Georgetown pulls out
Mayor Lewis Lavandier says he has ‘mixed emotions’ following council’s decision to leave discussions
Georgetown Mayor Lewis Lavandier says he has mixed emotions following what he described as a “premature” decision by town council to exit the Three Rivers amalgamation discussions.
However, the councillor who introduced the motion, which passed 4-2 during Monday’s meeting, says amalgamation would have made the town weaker.
Lavandier, who was also chair for the Three Rivers steering committee, said he wished residents could have seen the committee’s final recommendations before council’s vote.
“As a mayor, I have to respect the decision of council even if I disagree with it,” said Lavandier. “I feel the residents should have been given an opportunity to see what this could have meant for Georgetown.
“I don’t see that as unreasonable, but at the same time I have to respect (council’s) decision and move on.”
Lavandier also expressed concern about the town’s future.
“I have grave concerns of what’s going to happen to Georgetown if we’re left out of the process.”
Coun. Cody Jenkins, who introduced Monday’s motion and was also on the steering committee, said amalgamation wasn’t in the town’s best interests.
“For some of the communities, they’re going to be stronger together. For Georgetown… we’ll get weaker,” said Jenkins.
He said the town would have a smaller voice in a new municipality, which he said would also make it more difficult to bring capital projects to Georgetown.
“That’s not to say the new council is not going to work together… but it’s still going to be everybody fighting for a little piece of the pie.”
Jenkins said the reason he didn’t wait until the end of the process to introduce the motion was because it would then be more difficult for the steering committee to rework its proposal.
Lavandier said committee vice-chairman Brian Harding would likely take over the chairman’s role, but that will have to be made official during the committee’s next scheduled meeting Tuesday.
The process has been ongoing for about two years and was about to enter a public consultation phase seeking feedback on a final report.
Harding said while the committee was disappointed Georgetown stepped away, he felt it would not stop the process from moving ahead for the remaining communities.
“We continued to go forward because it’s bigger than any one community,” he said. “You can’t stay the same with a population that’s declining. We have to have recreational programs and we have to get an economic development program (in the region)… none of the communities are big enough to make that happen alone. The only way you have strength is by working together.”
The six communities remaining in the process are Montague, Lower Montague, Brudenell, Cardigan, Valleyfield and Lorne Valley. Georgetown Royalty and Burnt Point, two of the four unincorporated areas also involved, are in the process of becoming a separate resort municipality for more leverage in the discussions.
P.E.I.’s new Municipal Government Act was passed in legislature last year, although the province is still finalizing the regulations before is final proclamation. The act will require a mandatory minimum of services that municipalities will have to provide, which is why some smaller town and community councils are looking at amalgamating.