In a scene reminiscent of the recent move by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) board to remain in control beyond their mandate, members of the Thorold Municipal Non-Profit Housing Corporation (TMNPH) have launched a legal appeal to stay in their positions.
The NPCA board from the previous term argued Regional Council had no right to replace them after the election. They lost that battle in court.
Earlier this week, all business attached to the TMNPH Board's operations was placed on hold - including bank accounts - when the previous board mounted a legal challenge to make the appointment of a new board by Thorold city council invalid.
The problem stems from a motion back in November when the sitting board from the previous council term voted to remove the power of city council to appoint the board.
That board consisted of citizens Karen Blackley, Pat Thomson, Daryl Wilkinson, Edward Pizzo and Joe Atkinson, as well as council-appointed members Fred Neale and Sergio Paone.
However, Blackley and Neale have since stepped down, and Paone and Pizzo have applied for, and been appointed to, the new board. That leaves only Wilkinson, Thomson and Atkinson active from the former board.
Atkinson explained to ThoroldNews, "We thought it (the motion) was going to be rubber-stamped. They've (the city) been after us to do this thing for a long time. We finally decided to acquiesce. We decided to create our own board of five to seven members with councillors out of the equation, and 'Municipal' out of the name. Everyone was on board for that until the new council came in. We can’t figure out why the city decided to perform a coup d'état on Thorold Non Profit Housing. We don’t know why it was instigated."
The city, however, went ahead with standard practice and appointed a new board, based on applications received after the fall municipal election.
Atkinson argued that, in his nearly 25 years on the board, they only replaced members upon retirement or resignation of sitting members.
The newly appointed board consists of citizens Sergio Paone, Kevin Cowling, George Ravanek, Edward Pizzo, and Henry D'Angela, along with council member appointees John Kenny and Anthony Longo.
Paone has been named president of the new board. He said, as part of the former board, he voted against the motion and believes the old board did not notify the city in the proper manner to make such a change.
There is definite disagreement on the process, as Atkinson maintained, "Our articles of incorporation basically show that council gets to approve the board, not appoint it."
Paone expressed an entirely different view of the process.
He said, "Thorold Municipal Non-Profit Housing Corporation is appointed by city council but is not a committee of council. Every four years, Thorold city council appoints the board for Non Profit Housing after the election. The bylaws for Thorold Non Profit housing make it very clear that the board is appointed by Thorold city council - all the positions, not just the council liaisons."
He went on to say, "I was part of the old board. We met at the beginning of November to discuss becoming autonomous. The motion was put forward to remove Thorold city council's power to appoint the board. I voted against that but the motion passed. After that point, some people felt they were autonomous now, but my understanding is that Thorold city council still felt they legally had the power to appoint. That’s exactly where it bifurcates. It split off in two directions."
Paone added, "The difference of opinion comes down to whether or not the motion they passed to remove city council as the appointing body was a valid motion. I don’t believe it was. Some former board members believe that it was. I don’t see how the power of Thorold city council to appoint can be removed just by members of a board getting together and saying so."
He added,"Council was aware of the vote but there was a question as to whether that vote led to anything legally changing."
Mayor Terry Ugulini told ThoroldNews, "There's not much I can say as it's in the lawyers' hands. But I am confident of a positive resolution."
Paone echoed that contention, saying, "The lawyers involved are from the city and the former board, not the new board. This is a fight between the former board and Thorold council. I’m confident that in the end, the new board is going to be the board. I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think we weren’t appointed legally. The city acted in what they thought was the proper legal manner based on the applicants."
At press time, it was reported that banking transactions had resumed, allowing the board to pay bills, receive cheques and pay the office manager.
Atkinson offered, "That whole bank thing was an unintended consequence.”
The greater concern is that a new non-profit apartment complex scheduled to begin construction on Artisan's Ridge, at the former Exolon site, may be in jeopardy. The project is estimated at $8 million, including $4 million coming from grants.
Atkinson warned, "I am genuinely concerned that some members of the new board don't know how close they are to losing that grant and being on the hook for a significant amount of loot. We’ve got to settle this in short order because the Region has the right to say ‘They’re in total disarray, so we’re going to swoop in and take it over'."
As one of the council appointed members to the new board, Kenny said, “The unfortunate part is that we have a lot of seniors in Thorold that are waiting for this to be built and I’m hoping that it gets dealt with quickly and we can start building.”
Both Atkinson and Paone acknowledged the comparisons to the NPCA board.
Atkinson said, "It’s not a matter of winning or losing. I wouldn’t be averse to some kind of a joint board until it gets settled one way or another."
Paone stated, "In the end, it’s going to take a judge's decision. It took a judge's decision to get it through to the NPCA board that they were gone. And I’m seeing the parallels here."
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