Efforts at collaboration between the town, county and Village of Clyde have reached an impasse.
The last time the three municipalities met as part of the collaboration process with the assistance of the facilitator paid for by a $250,000 grant from the province was back in July.
At that meeting, the municipalities agreed to work towards improved collaboration in four areas: community growth, community services, regional utilities, and airport governance and management options.
However, since that meeting there has been little communication between the three municipalities, to the point there is a lack of consensus regarding the status of the collaboration talks.
Highlighting this uncertainty is Town of Westlock mayor Ralph Leriger’s understanding that the facilitator is no more.
“After that last meeting we received a CC of an e-mail to our facilitator ending the need for his services,” he said.
“We were shocked by that because there was no consultation with either us or the Village of Clyde about that decision.”
Village of Clyde mayor Doug Nyal echoed Leriger’s comments, and added a sense of uncertainty now hangs over the process.
“Since that date the county has released the services of the facilitator,” he said. “Being the managing partner they released the facilitator, so where we’re at right now remains to be seen.”
That the county would end the relationship between the three municipalities and the facilitator was unexpected, Leriger said.
What’s even more confounding is he could find no record of the county making that decision.
“I can find no evidence of a resolution of council, at least in the minutes they’ve posted on their website, to support that,” he said. “Everyone knows, or should know, that a council acts by resolution.”
While Leriger and Nyal are in the dark about the county relieving the facilitator, county reeve Bud Massey explained the reason why the facilitator is no longer involved in the collaboration process.
“The meetings with the facilitator have been suspended in an attempt to have the three parties sit down and discuss the focus they want to have so it is more productive,” he said.
He stressed the facilitator was not fired, but instead placed on hiatus, “so the agenda we have will be driven by the three municipalities and less by the facilitator.”
When asked about Leriger’s belief the collaboration discussions had been put “on the shelf,” Massey said that’s inaccurate.
“My understanding, from our council’s point of view, was the discussions would continue on, but the three parties would talk about the issues to see where we want to put the majority of our focus,” he said.
Massey also took issue with the contention the county had acted unilaterally in firing the facilitator.
“No one partner could say, ‘This is what we’re going to do,’” he said.
“It was the recommendation from Westlock County that we do that (put the facilitator on hiatus) until we have a meeting between the three parties and make a decision.”
He added pending the outcome of the proposed meeting between the town, county and Clyde, the facilitator could very well be brought back into the mix.
