(Photo: Quinte News / File)
A handful of Brighton council members say it’s unfortunate that Monday night’s scheduled meeting was called off, after council couldn’t agree to approve the agenda.
The conflict started when Councillor John Martinello tried to have two notices of motions added to the agenda as motions, in order to have them voted on that night.
One involved pushing for a public meeting on some proposed bylaw changes, the other revolved around questions about payments to an engineering firm, overseeing the town’s water treatment plant.
But Councillor Brian Ostrander rose on a point of order which was backed up by Deputy Mayor Laura Vink, sitting in the chair in the absence of Mark Walas.
Ostrander tells Quinte News the items just weren’t urgent enough, in his eyes, to be added to the agenda immediately.
But Martinello feels the items are extremely important and need to be addressed right away.
After a tied vote of three-to-three, defeating Martinello’s call to have the items added to the agenda, another vote on approving the agenda also tied and was defeated, effectively putting an end to the meeting.
Councillors Vink, Ostrander and Tadman had voted to not add the items, but to approve the agenda, while Councillors Martinello, Baker and McMurray all voted to add the items, but not to approve the agenda.
Any business that was to be settled on Monday night, will now be added to the agenda for the next scheduled meeting, on December 19, 2016.
