Council makes its committee picks
The votes have been cast and Niagara Regional Council selected the members it wants to represent it on outside agencies and internal committees.
Four years ago, the selection of councillors for boards and committees was the opening salvo in a war between factions that raged throughout the entire term. There was no evidence of any of that Thursday.
“There was a very cordial feeling in the room,” St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik said. “When you are getting into selections of boards and committees and agencies, there is some natural nervousness and tension. We have 23 new people, and they are hoping to be chosen for certain committees. This time it was all done in a very respectful, congenial way. We have to work together for the next four years — and this was a great start.”
Niagara Falls Coun. Bob Gale was returned to the Niagara Regional Police Services Board along with two newcomers, newly elected mayors Kevin Gibson of Wainfleet and Bill Steele of Port Colborne.
Gibson topped the voting list with 18. Gale had 14 and Steele nine. Niagara Regional Housing, the other high-profile board, needed five representatives from council. Port Colborne Coun. Barb Butters, Welland Coun. Diana Villella, Fort Erie Coun. Tom Insinna, Welland Coun. Gary Zalepa and Sendzik made the cut. Sendzik received 21 votes, Butters 19, Villella 18, Insinna 17 and Zalepa 13.
Both boards made their share of headlines throughout the term. The police board had to deal with ex-Coun. Andy Petrowski’s pratfalls and the blow-back from the controversial decision to give Chief Jeff McGuire a $1million buyout in order to replace him with his deputy, Bryan MacCulloch.
Niagara Regional Housing had to deal with the debate on major governance changes as well as Niagara’s most intractable problem — a social housing waiting list of about 5,000 families. Runners up for the police board who fell one vote short with eight were Welland Coun. Gary Zalepa, St. Catharines Coun. Laura Ip, Lincoln Coun. Robert Foster and St. Catharines Coun. Sandie Bellows. The three positions on the police board attracted 11 councillors looking for seats. Runners-up for Niagara Regional Housing included Welland Coun. Pat Chiocchio with 12 votes, Ip with 11, Niagara Falls Coun.
Barb Greenwood with 10 and St. Catharines Coun. Tim Rigby 10. Eleven councillors put their names forward for the five seats. Council tried to deal with the vacant seats on the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority at its inaugural meeting Dec. 6 by selecting interim board members from each municipality.
They expected to assume their new positions at the next scheduled NPCA meeting on Dec. 12. However, that meeting was cancelled without any public notice.
Regional council responded Thursday by passing a motion requesting the board’s vice-chair call a special meeting no later than Dec. 20. Council also filled seats on the following: the Niagara Parks Commission; Corporate Services Committee; Planning and Economic Development; Public Health and Social Services; Public Works; Accessibility Advisory; Agriculture Policy; Audit Committee; Culture Committee; Linking Niagara Transit Committee; Culture Committee; Niagara Investment in Culture Adjudication Panel; Procedural Bylaw Review Committee; Procurement Advisory Committee; Regional Development Charges Policy Task Force; Regional Niagara Active Transportation sub-committee; Smarter Niagara Steering Committee and Waste Management Planning Steering Committee, Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance and Niagara Peninsula Source Protection Committee.