No support for NPCA makeup motion from Welland
Welland councillors are not joining efforts by their municipal neighbours to change the way Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority board members are appointed.
Welland Mayor Frank Campion said a motion from the Town of Pelham calling for citizens with expertise in environmental and conservation issues to be appointed to the board seems “redundant,” because municipalities can do that.
“I believe the (Pelham) motion is a lot of talk and not an awful lot of meat to it, because we have the ability to do that anyway,” Campion said.
On Monday, St. Catharines city councillors voted 9-4 to support to Pelham’s motion, but their counterparts in Welland did not follow suit when they dealt with the same motion a day later.
Welland councillors, instead, received Pelham’s motion for information, without discussion.
“I think it’s really up to individual municipalities to determine how they really want to be represented on the board,” Campion said.
Thorold, for instance, is represented by resident Dominic DiFruscio, rather than an elected official.
Meanwhile, Campion said NPCA staff already have the expertise the board and communities rely on.
“You really don’t have to have a whole bunch of expertise on the board, but you need to have an awful lot of expertise on the staff side,” he said.
Campion said the NPCA should instead be focused on “what the issues are, and I don’t think the issues are the composition of the board.”
While acknowledgingmunicipalities can appoint members of the community if they choose, Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn said that “doesn’ t necessarily mean the way we’ve been doing it for the last number of years is the best way, which is that mayors and regional councillors for the 12 municipalities essentially get right of first refusal.
“What Pelham council is saying is that we actually need qualified independent people to sit on the conservation authority board and assist us and make sure that the environment’s protected, wetlands are protected, and watercourses are protected and managed. That’s just not being done,” Augustyn said.