Coaldale politician reprimanded for conduct breach

JACK VAN RIJN’S COMPANY HIRED FOR TOWN WORK

Just days before the municipal election, a Coaldale mayoral candidate has gotten into trouble for making unapproved repairs to a community facility.

Deputy Mayor Jack Van Rijn has been reprimanded for breaching the Council Code of Conduct Bylaw after his company was hired by Town staff to make repairs to the kitchen in the local curling arena over the summer.

The issue came up when a cheque appeared in the August accounts payable portion of the Sept. 25 regular council meeting. At the time, Van Rijn had recused himself from participating in the discussion due to a personal conflict.

Incumbent mayor Kim Craig inquired about a cheque for $1,371.16 payable to Van Rijn Electric for renovations to the curling rink kitchen.

Administration was directed to look into the issue further, particularly in regards to whether Van Rijn would have been required to bring the request to council for approval prior to beginning.

Council had passed the Code of Conduct Bylaw on June 26 of this year.

According to the wording of the bylaw, Van Rijn’s contracted work should have come before council prior to that work taking place.

The matter was added as an in camera item to the Oct. 10 agenda. Discussions made in camera are not privy to the public.

Upon exiting the in camera session, council passed a resolution that Van Rijn had breached the Code of Conduct Bylaw as it related to the awarding of contracts section.

It was determined that Van Rijn should receive a written reprimand and training to ensure breaches do not occur in the future.

Coaldale CAO Kalen Hastings said Coaldale conduct bylaw drafts were generated from similar bylaws in other communities. Additionally, the MGA has guidelines regarding pecuniary interests. Hastings said the Coaldale version further distills those guidelines to make them more appropriate to Coaldale.

In its current form, the bylaw would have required Van Rijn to bring the Town’s request before council at the earliest opportunity. Then, subject to council approval, the company could have then moved ahead with the work.

“The purpose of the awarding of contracts section exists in order to provide a barrier between administration and businesses or entities owned or controlled by a town councillor,” said Hastings.

One question that has come out of the issue is whether the Town of Coaldale had somehow helped this breach occur by contacting Van Rijn Electrical about the work without discussion about the need for the company to bring the request to council prior to starting — which, in this case, could have resulted in a delay of several months.

Due to the summer break, the request would have had to come before the Sept. 25 council meeting.

Hastings said he did not have information on who made the request, as the CAO typically does not get involved in this type of detail.

“Did the person who called — were they aware of the provision in the bylaw? I can’t say, but I’m assuming not,” he said. “Obviously, if they would have known, they would have requested something like this be added to the council agenda.”

Hastings pointed out, however, that the onus is on the council members to make disclosures. This means regardless as to whether the company was contacted by the town or not, it would have still been up to Van Rijn to initiate the process.

He confirmed the matter is being looked into.

“There have been internal communications to ensure all entities of the Town of Coaldale are aware of the bylaw,” he said.

Due to the rules surrounding closed session discussions, Van Rijn declined to comment on the issue.

On his “Jack Van Rijn - Town of Coaldale, Deputy Mayor” page, he referenced a story by another media outlet and claimed the original complaint came from incumbent mayor Kim Craig.