CAO recommends appointing councillors to corporations

City of Powell River elected officials will be voting on appointments to two development corporations at the February 21 council meeting.

Mac Fraser, the city’s chief administrative officer, made recommendations about appointments to the Powell River Waterfront Development Corporation (PRWDC) and the Powell River Power Development Corporation at the February 7 committee-of-the-whole meeting. The recommendations were included in a report, entitled Structure and Membership of Municipal Decision Making Bodies. Fraser has recommended sweeping changes to council’s portfolio assignments, as well as the appointments to the city’s two development corporations.

PRWDC, established in 2003, entered into a limited liability partnership with Tla’amin (Sliammon) First Nation and Catalyst Paper Corporation in 2006 to form PRSC Land Developments Ltd. Each of the PRSC partners purchased shares in the company through wholly owned corporations or subsidiaries. The city’s company is PRWDC. Catalyst’s is 0606890 BC Ltd. and Tla’amin’s is Tees’kwat Land Holdings Ltd.

At the time, there was widespread community concern that elected officials who were directors of development corporations were in a conflict of interest. At the end of November 2006, BC’s ombudsperson informed the city it was initiating an investigation into the issue.

At the end of 2006, Stewart Alsgard, then the city’s mayor, announced that all elected officials would resign from all corporate directorships in January 2007. Alsgard and Sandi Tremblay, then a city councillor, resigned as directors of PRSC. Brenda DeGraag, Bob Astrope and Ted Byng resigned as directors of PRWDC. City officials denied the resignations were linked to the ombudsperson’s investigation.

The power development corporation is a new partnership with Tla’amin (Sliammon) First Nation formed to pursue the development of a run-of-river hydroelectric project on Freda Creek. Fraser said the development corporation exists and its shares are held entirely by the city’s lawyer.

Fraser proposed that Councillor Debbie Dee be pointed as the chair of both the waterfront development corporation and the power development corporation. He also recommended that the director of finance and one other current member of the waterfront development corporation remain as members, for continuity. Additionally, he recommended that the manager of finance, and one of the current members of the waterfront development corporation be appointed to the power development corporation.

As well, each development corporation requires a partnership advisory board to make operational decisions, Fraser said. His report stated that preliminary discussions with Tla’amin staff indicate a “mutual desire to proceed with six member advisory boards, with three members from each of the municipality and [Tla’amin]. It is proposed that the municipal development corporations be advised that the council would like an elected official, a senior staff member and a technically knowledgeable member of the public be selected as members of the PRSC advisory board and the Freda Creek community power advisory board, upon formation.”

During question period, Fraser said the elected official who is the chair of the development corporation would recuse him or herself from a council vote regarding that development corporation. “It is a municipal development corporation and the intention is to have an elected chair of that development corporation to look after the concerns of the municipality, although they must not be part of council decisions regarding that corporation,” he said.

Fraser also said that council will not make a decision that directly influences the advisory board. Councillor Chris McNaughton pointed out that may preclude “two members of council from participating in a decision, which may be a very important decision to the community and would create an imbalance of real taxpayer input.”

Fraser said the Inspector of Municipalities has approved the development corporations, which is a regulatory step. The approval included a proviso for the advisory boards, he added. “The advisory boards are a group that will make decisions about the business and are responsible to the development corporation. The development corporation, in turn, is responsible to council.”

The committee agreed to refer Fraser’s recommendations to the February 21 council meeting, but take more time to consider his proposed changed to the portfolio structure.