Court date set
A court case levelled at five City of Powell River elected officials is set to begin today Wednesday, April 16.
Fourteen Powell River residents filed a petition in the Supreme Court of British Columbia asking that Mayor Dave Formosa and councillors Debbie Dee, Maggie Hathaway, Jim Palm and Chris McNaughton be disqualified from office. As well, the city itself is named.
Although he is not one of the petitioners, George Orchiston, a Powell River resident, presented a copy of the court document to Formosa, Dee and Palm just before the December 5, 2013, council meeting, saying to each one, “You’re served.”
According to the claim, the petitioners are seeking a declaration that the elected officials voted for two resolutions, passed on September 15, 2011, and are personally liable for $63,000 in loans that were made to the Powell River Waterfront Development Corporation (PRWDC) for which the city is sole shareholder. The petition states that the named members of council were in contravention of the Community Charter as there was no partnering agreement with the PRWDC.
Formosa said to the best of his knowledge the case is moving forward. “One person dropped out and the rest stayed. I’m not worried about the outcome. I know we did nothing wrong.”
At the time the resolutions were passed, the city had a legal opinion from its law firm that it did not need a partnering agreement.
Council rescinded the resolutions authorizing the original loans to PRWDC. PRWDC repaid the loans to the city in July 2013.
