A town council left in the dark

Information withheld from Alberton elected officials on Maplewood Manor issue

Alberton Town Council voted 4- 3 Tuesday night to ask the provincial government to proceed to demolish the old Maplewood Manor building as soon as possible. I was strongly opposed to this motion. Mayor Michael Murphy cast the deciding vote when council deadlocked 33.

Randy Noye, a local Alberton developer, has been in talks with the provincial government since April in regards to the old Maplewood Manor. He has extensive plans to develop the property which would generate economic activity for the town.

Mr. Noye’s proposal was on the table when it was halted by two letters sent from Mayor Murphy, stating the town would like to see the manor demolished to make a green space. In both letters he urged the province to demolish the building. Mr. Noye contacted two town councillors to ask why we would want the manor demolished instead of renovated and redeveloped. It came as a surprise to both councillors as it was never discussed at the council table.

Upon hearing about these letters, two within less than two weeks, I requested a copy from the mayor and administrator. The letters were in fact sent to Minister Vessey, Premier Ghiz and MLA Pat Murphy, without council’s consent or even knowledge for that matter. The first letter was sent only three days before the August council meeting but the letter was not included in the correspondence boxes or even made it on our agenda.

At the monthly town council meeting the letters were forced out and a debate and discussion ensued and came to a compromise that if a developer didn’t come forward within a year then we would like to see it demolished. This would leave a window of opportunity available for potential developers, therefore saving taxpayers the demolition bill and the cost of upkeep on the building.

Mayor Murphy did not like the outcome of the meeting so he called a special council meeting with additional information on the manor. When asked what the additional information was, the council was left in the dark, with no information released yet again.

Allan Maynard, a provincial engineer, addressed the council with prepared questions sent from the mayor which were not shared beforehand to the council. Mr. Maynard painted a bleak picture of the building, playing into the mayor’s hand to sway councillors to vote to have it demolished.

Mr. Maynard also stated though that the building is structurally sound. The manor was built in 1967 and does need some TLC but the developer is well aware of the pros and cons and is more than willing to invest the funds that it will take to provide a new service to the town’s residents. As part of the agreement, if the developer doesn’t renovate the building within the next two years it will go back to the province, ensuring that it will not be left as a derelict property.

As a council it is our duty to make educated decisions on behalf of the town and take time to research the issues and consult the public. We cannot do that if the proper information is being withheld.