Fixing what ails the Downtown Barrie BIA could soon sit on city council’s plate.
Monday’s resignation of BIA chairman Rob Hamilton — following a Code of Conduct complaint and an integrity commissioner report — prompted talk about putting the discussion on councillors’ agenda.
“We’re losing the chair (Hamilton) a year and a half into another election and in less than 13 months we go to lame-duck,” said Coun. Mike McCann. “When would it be proper to discuss, as council, the future of the BIA?
“I’m talking the whole organization,” he said. “I think that this council needs to, quite frankly, have a conversation about the health of the BIA, the strength of the BIA, the weakness of the BIA and what’s best for the city.”
Coun. Jim Harris, who represents council on the BIA board along with Coun. Sergio Morales, acknowledged there have been problems.
“I think we might have set a record for BIAs in Ontario, if not Canada, for resignations,” he said. “And we can all wonder about why that is, but I think we might be up to nine resignations in less than two and a half years.
“Does that require some sort of investigation, consideration, evaluation? I would think so,” Harris said.
Mayor Jeff Lehman said the matter should be an item for discussion at a future general committee meeting.
“We have some (BIA) staff that are doing incredible work,” he said. “There are mandates of the BIA that are hugely important that we wouldn’t want to see interrupted in any way.
“So I’d encourage members of council to work on a potential motion, or we can ask for a presentation from their (BIA) staff," the mayor added.
In early 2020, BarrieToday reported six people were voted onto the 12-person BIA board after a byelection was required to fill positions left vacant following the resignations of six people within a span of only a few days the previous October.
Reports of in-fighting on the board over topics such as ethics and procedural rules soon came to the fore, BarrieToday reported. Following the October resignations, city council also removed its representatives, Couns. Clare Riepma and Keenan Aylwin, from the BIA board later that same month.
Coun. Sergio Morales was then appointed to the board as the city’s representative. He was later joined by Coun. Jim Harris.
Council accepted integrity commissioner Suzanne Craig’s report Monday night that Hamilton should be reprimanded and removed as BIA chairman for a derogatory remark “toward Black people," and offensive comments about the homeless, made at a BIA meeting last September.
Hamilton had already stepped down when council made its decision last night.
The province says a BIA is a body established by a municipality using the specific business improvement area provisions in the Municipal Act, 2001. It is governed by a board of management.
The Downtown Barrie BIA says it works in partnership with the City of Barrie.
The BIA board is scheduled to meet virtually later today at 5 p.m.
The term "lame-duck" period mentioned by McCann refers to the time after nomination day when council is restricted from taking certain actions.
A municipal council is not lame duck if three-quarters of its sitting members will continue in the new council, according to Section 275 of the Municipal Act.
"Lame-duck" provisions only apply when it is absolutely certain that more than one-quarter of the members of the outgoing council will not be returning as members of the incoming council.
Nothing in the Municipal Act, however, prevents any person or body exercising authority delegated by council.
