North Huron Council reverses course on Knights of Columbus Centre payment

BY SCOTT STEPHENSON

North Huron Council reversed a decision made last month regarding an unpaid invoice for $74,145.92 from the Wingham Columbus Centre. 

 

The issue came back to council on Monday, July 15 through a Motion to Reconsider put forth by Reeve Paul Heffer. While Heffer was making his argument for reconsidering the decision, Deputy-Reeve Kevin Falconer took over as the meeting’s chair for the second time that night.

 

Heffer began by reminding council that he had voted in favour of not paying the invoice last time around. “After getting new information,” he stated, “we can deal with this in a very positive way. They’re going to pay us the $74,000-plus, and it will go into the [recreation] reserve. Out of that money, we’re going to pay the invoice for the work that was done. And the monies that are paid - it comes off the pledge of the Knights.” Heffer did not offer any insight as to what the new information was, or from whom he had received it.

 

The pledge Heffer refers to is the outstanding balance remaining of the $550,000 the Wingham Knights of Columbus promised during the construction of North Huron’s Wescast Community Complex. The pledge was originally intended to be fulfilled within 10 years of the initial promise of funds in the year 2000.

 

Council voted in favour of reconsidering the decision, and began discussing the merits of Heffer’s proposed plan. Councillor Anita van Hittersum, who voted against paying the bill initially, began by asking some questions. “Why can’t the Knights just pay the bill? Why do we have to go through the process of putting it here, putting it there, and why do they want to put it in the recreation reserve? It’s just about paying a bill, so why can’t they pay the bill directly?”

 

Clerk Carson Lamb did not profess to have those answers, but he sought to clarify if Heffer meant the recreation reserve, or the Wingham Columbus Centre reserve. Heffer confirmed it was the Columbus Centre reserve. This prompted Falconer to ask if it was possible that there was no reason to do things in the way Heffer was suggesting, and received no response.

 

Councillor Chris Palmer spoke in favour of supporting the Knights of Columbus in their efforts to improve the community, and reminded council that there was an existing agreement between North Huron and the Knights that would allow the cost of improvements made to the centre to be applied to the outstanding pledge debt. Palmer suggested they allow the payment to be applied to the outstanding amount owed by the Knights. “They’re improving the building - their hall. Anytime they do something like that, it’s helping the whole [recreation] centre, and North Huron benefits.”

 

Van Hittersum returned to her initial questions, saying they were still unanswered. “They say they have the money available, then they want to put it in the reserve, and then they want to take it out of the reserve to pay the bill. So why aren’t they just right away paying the bill? Because they have the money there - why does it have to be the reserve?” Palmer told her that he had answered her question. “Yeah, it’s an in and an out, basically... but because council agreed that monies they spend within the hall, on the building itself, would be taken off the pledge. That’s the whole idea - they’ll pay the amount, North Huron will pay the invoice, and then we would take it off the pledge that they owe. It makes sense to me. That’s solid.”

 

Councillor Lonnie Whitfield asked whose money is in the reserve. “Is that not money that they’ve pledged to put in there that they actually owe? And we would not be receiving any money out of this? And we’re writing it off as part of their pledge, which I don’t think they’ve finished paying... they're benefiting on both sides here.” Palmer pointed out that the reserve money originated with the Knights. “It’s their money going in, it’s basically the same amount of money going out - it’s not affecting our budget at all.”
Whitfield’s final comment spoke to the logical issue at the centre of the request. “If they paid a $75,000 bill, that would be perfect. That could easily come off their pledge. No problem at all. But they’re putting it in, then we’re taking it out of the funds that we have set aside for future developments and stuff... it looks like, the way the money goes, this is a very simple way for them to get $75,000 off their bill and not have to pay anything.”

 

Palmer put forth a motion for North Huron to receive the amount of $74,145.92 and deposit the money into the Columbus Centre reserve, after which North Huron would pay the outstanding bill for that exact amount, and then deduct that same amount from the outstanding pledge amount that the Knights owe. Council voted in favour of the motion four to two, with Whitfield and van Hittersum voting against.