RCMP not investigating Kelly over land deal
Alberta police say Peter Kelly is not being investigated for any possible criminal wrongdoing for his involvement in a controversial land deal.
A spokesman for the RCMP in Westlock County told The Guardian Monday Kelly is not the subject of any police investigation.
Kelly, who was hired last year as Charlottetown’s chief administrative officer, was found to have contravened Alberta’s Municipal Government Act when he served as CAO for Westlock County.
A municipal inspection report, conducted by the independent third-party Strategic Steps Inc. on behalf of Alberta’s department of municipal affairs, was released last month.
The report found Kelly acted without council approval on a land deal and appeared to not exercise “reasonable oversight of capital project costs’’ while serving as CAO.
Kelly issued a statement on Sept. 1 claiming he was being unfairly made a scapegoat.
He called the report a “witch hunt’’ that was “lacking, disappointing and incomplete at best.’’
Earlier this year, the capital city lifted Kelly’s probationary status as CAO that was put in place due to the ongoing review of the land deal in Alberta that saw Westlock County spend more than $375,000 to develop the land but based on market trends stood to lose more than $200,000 on the deal due to cost overruns.
In giving Kelly permanent status, council made it clear that should he be convicted of being in violation of any law, his employment status would be reviewed.
Charlottetown city council won’t be making a decision of the future of Kelly until later this month.
The city issued a statement last week stating Mayor Clifford Lee and council met privately with a lawyer to review the municipal inspection report.
It was decided more time was required to thoroughly review the report’s details and discuss at greater length with all members of council.