Coun. Mavridis awaits integrity commissioner ruling

Niagara-on-the-Lake Coun. Maria Mavridis is still shocked and angry that her January began with a letter from the town’s integrity commissioner. 

In a post dated January 5 on her blog at mariamavridis.com, she expressed her dismay at receiving the notice that until the completion of an investigation into whether or not she has a pecuniary interest in matters relating to temporary patios in town, she should declare a conflict of interest on those discussions.

Mavridis says it was an owner of another restaurant in town that has a temporary patio who reported her to the integrity commissioner. She adds that she cannot identify that person because of confidentiality concerns. 

According to the town’s code of conduct, a conflict of interest is defined as any situation in which a member of council has competing interests or loyalties between their personal or private interests and their public interests as an elected representative, potentially influencing their decision in a particular matter. 

Under the province’s Municipal Code of Conduct Act, “the pecuniary interest, direct or indirect, of a parent or the spouse or any child of the member shall, if known to the member, be deemed to be also the pecuniary interest of the member.” 

The provincial act also states that “a member has an indirect pecuniary interest in any matter in which the council if the member is a partner of a person or is in the employment of a person or body that has a pecuniary interest in the matter.” 

Previously, in January, 2023, Mavridis had reached out to the integrity commissioner about a potential conflict on the same topic. She received a letter back confirming that there would be no conflict on any “item where pecuniary interest is shared in common with electors generally.” 

Marvridis’ father Bob owns Corks Wine Bar and Eatery and Firehall Flame, both located in the Queen Street Heritage District. The councillor insists that she has no ownership interest in either business and is just an employee hired by her father.  

“It’s my employment, end of story,” she says. “I ran for council because I wanted to speak where my knowledge is, which is tourism and hospitality. To say that I can’t vote on anything that has to do with a restaurant, does that mean I also can’t vote on anything in the Heritage District?”

Firehall Flame has made use of a temporary patio in the past while the patio at Corks, says Mavridis, is actually considered part of the eatery’s indoor space. 

“It’s permanent,” she says. “It has air conditioning and heating, it has a permanent floor and a roof. We pay property taxes on it.”

Prior to receiving the notice of the complaint against her, Mavridis spoke up during council’s discussion on the temporary patios. Acknowledging that the program had come to an end, she opined that if it is to continue, the businesses taking advantage of it, including Firehall Flame, should pay for the town’s lost parking revenue from parking spaces utilized by them.

“Is it because of that that they complained?” Mavridis questioned. “Or is it because I commented that the capacity of outdoor space shouldn’t exceed their indoor capacity in fairness to non-licensed establishments that pay high rents on the street but can’t increase their space outside?”

Mavridis says she made those comments, as well as others about her worry that continuing the patios will negatively affect the charm of the Heritage District streetscape, out of a concern for a balance between the interests of the town’s taxpayers and its tourism stakeholders. 

“That’s the main reason I ran,” she says. “The way I see it, this program does favour one side over the other, and I want it to be more even. And do you think my Dad liked what I said about the streetscape?”

She adds that during a recent trip to her bank, her teller asked her about the whereabouts of a bench that he and his family had paid for to memorialize their late mother. Apparently, it had been removed by the town to accommodate a temporary patio.

“Piecemealing together things doesn’t make sense to me,” says Mavridis. “You have to have an overall vision. You have to step back and figure out what we want for Queen Street. Things need to get done, and they can’t get done being thrown together, and continuing a program that the AGCO (Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario) ended two years ago.”

As well, though she has yet to receive another letter from the integrity commissioner, Mavridis says that there has been another inquiry about whether or not she should be claiming a conflict on anything that comes before council in the entire Heritage District.

“We work as a team on council,” says Mavridis. “We turn to Erwin (Wiens) when it comes to agriculture, we turn to Nick (Ruller) when it comes to fire department-related issues. Who is going to run for council in the future if they can’t use their expertise?”

At a council meeting on Tuesday, January 16, Mavridis declared a conflict of interest when the topic of continuing the temporary patios was raised. She tells the Local that she will continue to do so until a decision is forthcoming from the integrity commissioner, whenever that might be.

At the meeting, councillors voted to ask staff to create a seasonal program for food and drink establishments – one that doesn't use the word "permanent," but won’t require the town to endorse it each year, which is the case of the temporary one in place since 2020, started as a result of COVID-19.

In the meantime, Mavridis remains adamant that she should have the right to vote on the issue. 

“I do not believe that anything that comes before council regarding Queen Street is a pecuniary interest,” she wrote in the blog, “or anything related to a program for licensed establishments is a pecuniary interest. This is a stretch, in my eyes, ridiculous.”