Bellows named to Niagara Parks board
Sandie Bellows’ appointment to Niagara Parks Commission could be just the first of several moves that would shake up the current board membership.
Bellows, 57, a St. Catharines regional councillor who ran unsuccessfully for the Progressive Conservatives in this summer’s provincial election, was named to the commission Oct. 17 for a three-year term, filling one of two vacancies on the 11-member board.
With one seat still unfilled, the terms of six more will expire before the end of the year, including board chair Janice Thomson on Nov. 15 and vice-chair Joan Andrew on Dec. 31. Both are appointed positions filled by the provincial government.
With the municipal election just wrapped up and new councils being sworn in soon, three more members might or might not return, depending on votes by the councils they represent — Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati for Niagara Region, Mayor Wayne Redekop for Fort Erie and city councillor Vince Kerrio for Niagara Falls.
The fourth, Lord Mayor Pat Darte of Niagara-on-the-Lake, was defeated by Betty Disero and won’t return to the parks board.
The three members whose terms don’t expire this year — Eldon Bennett, Ian Nielsen-Jones and Lois Anne Giles — were all appointed by the former Liberal government.
Bellows said she was attracted to the parks commission, because as a member of St. Catharines city council she worked with Niagara Grape and Wine Festival and saw its role in local tourism.
“Growing up in St. Catharines, we were always going there, to Niagara Falls, so it really interested me,” she said.
As a sales consultant, she said, she’s learned “you not only want to make the sale, you want to build a relationship” with the customer — a skill she said she’ll use as a parks commissioner.
The new Progressive Conservative government of Premier Doug Ford could seek a new direction for the board through its appointments.
Thomson was first named to the parks board in 2010 by the former Liberal government and has served two terms as chair.
She said she applied to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport for reappointment but with just days until her term expires, she hasn’t heard of a decision.
Because the appointments are skills-based, Thomson said, the minister can seek the chair’s opinion before appointing new members. Thomson said she wasn’t consulted before Bellows was named or about the other vacancy.
The two recent vacancies were created when terms expired for provincial appointees Kerry Pond and James Detenbeck.