Niagara-on-the-Lake Local received the following Letter to the Editor from an attendee of a recent council meeting.
I attended the special council meeting on October 16, 2024 and as usual left feeling cheated by the “group of five” who seem determined to once again fly in the face of the residents of this town. If they were not going to follow the traditional route of filling a council seat by looking to the ninth placed candidate why were we not informed. Al Bisback ticked all the boxes: he is an experienced council member with an excellent reputation who was just 66 votes short of the eighth placed candidate. Once again the council cleared the room for a closed meeting, all six residents in attendance had to wait for 45 minutes in the lobby while "other options" were discussed and of course because it was a closed meeting we have no knowledge as to how the appointment was made. How many other candidates were considered? Was it ever announced that this seat was open to applications from the public? I along with many others voted for Al Bisback but apparently that does not count with this council.
When the council announced it would be a closed meeting I knew once again they were going to ignore the wishes of the residents. We well remember the closed meeting of December 15 when the council decided to offer Mr. Marotta the Heritage Trail to use as a roadway to access the proposed Rand Subdivision. Did the council not learn from this secret decision when the wrath of the residents was unleashed big time.
I am asking for transparency and honesty and I strongly object to the outcome of the October 16 special council meeting.
My sincere thanks to Councillors Burroughs and O’Connor for consistently considering the good of the residents and the town of NOTL and for voting accordingly. You are very much appreciated.
Heather Harvey
Niagara-on-the-Lake
