The Village of Carbon had planned this year to work on repairing critical infrastructure but now will have to wait for the results of a plebiscite to go forward.
Last year the village undertook a review of its infrastructure to identify areas that needed attention.
“These are not improvements, not upgrades, these are repairs,” said Mayor Bryan Peever. “There are five areas in town, primarily on Bruce and Aberdeen and Grey Street.”
Carbon council brought forward a borrowing bylaw to take out a loan of $700,000 to undertake these repairs. However, a group of residents circulated a petition which was deemed successful.
“The petition was sufficient, and according to the Municipal Government Act we must obey the petition,” said Peever.
“Now the town must spend another $5,000 to have a referendum to find out if they want their infrastructure repaired.”
At the October 3 council meeting, council had the decision as to whether it should cancel the borrowing bylaw outright, or “decide to proceed with the proposed bylaw or resolution and submit the bylaw or resolution to a vote of the electors within 90 days after the chief administrative officer declares the petition to be sufficient.”
It noted if the council wished to proceed with the bylaw and submit it to a vote of the electors, the administration recommended hosting an open house, informing the residents of the villages of what the borrowing bylaw is to be used for and what areas the village will be repaired.
Peever said they are planning to hold the vote in the middle of November.
He also notes he feels the petition is not simply about the finances of the village.
“It has nothing to do with money or policy. It has been widely publicized on Facebook by the petitioners the reason they are doing this is to get rid of the CAO and the Mayor,” said Peever.
This has not been the first petition that has been submitted in recent history in the village. A petition to have the CAO removed was rejected by the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
Last week the Mail also reported while a petition to inspect the affairs of the Village of Carbon was deemed sufficient, the Minister's office, after a preliminary review, declined to conduct an inspection and that “there was no indication that council is acting beyond its legislated authority.”
