A resident has requested that City of Powell River report on three issues previously brought to city council by another resident.
In a letter to committee of the whole, reviewed at its meeting on Tuesday, July 16, Daniel Fretts asked for updates on the Hemlock Street loop; an audit of PRSC Ltd., City of Powell River and Powell River Waterfront Development Corporation; plus a report on what is referred to as the dive shop property on Marine Avenue, which has been the subject of legal action.
Requests for information on these matters had also been made by Pat Martin, another local resident.
Fretts stated that many take pride and comfort in living in a free and democratic society where governments abide by their duty to act on behalf of the residents and adhere to the principles of transparency and financial accountability. He stated he was well acquainted enough with several members of the committee and staff to know they are highly motivated to act ethically and respond appropriately to the public they serve.
Councillor Maggie Hathaway, chair of the committee of the whole, said there was a full report on the loop road coming out at the Thursday, July 18, council meeting, and it was available online with the agenda package.
Hathaway said she wanted to correct the mention of a forensic audit in Fretts’ letter. She said a request had been made of Martin to remove the word forensic because it implies criminality. Hathaway said Martin had removed the word from her request and just asked for an audit.
Chief financial officer (CFO) Adam Langenmaier said with regard to responses to Martin’s questions, his department had been working through a backlog that has come about because of statutory reporting requirements that take significant staff time.
Over the summer, Langenmaier said there will be time to respond to Martin.
He said with regard to the audit question, he has looked at the city’s past audit reports and in every one he has examined there have not been any issues reported by the auditors, which does not give him evidence to spend time and money re-auditing information where no issues have been found.
Councillor George Doubt said council has not made any decisions to have any further auditing beyond what has occurred. The questions asked by Martin were addressed to some extent by the city’s auditor during the annual audit, according to Doubt. He said that he, the CFO and chief administrative officer are setting up a meeting with Martin to go through the questions in detail.
Regarding the old dive shop, Hathaway said she has talked with staff about what to do with the matter. She said the city signed a non-disclosure agreement and there is no way the details can be disclosed. The city would be open to legal action in this instance, according to Hathaway.
She said there are some court documents pertaining to the matter that are public and that staff could post those on the city’s website so people could peruse what is public information.
