Half of Pelham Town Council fails to attend meeting

Pelham Town Council was finally able to complete the agenda begun during its four-plus-hour Aug. 22 gathering, this time at a special Aug. 30 meeting called for the purpose, although on this occasion outgoing Councillors Lisa Haun and Marianne Stewart joined Ron Kore in not bothering to attend.

No public explanation was provided for the trio’s absence, which came eight days after both Haun and Stewart voted twice against extending the original meeting to work through a long agenda—the size of which was a direct consequence of the so-called Gang of Four’s longstanding resistance to spending the time necessary to oversee Town business, resulting in continued delays and deferrals. Lame-duck Ward 2 Councillor Kore has now missed two straight virtual gatherings after failing to appear Aug. 22. Neither Kore nor Haun responded to a request for comment to explain their absence. Councillor Marianne Stewart told the Voice that she was “unavailable due to planned vacation time,” adding the non sequitur, “As I recall, Councillor Hildebrandt said that he is not usually available on Tuesdays due to prior commitments.”

Yet Hildebrandt was present to make quorum last Tuesday with a four-member meeting of Mayor Marvin Junkin and Councillors Wayne Olson and John Wink attending on video, with Hildebrandt phoning in. While regular council meeting are held on Mondays except on statutory holidays, last Monday was Councillor Wink’s birthday, prompting the bump to Tuesday.

The scaled-down group managed to efficiently accept a staff report on the Town’s new comprehensive zoning bylaw, then pass it, unanimously voting to waive an Ontario Municipal Act recommendation that new zoning bylaws freeze amendment and variance requests for a period of two years after passage. An initial proposal only suggested the exemption apply to the residential zones of Pelham, but Wink said it would make sense to apply it to all zoned lands.

“Effectively it’s kind of shutting out the Committee of Adjustment for two years,” the Ward 2 councillor said.

“I would be happy to have no restrictions,” Ward 1’s Olson added.

The most lengthy topic of discussion, however, surrounded Wink’s motion to have staff report back about a potential bylaw regulating the delivery of free newspapers and flyers on residential properties.

Hildebrandt, who initially seconded Wink’s motion, retracted his support.

“I understand what Councillor Wink is saying,” said Hildebrandt, “however I’ve had two residents challenge me on my transparency. They say I’m trying to eliminate media reporting on my activities in council. And I have no intention of ever eliminating the media or saying whatever they want about my votes, how I vote, or my comments made in council. I’m saying I’m totally transparent, so I will not be voting to support this.”

Hildebrandt added that local businesses also depend on the papers to get their advertisements and flyers out to consumers.

I have no intention of ever eliminating the media or saying whatever they want about my votes, how I vote, or my comments made in council

Wink stressed that the proposal comes from residents’ concerns regarding papers and flyers not being placed in mailboxes, and thrown on lawns where weather elements can quickly convert them into messy debris.

“So, no one’s trying to limit freedom of speech … no one’s trying to negate local businesses from advertising, it’s a matter of how they deliver,” Wink said.

Wink added that he and Junkin had met with a representative of Niagara This Week, the bulky, plastic-bagged weekly that has given rise to the complaints, and which is delivered for the most part from moving vehicles.

“They would prefer not to have cars driving down the street and chucking the papers in the driveway, but their dilemma is they can’t find sufficient carriers to deliver to the doors,” he said. “But they have provided alternatives of what may work.”

While Fire Chief and Chief Bylaw Enforcement Officer Bob Lymburner said that companies will stop unsolicited deliveries to an address if a resident contacts them and tells them not to, Wink said several citizens have not found success via that route. The Voice maintains a list, updated weekly, of such requests, which the newspaper’s carriers are instructed to follow. Voice carriers also walk from home to home.

Olson questioned how such a bylaw would be enforced, but volunteered to second Wink’s motion after Hildebrandt pulled out. Hildebrandt was the only no-vote on the matter.

Council also unanimously passed a bylaw to enforce parking rules on Town-owned land, specifically the MCC.