No investigation of city council disappoints petition organizers

Almost a year after submitting a petition signed by 5, 493 residents asking the Minister of Municipal Affairs for an investigation into city council, organizers have received their answer.
In a letter dated Feb. 16, 2017, Minister of Municipal Affairs Shaye Anderson wrote to petition organizer Laurie Bold stating that he was satisfied that the main concerns raised by the petition had been addressed by Chestermere city council.
“I am very disappointed but I can’t say I’m surprised,” said Bold.
She posted the letter to the Facebook group I Love Chestermere Too.
In the letter, Anderson said that, “based on the commitment made by council to strengthen governance processes related to CUI, I am satisfied that the key concerns that led to the petition request are being addressed.
“I have, therefore, decided that an inquiry into the affairs of the council and administration of the city is not warranted at this time.”
Although The city did conduct its own third party review on Chestermere Utilities Inc. (CUI) and the utility rate-setting process, Bold doesn’t feel that all her and the other organizers concerns were addressed.
“We didn’t want them to do their own review, we wanted municipal affairs to do the review,” she said.
Chestermere resident Al Pleskie is part of the group Citizens for a Better Chestermere and agrees with Bold that not all the concerns have been addressed.
“We find it hard to believe that when you have a quarter of the entire population…sign a petition to say that something is wrong here and you simply sweep it under the rug,” said Pleskie of the Minister’s decision.
He and the other members of his group and the signatories of the petition are concerned about what they perceive to be mismanagement and lack of transparency at city hall.
This is a concern that he believes municipal affairs should have investigated.
“I think as the provincial government they should have looked a little bit deeper, maybe talked to a few people that have brought the petition forward,” he said.
Pleskie thinks the minister should have asked them, “what are the real concerns here, what are your issues, what are the problems.”
Now that the petition process and municipal review process has finished Pleskie and his group are turning their attention to the upcoming municipal election.
They are working to find candidates to run in the hopes that they can replace the current council come the election in October.
Bold, who is tired after all the time and effort she has put into this said that the entire process has been disappointment after disappointment for her but does plan to continue to support Citizens for a Better Chestermere.
“I’m frustrated,” she said, “if the current mayor and council get…reelected in October I am going to be so upset.”