Category Archives: Inconsistencies

Inconsistent Evaluation Tours

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Some of the accessibility committee’s 7 members will tour 7 facilities over the course of the next year while ALL of the parks and rec committee’s 9 members will tour ALL 24 parks by the end of the year.

Three members of the two committees are the same: Shirley Curson-Prue, who chairs both, and Councillor McArthur and Tony Pietrangelo.

At the August 24 Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting, Pietrangelo noted the document title is municipal property audit locations and asked if playgrounds are municipal properties. The clerk advised they do playground audits as well; they were just waiting on the AODA standards to be updated and that it’s anticipated within a year or so that might move forward for legislation.

At the September 19 Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting, members viewed a document wherein accessibility was mentioned twice in quotes from the Parks Master Plan, currently being updated:

  1. To reflect the evolving role of parks in the Town – including a greater emphasis on events, passive uses and accessibility – a new system for classifying parks in Amherstburg has been developed. 
  2. It is essential that parks are inclusive and barrier-free, as guided by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). To ensure that the parks system is able to serve people from all segments of the community, accessible seating, washrooms, shade (structures and trees), parking, connections to key destinations and safety must be prominent considerations.

Using the Assessment Form, the accessibility committee will tour:

  • Town Hall
  • Libro Centre & Property Tony Pietrangelo, Councillor McArthur
  • Visitor Information Centre Christine Easterbrook
  • Gordon House
  • Amherstburg Public Library Tony Pietrangelo
  • Gibson Gallery Christine Easterbrook
  • Community Hub Tony Pietrangelo, Christine Easterbrook

Prue thought the biggest contention is probably the town hall and suggested they don’t need to do that first because they have the data from the last round.

Christine Easterbrook mentioned she’d never been in the Gordon House, the Gibson Gallery and the community hub. She also asked if they need to do the police station again; the clerk advised it wasn’t included because its public facing areas have been reduced significantly since COVID and it really is only a vestibule.

The parks and rec committee will tour:

  • Alma West Lookout
  • Anderdon Park
  • Angstrom Park
  • Bar Point Park
  • Beaudoin Park
  • Belle Vue House
  • Bill Wigle Park
  • Briar Ridge Park
  • Canard Estates
  • Centennial Park
  • Co-An Park Golfview Park
  • Jack Purdie Park
  • King’s Navy Yard Park
  • Libro Credit Union Centre
  • Malden Centre Park
  • North Gateway
  • Ranta Memorial Park
  • River Canard Park
  • Scodeller Park
  • Seagram’s Garden
  • South Gateway
  • Thrasher Park
  • ‘Toddy’ Jones Park
  • Warren Mickle Park
  • Waterfront Property Project

Procedure By-law Needs An Update

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There are inconsistencies in the delegate application process and Amherstburg’s Procedure By-law, signed on January 21, 2015 needs an update.

The by-law governs ‘the proceedings of Council, the conduct of its members and the calling of meetings in the Town of Amherstburg.

k)  “Delegation” means a person intending to address the Council or committee on a matter where a decision of the Council may be required.

I applied to be a delegate at the March 13 council meeting as I was advised an Open Air report would be presented to council on that date; it is now an agenda item.

CAO Critchley emailed, As noted in the provided attachment, speaking notes have not yet been provided. In accordance with Section 5.4 of the Procedural By-law any materials intended to be presented to Council are required to be provided to the Clerk’s Office in order to review the submission. Once you have these materials together, we can provide further information on this request.

I replied that section 5.4 did not apply since I already knew it would be an agenda item.

CAO Critchley responded, Although your delegation is governed by section 5.2 of the Procedure By-law (and not section 5.4 – my apology for the error), as indicated on the application form to speak at a Council meeting, speaking notes and presentation materials must be provided as part of the application. As you have delegated before Council in the past, I believe you are familiar with this procedure. Please submit your materials before noon on Friday, March 10, 2023.

Before noon Friday, I let CAO Critchley and all members of council know about the inconsistencies. The online delegate application form states, “please upload speaking notes and/or presentation materials.”

The hard copy delegate application form differs in that it states, “**Speaking notes and presentation materials must accompany this request.”

Procedure by-law section 5.2 does not stipulate anything must be submitted, but states, any material submitted to the Clerk shall be circulated to Council as a “Delegation” submission – implying if anyone has any material.

I believe administrative forms should conform to the by-law and the by-law, 2014, should be updated to conform to accessibility legislation and other Acts pertaining to freedom of expression. People with disabilities may have difficulty meeting strict deadlines and requirements. I did inquire, ‘what accommodations does the town provide for persons with disabilities who are unable to attend council/committee meetings in person but wish to provide input?’ 

Other municipalities welcome residents to delegate via a variety of methods: in person, zoom, telephone and written submissions that are not placed under consent correspondence.

Should Minutes Be Consistently Corrected?

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Background

During a council meeting earlier this year, Councillor Michael Prue had a question about committee minutes, the presence of his wife, Shirley Curson-Prue, at a committee meeting and the recording of votes.

Mayor DiCarlo said the minutes would be looked into and any corrections required would be made.

Present

On August 4, 2022, I read the August 8 town council meeting agenda and emailed all members of council that the Amherstburg Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAAC) meeting minutes June 23, 2022 were incorrect.

“The minutes indicate the motion was ‘that the delegation be received.’ However, following my presentation, Chair Shirley Curson-Prue asked, “May I have a motion to receive this document?” Chris Drew said he’d make the motion which was then seconded by Angela Kelly and carried. The audio is available online.”

I assumed errors were to be corrected.

On Friday, August 5, Mayor Aldo DiCarlo emailed, “Thank you for the clarification.”

On Monday, August 8, council received the AAAC minutes without comment.