That Dam Decision

Posted by on October 31, 2012 in CITY GOVERNMENT, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, QUESTIONS TO COUNCIL, STAFF | Leave a comment

Ron Bolin: Oct.31, 2012
Following is an exchange with the City on some aspects of Monday’s surprise announcement  of a decision to remove two of the three dams at Colliery Dam Park which had been recently passed at an in-camera meeting of Council.  I have been seeking information about that decision, in particular the reports on which the decision was made and the reason why it should have been made in camera.
Ms. King, Acting Manager of Legislative Services, has aided my inquiries to the extent of her position for which I am most grateful.  I will, however, be following up with other officials as she has suggested.
As per email correspondence, the following exchange starts at the bottom and works its way up to the latest.  I have inserted a line between messages to aid in following the thread.
You can see that my request for copies of the reports of 2010 and 2012 has been answered, but caution that if you want to download them they are substantial, with the 2010 report being over 50Mb in size and the 2012 over 20Mb.
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Ms. King,
Thank you again for your prompt response.
I understand your position and will take up the matters regarding the decision to go in-camera with others as you have suggested .
Thank you also for providing links to the documents I was seeking. Naturally I have not yet had time to review them, but I appreciate your effort in finding and passing them on. While I anticipate that I will not be able to comment on the technical information contained, at least I will have some substance on which to ponder the process which we are going through.
Thanks again for your consideration.
Ron Bolin
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From: Kris King
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 4:39 PM
Subject: RE: Information regarding the disclosure of dam decision

Mr. Bolin,

I am sorry that you do not see the direct link between the sections (of the community charter) quoted and that fact that this matter was discussed in camera. There is nothing further that I can provide to you with respect to the contents of the in-camera agenda.

If you wish to discuss this further, I suggest that you contact Douglas Holmes, Assistant City Manager/General Manager of Corporate Services at 250.755.4488

The documents that I think you are describing are on the website that can be found on the link that I provided previously. They are on the right hand side described as:

These are the documents that I understand you are looking for. If they are not, I will need a further description.

Kris King

Acting Manager of Legislative Services

City of Nanaimo

455 Wallace Street

Nanaimo BC V9R 5J6

250-755-4405

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From: Ron Bolin [mailto:rlbolin@telus.net]
Sent: October 31, 2012 2:55 PM
To: Kris King; al.kenning@nanaimo.ca
Cc: Mayor&Council
Subject: Re: Information regarding the disclosure of dam decision

Thank you Ms. King for your prompt response to my inquiries.

I’m afraid I fail to see the direct link between the sections quoted and the decision to use the in-camera approach to this important issue. Perhaps you or other Staff or Councillors can tell me whether we were in receipt of a notice of litigation in this matter; whether, and if so, how, the provincial or federal governments are directly involved in this matter; and whether we have received information directly impacting this decision from our or other solicitors.

The information that I am seeking consists of the original documents from the 2010 study and its 2012 follow up which led to this decision. This request is not met by that contained in the link which you have provided, despite the interest which it may hold.

Thanks again for your further consideration.

Ron Bolin

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 From: Kris King

Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 1:25 PM

Subject: RE: Information regarding the disclosure of dam decision

Good afternoon Mr. Bolin:

Below are the answers to your questions in the order that you have requested them.

1. The following sections of the Community Charter were cited in our procedural motion and published in our notice with respect to the Colliery Dams topic on the “IC” Agenda:

Community Charter Section 90(1):

(g) litigation or potential litigation affecting the municipality;

Community Charter Section 90(2):

b) the consideration of information received and held in confidence relating to negotiations between the municipality and a provincial government or the federal government or both, or between a provincial government or the federal government or both and a third party.

In hindsight, I probably should have included the following as well:

Community Charter Section 90(1):

(i) the receipt of advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose;

2& 3 Here is the link to the Colliery Dam information on our website:

http://www.nanaimo.ca/EN/main/departments/Engineering-Public-Works/13038/CollieryDamRemovalProject.html?utm_source=goto&utm_campaign=goto&utm_term=dams&utm_medium=goto

The 2 studies are located there (last 2 items on the right-hand side of the page).

Related to your follow up question: I am not aware of a City of Nanaimo library where reports which have been undertaken either by or for the City are filed and available to both Staff and the Public.

Kris King

Acting Manager of Legislative Services

City of Nanaimo

455 Wallace Street

Nanaimo BC V9R 5J6

250-755-4405

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From: Ron Bolin [mailto:rlbolin@telus.net]
Sent: October 31, 2012 11:53 AM
To: Kris King
Subject: Information regarding the disclosure of dam decision

Good morning Ms. King:

I would appreciate information on the following matters regarding Monday’s dam decision:

1. The section in the Community Charter which enabled Council’s decision in this matter to be taken in-camera;

2. Knowing where I can find and access the 2010 report on the City’s dams which apparently identified the two Colliery Dam Park’s dams as dangerous; and

3. Knowing where I can find and access the 2012 report on this same subject.

Related to these questions, does the City of Nanaimo maintain a library where reports which have been undertaken either by or for the City are filed and available to both Staff and the Public?

Thanking you for your prompt consideration, I remain,

Sincerely Yours,

Ron Bolin