West Nipissing council meets for the first time in weeks, but sore feelings still on the table

The council of one northern Ontario town did something Tuesday night that it hadn't done since November: successfully hold a meeting to discuss municipal business.

In-fighting among the mayor and councillors of West Nipissing has kept them from meeting regularly, including long periods earlier in the fall as well.

Last week, provincial officials met with the council virtually, warning that the Minister of Municipal Affairs was prepared to step in if a meeting wasn't held by the end of January. 

Tuesday's meeting began with West Nipissing Mayor Joanne Savage agreeing to pull a contentious motion looking to reform the rules for how she communicates with the town's chief administrative officer. 

"We need to go on once and for all to leave that behind," said Coun. Lise Senecal.

Town council went on to unanimously approve plans for the municipal election set for this fall, something it was legally supposed to do last year. 

Council also unanimously voted in a long-delayed vaccination policy for West Nipissing town employees. That followed a presentation from local resident Dave Lewington, who compared "bullying" faced by the unvaccinated to how the opposing factions on council had been treating each other in recent weeks.

West Nipissing council heard that in the absence of direction from elected officials, municipal staff have been making some decisions on their own, including continuing to plow certain private roads without officially approved contracts.

"The municipality was between a rock and a hard place and they did what was best for the constituents," said Coun. Rolly Larabie.

But Mayor Savage wondered if staff's initiative prolonged the impasse at the council table.

"If members of council knew that issues required decisions by council that would affect services to residents, it may have prompted council to come back to the table sooner," she told the virtual council meeting. 

"And the public did not see that difference because decisions were done on our behalf."

Coun. Dan Roveda accused the mayor of "lecturing" councillors.

"It was up to us to come back to the table," he said.

"Regardless of what side of the fence you are, whose fault it was, it was all our problem, all our fault that we didn't meet."

Coun. Lise Senecal said there is still a list of other projects and municipal services that have been stalled along with the council meetings.

"It comes back to councillors that we didn't do our job. That's it," she said. 

"We did not pay as a council for the result of the behaviour, it's the residents."