee. The recommendation has to be approved at the Nov. 12 regular meeting to be official.
Council discussion
The intent of shutting down the heritage committee was to redistribute the tasks among other groups, such as the inclusion committee, murals committee, and parks and recreation committee, explained city clerk Myron Gulka-Tiecho.
There is a poor synergy between some of those committees, but there is good harmony between the murals and heritage committees, said Mayor Fraser Tolmie. He wondered if heritage would work with murals since the latter creates artwork that reflects the community’s past.
Hellings was willing to find a compromise, he said, but was still concerned about heritage being de-emphasized. He thought the recommendation to disband the committee was short-sighted and wanted council to reconsider the suggestion.
Presentation
Besides the heritage committee, city administration also proposed disbanding the Municipal Planning Commission, the Economic Development Commission and the Housing Advisory Committee, Hellings said during his presentation. He pointed out that the housing committee had difficulty meeting due to a lack of quorum, while the economic development committee had not met in 18 months.
The heritage committee, however, meets every month of the year and has only been cancelled four times in the last four years.
“In other words, we are engaged. We are passionate,” Hellings said.
While heritage members responded to an online survey about the review process, Hellings was puzzled about why no one from city administration consulted with the committee directly. He thought someone could have spoken with members a few minutes before a meeting.
What concerned Hellings the most was the heritage committee’s duties were being divided among other groups. He though heritage was being de-emphasized, even though heritage is what defines the community and is part of the downtown local area plan. The plan’s consulting team told Hellings that maintaining the downtown’s heritage was the No. 1 issue heard during public consultations.
One recommendation in that plan is to create a heritage resource inventory, something the committee has investigated, Hellings said. Recently, he and another member attended a workshop about that topic. Such an inventory would have to be performed by volunteer committee members.
“Who will do it now? Will it fall by the wayside? Or will it be left for planning to work on?” Hellings asked. “If so, doesn’t that make more work for them when we are worried about overloading city employees?”
Disbanding the heritage committee sends the wrong message even if other committees will handle heritage issues, he continued. Council is sending a mixed message by saying it values heritage but eliminated the lone municipal committee dedicated to it.
“I am passionate about our city’s history and that is why I joined this committee in the first place … ,” Hellings said. “I may not be an expert, but I can tell you why a particular building in this city matters because I have a direct, personal connection to it. That is an important component.”
The issue that Hellings thought was most ridiculous was how changing the committees will save city hall $8,000. He understood that times were tight, but pointed out $8,000 wouldn’t repair the Natatorium, fix the Fourth Avenue Bridge, replace the cast iron water mains, or provide an extra hour of operations at the Kinsmen Sportsplex.
The municipality’s 2019 operating budget $48.5 million, but council was worried about $8,000, he added. He believed the community’s heritage was worth more than that.
The next executive committee meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 12.
