This one is basically a cut and paste entry. The following are the minutes from my final Council meeting on May 16.
Pay special attention to every seconding of a motion. I thought it was pretty clever at the time but it's even better seeing it in black and white. :)
I've bolded the parts I want you to make note of.
You don't really have to read the whole thing if you don't want to. It's rather dry reading.
It is a pretty good idea of what goes on at the meetings though.
By the way, I should mention that I was pleasantly surprised the other day when the Mayor called me and mentioned that she had read my last blog entry.
She called to clarify that the names of people offering to be on Committees will be brought forward by the Committee Chairs themselves and voted on by Council.
It will be in September or so when it's done. That's fine since not much really goes on during the summer months in the Committees.
I'm happy to see that someone is actually taking a look at this blog after all.
Here are the minutes.
VILLAGE OF NEW MARYLAND COUNCIL
May 16, 2012
Present: Mayor Frank Dunn
Deputy Mayor Judy Wilson-Shee
Councillor Paul LeBlanc Councillor Gisèle McCaie-Burke
Councillor Tim Scammell
Councillor Scott Sparks
Also Present: Cynthia Geldart, Chief Administrative Officer/Clerk
Karen Duncan, Assistant Clerk
1. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Dunn called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm.
2. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
MOVED BY Councillor McCaie-Burke and seconded by Councillor Scammell to approve the agenda as distributed. MOTION CARRIED.
3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
MOVED BY Deputy Mayor Wilson-Shee and seconded by Councillor Scammell to approve the minutes of the April 18, 2012 regular session of Council as distributed. MOTION CARRIED.
4. DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST
No disclosures of interest were proclaimed.
5. PRESENTATIONS
Mayor Dunn presented Cynthia Geldart, CAO/Clerk with the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators’ Long Service Award. Cynthia received this award in recognition of her 18 years of municipal service in a management capacity. She began her career as Clerk in the municipal office in Centreville in 1994 and joined the New Maryland team in 2000. During her 18 year career she has achieved Level II in the National Advanced Certification in Local Authority Administration, served as the president of the Association of Municipal Administrators of New Brunswick, and helped draft the Local Government Resource Manual. She continues to promote education and professionalism in municipal fields and works diligently on behalf of staff, Council, and our residents.
6. PROCLAMATIONS
Mayor Dunn proclaimed the week of June 4th – 8th, 2012 as Epsilon Golden Games Week.
7. CORRESPONDENCE
The following correspondence was read into the record by the CAO/Clerk, Cynthia Geldart, as per the request of Mayor Dunn:
- a letter to Jacques Hebert, the Director of Spectrum Management Branch, Industry Canada, concerning noise interference in the New Maryland/Fredericton area on the 80-meter band of the radio spectrum;
- an email from Jason Hebert, Transportation Manager for School District 01, regarding school bus use on Daniel Drive;
- a letter from Mayor Frank Carroll, Village of McAdam, concerning an Ambulance New Brunswick policy;
- a letter from Minister Bruce Fitch, Dept. of Environment and Local Government, concerning nominations for the 2012 Environmental Leadership Awards;
- an email from the RCMP relating to the periodic survey of their Contract Partners; and
- a memo from the Department of Environment and Local Government concerning the Municipal Orientation event that will follow the quadrennial municipal election.
8. MEETINGS AND/OR SPECIAL EVENTS
Mayor Dunn noted that he did not attend any meetings and/or special events since the last formal Council meeting.
9. COMMITTEE REPORTS / UPDATES
Planning Advisory Committee
Deputy Mayor Wilson-Shee reported that the Planning Advisory Committee met on May 7th with all members present.
- An update was given regarding the conceptual subdivision plan for NDR Developments.
- The Sunrise Estates subdivision entrance sign was discussed by the committee.
- The Building Permit Report for April 2012 was presented to the committee. A total of 17 permits were issued for the period. The estimated value of construction totaled $168,801 and $1,205 was collected in permit fees. Year-to-date figures to the end of April 2012 indicate that a total of 33 permits were issued with an estimated value of construction totaling $596,123. Permit fees collected totaled $3,670.
- A temporary-use permit was granted to allow a seasonal ice cream stand to be set-up on the property at 210 New Maryland Highway.
- The tentative plan application for Centennial Heights Subdivision 2012 was discussed by the committee. Details of the proposed development have been distributed to the various committees of Council for their review and suggestions. Once feedback has been received, the comments will be compiled and reported back to PAC for final consideration of any terms and conditions that may need to be included to any formal approval of the tentative plan.
MOVED BY Deputy Mayor Wilson-Shee and seconded by Councillor Scammell the adoption of this report.
MOTION CARRIED.
Human Resources & Administration Committee
Councillor McCaie-Burke reported that the Human Resources and Administration Committee met on April 24th and May 9th.
April 24th meeting:
- The committee met on April 24th with one member absent.
- An update was provided to the committee regarding the two newly hired staff members.
- A revised version of the committees’ mandate was reviewed and will be brought to the May meeting for one last review.
- The CAO informed the committee that she has provided staff members with a draft of the Attending Physician’s statement form and some feedback has been received. A revised version will be brought to Council at the next C-I-C meeting for discussion and approval.
- The committee is interested in receiving training for the set-up and use of Twitter since the use of social media is becoming more important.
- A possibility of having a part-time communication administrator on staff to do regular updates and maintenance to the Village website was discussed.
- Changes to the forms in the HR Policy manual were reviewed.
- A request from 1 Engineer Squadron to do a Village project was discussed by the committee.
May 9th meeting:
- The committees’ mandate report was reviewed one last time and will be presented to Council at the June C-I-C meeting.
- A social media training session is being organized by the City of Fredericton and our Council and senior staff members have been invited to attend. The date for the social media training session will be announced once it is known. Councillor Scammell has also agreed to help the members of the HR Committee with Twitter training as well.
- The committee discussed at length the fact that communication with our residents is an increasingly important issue and the expectation of residents for the Village to communicate via the website, Facebook and Twitter requires that an appropriately trained staff member works on this issue. It was suggested to hire someone part-time to work on communications projects, so our CAO will begin drafting a business case for a communication position over the next few months. St. Thomas University will also be contacted to determine if a journalism student may be available to work with us this fall.
- The committee reviewed the merit of sending out flyers similar to what was done in the past. Numerous residents have expressed their preference to receive Village information in the form of a flyer as they do not have a computer or access to the internet. Several options were suggested and will be examined further by Council.
- Some amendments to the HR manual will be brought to the June C-I-C meeting for discussion.
- The committee debated and agreed that the sign policy will need to be amended to indicate that the Village has first priority for signs and that there is the possibility that groups could be bumped.
- The committee had a discussion regarding responses to emails from the public, timelines, and who should respond to them.
- The date and time of the next meeting will be announced at a later time.
- Councillor McCaie-Burke stated that she enjoyed being the Chair of the committee for the last 4 years and she thanked those who served on the committee. She also thanked the Treasurer for attending the committee meetings when needed. She expressed her pride for the amount of work that was accomplished in a relatively short period of time and added that there is always room for improvement.
MOVED BY Councillor McCaie-Burke and seconded by Councillor Scammell the adoption of this report.
Discussion:
- Councillor Sparks suggested that RSS feeds on the website should be considered so that people who subscribe to them can receive electronic notifications about areas of particular interest to them.
MOTION CARRIED.
► MOVED BY Councillor McCaie-Burke and seconded by Councillor Scammell the following resolution of Council:
Be It Resolved That the the Council for the Village of New Maryland transfer the sum of $369,383 (three hundred and sixty nine thousand, three hundred and eighty three dollars) from the General Capital Reserve Fund to the General Capital fund for the following purposes and amounts:
$ 5,000 for the equipment for the office; and
$ 364,383 for the office building expansion;
and that these funds were reserved for such purposes.
Discussion:
- Councillor McCaie-Burke explained that Council previously agreed to reserve the funds for the building expansion and associated equipment. The funds were reserved as per the motions of Council, and now need to be moved from the Reserve Fund to the Capital Fund for payment of invoices.
MOTION CARRIED.
► MOVED BY Councillor McCaie-Burke and seconded by Councillor Scammell the following resolution of Council:
Be It Resolved That the the Council for the Village of New Maryland transfer the sum of $8,165.00(eight thousand one hundred and sixty five dollars) from the General Operating Reserve (Acct # 1015-013) to the General Operating Fund (Account # 1020-875) for the Municipal Office Building Expansion project, and that these funds were reserved for such purposes.
Discussion:
- Councillor McCaie-Burke clarified that in December 2011 a motion was made to move the funds from General Capital Reserve to General Operating. The auditors decided that the funds should have been moved to General Operating Reserve instead, before being transferred again, and therefore made an adjustment. Basically, the auditors have decided that the transfer needed to be done in two steps, from General Capital Reserve to General Operating Reserve and then to General Operating. This motion will make the adjustment that has become necessary due to the auditors’ entry.
MOTION CARRIED.
Recreation and Leisure Services Committee
Councillor Sparks reported that the Recreation and Leisure Services Committee met on April 30th with two members absent.
- The Development Officer attended the meeting to make a presentation to the committee regarding a proposed subdivision plan and sought the committee’s input regarding the 8% land dedication. The committee discussed the bikeway and trail that leads into Athletic Park and how it relates to the tentative subdivision plan. The committee recommended that no decision would be made until all members of the committee are present to discuss the matter.
- The Recreation budget was reviewed and an update for the Capital Project Summary was given.
- A request from 1st Engineer Squadron to work on some small projects this fall in the Village was considered by the committee. The committee came up with some suggested projects for the squadron to complete.
- The Day Camp Financial Assistance Request Policy was discussed by the committee. The committee made the decision to address the issue again in September. In the meantime inquiries about financial assistance will be directed to the Lions Club as they sometimes sponsor or donate resources to families in financial need.
- It was brought to the committee’s attention that the residents of Sunrise Estates would like the mounds of dirt that are currently in Sunrise Park to be flattened. They are posing a potential danger as recreational vehicles have been driving on them. The Recreation Department will look into the cost of flattening or removing the mounds of dirt.
- The Spring and Summer Recreation Guide has been uploaded to the website and has been sent out in the mail.
MOVED BY Councillor Sparks and seconded by Councillor Scammell the adoption of this report.
Discussion:
- Councillor LeBlanc stated that he felt it is very important that we have a Financial Assistance Policy in place so that children do not miss out due to financial reasons.
MOTION CARRIED.
Transportation and Protective Services Committee
Councillor Scammell reported that the Transportation and Protective Services Committee met on May 8th with two members absent.
- The previous month’s session notes were approved by the committee.
- The Statement of Expenditures to the end of March 2012 was reviewed and it was noted that some accounts in the ERP budget were over-budget. It was felt that this may be due to the amounts being posted to the wrong accounts. This concern will be brought to the attention of our Treasurer.
- Research into the purchase of a sidewalk snow removal machine is ongoing and an update will be given as it becomes available.
- The April 2012 Fire Department Report was distributed to the committee prior to the meeting with no items of concern being noted.
- The April 2012 Transportation Report was reviewed as circulated. Our Public Works Supervisor informed the committee that Council wants boulevards to be installed between the sidewalk and the street wherever possible and in situations where they cannot be installed, Council wants an explanation why they cannot be. The plan for sidewalks has been changed so that boulevards will be accommodated in every location except one, and a solution to that problem is still being worked on. Our engineering firm is working on the tender document for the work on Bismark, Loddington and Newman Streets and will add on the other street if a solution can be found that will be to Council’s satisfaction.
- The budget for street sweeping is over budget this year because we did not have enough rainy weather for Public Works staff to sweep the centre of the streets as they have done is past years. This resulted in the contractor doing more of the work.
- The Animal Control Reports for March and April 2012 were reviewed with no items of concern being noted.
- Public Works staff members met two Corporals from 1 Engineer Squadron, who are based out of downtown Fredericton. They have approximately 25 to 30 cadets who will be available to volunteer their time and skills to work on projects in the Village after they return from training. The cadets have skills in basic carpentry, clearing brush, chain-saw work and are looking for a project that they can start and finish in one weekend. All committees are being asked to submit their ideas to Rockland, who is planning to meet with the Corporals again at the end of May with a list of suggested projects. The Corporals will advise Rockland which projects can be done and then they will train their cadets for the particular task.
- A tentative subdivision plan was reviewed by the committee. The plan has been previously reviewed many times by the Public Works Supervisor and the Development Officer, and they have recommended changes to the proposed street structure. Overall, the committee agreed with the suggested changes that were brought forward. The committee also suggested that rather than building townhouses on the corner lot as proposed, the developer could build a field house or a community centre and felt this suggestion should be taken to the developer for consideration.
- The committee was informed that NB Power is looking to expand the installation of LED lights and a new program is being developed now which will be rolled out provincially in the future.
- The committee bid farewell to Councillor Scammell as Chair of the committee and as a member of Council. Councillor Scammell advised that he would like to remain on the committee as a volunteer member with the Mayor’s approval. He thanked the committee members and staff for all the work done over the past 4 years.
- The date and time of the next meeting will be announced at a later time.
- Councillor Scammell took a moment to thank the committee members, members of Council and Village staff for their hard work, dedication and support.
MOVED BY Councillor Scammell and seconded by Councillor McCaie-Burke the adoption of this report.
Discussion:
- Councillor McCaie-Burke commented on the over-budget items in the ERP budget. She has discussed this with the Treasurer and this has been corrected.
MOTION CARRIED.
Emergency Response Plan Committee
Councillor McCaie-Burke reported that the Emergency Response Plan Committee met May 15th with nine committee members, five staff members and three guests present.
- Councillor McCaie-Burke announced that the committee representative from Horizon Health, Debbie Giffin, has resigned from the committee due to work commitments.
- Dr. Cristin Muecke, who is the Regional Medical Officer of Health, Fredericton and Central Region, Dept. of Health, made a presentation to the committee regarding food and water borne illnesses.
- The committee practiced an emergency scenario led by our EOC Director. The scenario concerned municipal water contamination which related to the presentation made by Dr. Muecke.
- The Fire Department recently had four of its volunteer firefighters complete Emergency Operations Centre training.
- The Town of Oromocto will hold a 2-hour training session for Sentinel on May 30th from 10:00 am to 12 noon.
- The committee held a follow-up discussion regarding the public presentation of the Sentinel Emergency Alerts that was held on May 10th. Overall the committee was very pleased with the event but felt it would have been better if more residents attended. The Public Information sub-committee will meet soon to discuss the continuing promotion of Sentinel. Councillor McCaie-Burke acknowledged the hard work of the committee members and staff members who helped with the promotion of Sentinel to New Maryland residents. She also thanked Council for their continued support on this matter.
- The committee was informed that Industry Canada has responded to our previous letter that requested their assistance with improving the 80-meter amateur radio band signal in the Fredericton and New Maryland areas. Industry Canada has stated that their office is willing to assist us by providing direction and information on method use to isolate and mitigate transmission interference.
- Councillor McCaie-Burke was the guest speaker at the City of Fredericton’s EMO Committee meeting which was held earlier this month. At the meeting she spoke about our committee structure, the 5-year ERP Master Plan, and the promotion of the Sentinel System. Fire Chief Farrell also attended the meeting and spoke about the benefits of the Sentinel System for the fire department. The possibility of sharing a volunteer coordinator position between Fredericton, Oromocto and New Maryland was also discussed at the meeting. A resident has stepped forward and expressed interest in volunteering for the position.
- Certificates of Appreciation were presented at the meeting to Dick Rogers, who was the first Chair of the committee when it was established back in 1999; Connie Storr, who was instrumental in the development of the Village’s Pandemic Plan; and Rob Pero, Development officer.
- The date and time of the next meeting will be announced at a later time.
- Councillor McCaie-Burke stated that she has enjoyed being the Chair of the committee for the last 4 years. She felt that the committee has accomplished much which is due to the hard work and dedication of its members.
MOVED BY Councillor McCaie-Burke and seconded by Councillor Scammell the adoption of this report.
- Councillor LeBlanc suggested that brochures for the Sentinel System should be sent out in the mail with the next water and sewer billing in July.
MOTION CARRIED.
►MOVED BY Councillor McCaie-Burke and seconded by Councillor Scammell the following resolution of Council:
Be It Resolved That the Council for the Village of New Maryland, as per the recommendation of the Emergency Response Plan Committee, adopt the amendments to the Emergency Response Plan as attached hereto in “Schedule “A”.
Discussion:
- Councillor McCaie-Burke explained the amendments include updates to the EMO fanout and the resources lists as well as the addition of a disaster scenario entitled “Heat Wave”, and the MOU with Faith Baptist Church.
MOTION CARRIED.
Water and Wastewater Committee
Councillor LeBlanc reported that the Water and Wastewater Committee met on April 25th.
- Some minor corrections to the previous month’s session notes were noted.
- An update was given on the expropriation status with Armco Capital for Well 3A. Councillor LeBlanc explained that since that meeting an additional update has been received and he read an email from our lawyer. The notice of objection from Armco has been withdrawn so we can now proceed with the preparations for the filing of the notice. This means that once the Village takes official ownership of the property, the Village can proceed with their plan for Well 3A without delay.
- The financial reports were presented and discussion took place regarding the $5 fee charged for the water meters and where the funds collected should be spent.
- The Water System Development Master Plan sub-committee presented some documents for the committee to review and discuss at the next meeting.
- The discussion of a proposed development was postponed as there was no information to present at that time.
- Flushing of water mains began this week and will continue into next week.
- The committee was informed that the New Maryland Esso property will be connected to the municipal sanitary system at pump station 3.
- It was brought to the committee’s attention that it would be to our benefit to start sampling Baker Brook on a quarterly basis in preparation for the new CCME guidelines so we know how the brook is functioning and if we have an impact on it. The Baker Brook lagoon is in the process of being decommissioned.
- Councillor LeBlanc, committee member Bob Landine, Public Works Supervisor Rockland Miller and Opus consultant Stephen Pyke visited the water treatment facilities at Shediac and Memramcook. Both facilities use the Maganzur treatment process which is one of the processes that Opus is proposing for Well 3A.
- Filling of residential pools is still not permitted under our by-law even though the water tower has been completed. An amendment to the by-law would be required in order to permit that.
- The Strategic Plan was reviewed.
- The website was reviewed and it was suggested that we may want to to have a banner moving across the home page that will announce new events to residents.
- The next committee meeting will be held on May 23rd.
MOVED BY Councillor LeBlanc and seconded by Councillor Scammell the adoption of this report.
Discussion:
- Councillor Sparks commented that the sampling of Baker Brook is an excellent idea. He added that the Fredericton Region Solid Waste Commission samples Baker Brook where it enters their property and just before it exits the property so it can be determined if actions on the landfill site have an impact on the brook. He suggested that it may be beneficial for the Village to sample Baker Brook in a similar manner so in the event that something happens to the brook, it can be known whether or not it took place within Village boundaries. Councillor LeBlanc agreed and stated that for the time being the data collected will be for internal use.
MOTION CARRIED.
►MOVED BY Councillor LeBlanc and seconded by Councillor Scammell the following resolution of Council:
Be It Resolved That the Council for the Village of New Maryland adopt the document entitled Municipality of the Village of New Maryland Five-Year Capital Investment Plan (2011 – 2015).
Discussion:
- Councillor LeBlanc explained that Council decided quite some time ago to put the Gas Tax Fund money towards the development of Well 3A for the next term of the program. Each year we are required to submit a revised Five-Year Capital Investment Plan, and this motion reflects that requirement.
MOTION CARRIED.
Finance Committee
Deputy Mayor Wilson-Shee reported that the Finance Committee has not met since the last Council meeting.
►MOVED BY Deputy Mayor Wilson-Shee and seconded by Councillor Scammell the following resolution of Council:
Be It Resolved That the Council for the Village of New Maryland adopt the 2011Village of New Maryland Audited Financial Statements as prepared by the chartered accounting firm of Grant Thornton LLP and as reviewed by the Finance Committee and Council on 11 April 2012.
MOTION CARRIED.
10. APPROVAL OF THE TREASURER’S REPORT
MOVED BY Deputy Mayor Wilson-Shee and seconded by Councillor Scammell to approve the Treasurer’s Report as follows:
(1) Cheques and direct payments from the General Operating account for April 1 through 30, 2012 in the amount of $331,724.94;
(2) Payments from the Water and Sewer Operating account for April 1 through 30, 2012 in the amount of $29,649.07;
(3) Payments from the General Capital account for April 1 through 30, 2012 in the amount of $11,761.58; and
(4) Payments from the Water and Sewer Capital account for April 1 through 30, 2012 in the amount of $15,512.64.
MOTION CARRIED.
11. PUBLIC INPUT / INQUIRIES
No items were brought forward by the members of the public that were in attendance.
12. NEW BUSINESS
Presentations by Mayor Frank Dunn and Cynthia Geldart, CAO/Clerk
Mayor Dunn presented Councillor Scammell with a token of gratitude on behalf of Council and staff, and thanked him for his hard work and commitment serving on Council for the past 4 years.
On behalf of Council and staff, Councillor LeBlanc presented a gift of appreciation to Mayor Dunn for his leadership and enthusiasm serving as Mayor of the Village for the past eleven years. He added that he is pleased that he will be able to work with him for another 4-year term as a colleague on Council.
13. DATE, TIME AND LOCATION OF NEXT MEETING
The Swearing-In Ceremony will be held on Wednesday, May 30, 2012 at 7:00 pm at the New Maryland Centre.
14. MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT
MOVED BY Councillor LeBlanc and seconded by Councillor Scammell to adjourn the meeting.
MOTION CARRIED.
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.
The Transportation Committee section didn't go into detail of my little speech but it's in this blog a couple of entries ago.
I hope that your summer is going great.
Stay well,
Tim
Showing posts with label New Maryland Council. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Maryland Council. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
My Farewell to New Maryland Council (The Mooning)
This is another long one so pour a coffee and get comfortable before reading it.
I know several people that are going to be disappointed when they read this that it is not quite what they expected but I would like to point out that I am considering an attempt for a Council position in the future.
Of course that is a long way off and many things can change by then but I don't want to burn bridges regardless.
Last night was my last formal New Maryland Council meeting as a Councillor (for now anyway). Prior to the meeting I was under the impression that I would be required to be at the June Council in Committee meeting so I figured that I still had two meetings to go.
However, during the meeting last night Council decided that the swearing-in ceremony would take place prior to the June CIC so last night was officially my last meeting. That sounded just perfect to me.
It's funny that I had been looking to this moment so much but when it was finally upon me I started to feel a little sad.
When I think back over the four years of my term there were so many events and emotions that had taken place. I may not have enjoyed them all but they certainly have been memorable.
Try thinking back to something that you did four years ago and see how long ago it feels like.
Even when I was away somewhere on vacation or otherwise it was often somewhere in my head that I was a Councillor with work to do.
You may recall that in 2008 as I was sitting at my mother's bedside in Ontario just prior to her passing I used some of this time to send a detailed letter to Council from my Blackberry.
It was a full-time job really. If people wanted to reach me they would send emails to me or call me at home. There was no such thing as office hours.
But, as trying and frustrating as being a Councillor may be at times there will always be something inside me that loved the experience.
I'm thinking that part of it is the satisfaction that what we did or tried to do was in some way making our Village a better place.
Before I go further I want to mention that the election results from Monday night were exactly what I was hoping for.
The Councillors that have served with me, Scott Sparks, Gisele McCaie-Burke, and Paul LeBlanc were all re-elected. I am very pleased with this. Our Mayor Frank Dunn had decided not to seek another term as Mayor and ran for a Council seat instead. He was successful. I am pleased with this as well.
It was mentioned to me that the election results were a good indicator that the voters were satisfied with Council and the job that we were doing.
The exception to this are the residents of Baker Brook Court who will likely never be satisfied at anything no matter how much is given to them on a platter.
I was saddened to hear that a couple of the incumbent Council candidates placed campaign signs on Village property near the entrance to Baker Brook Court only to have these signs disappear within a few hours.
If the person(s) responsible for this ever happen to stumble onto this blog I want to point out that no matter how much you loathe somebody, removing a campaign sign from public property is against the law.
Smarten up and grow up. Get over it.
The Deputy Mayor Judy Wilson-Shee ran for Mayor and was acclaimed as no-one ran against her.
A chap by the name of Peter Wiggins was elected and will likely be sitting in my old seat in Council chambers.
Peter has been on the Recreation Committee with me for a while now and has prior municipal Council experience from where he used to live. He's a smart, likable guy and I know he'll do well. I was rooting for him in the election.
None of the candidates that I referred to in my last blog post were successful but I'm sure that they gained a fair amount of insight during their campaigning.
All righty. Back to last night.
Usually when I'm going to a meeting I have dressed fairly casual. Usually blue jeans and a fairly nice shirt.
Scott always wears a suit but I think that's usually because he doesn't have much time between his day job and the Council meetings so he doesn't get changed.
Paul usually wears blue jeans which was a perfect idea to me so I usually did as well.
While I was getting dressed for last night I decided to wear a dress shirt with a tie and beige pants with dress shoes. I figured that I should look nice for the last big meeting.
Part of this was also that I was hoping that some media may be present when I read my finale that I had planned. I should look nice for that, shouldn't I?
Sadly, the media never did show up. We've sort of gotten used to that in New Maryland. It's nice when someone does show up but it's usually because there is a hot topic on the agenda and there will probably be someone there who is ticked off about it.
No matter.
I guess I should have spotted it prior to the meeting but there was something on the agenda right near the end of the meeting. It was a presentation by Mayor Dunn and the CAO Cynthia Geldart.
This didn't initially get my attention. From what I could recall when someone had been leaving a Council position there was something special for them but I thought that it took place later than this after they had left the spot.
It turned out that the special presentation did involve me and during the meeting my wife and two handsome lads came into the Public Gallery to be there for it. Yes, I was surprised. :)
What I didn't realize was that they were in the hallway for a while and heard me when I gave my final Committee report and farewell.
Now, about that report and my farewell.
For regular sessions of Council each Councillor provides an update and report of what transpired at the committee meeting that they chaired. If there were any motions coming from a committee they were read following the committee report being read and moved, seconded and approved by a majority vote. (This sounds like much hoohaw but it's really a very smooth process).
Here's something really cool. Usually the seconder of a motion will be any member of Council except the person who made the motion. It's really just who happens to say it first.
Last night before the meeting I suggested to the others that I will second every single motion of the night except for my report which I was moving. As the meeting went on my family and the others in the public gallery caught on to what was going on and it was pretty amusing.
I'm looking forward to seeing the final minutes of the meeting with my name seconding everything.
I was somewhat nervous as my turn got closer. This was my big one. The last one is the one people usually remember right? I think much of being nervous was worrying that I wouldn't choke up while reading. I had heard a clip on the radio of my pal Jordan Graham doing his farewell at Fredericton Council the night before. He really had a hard time getting through it.
When it came my turn I read my summary of the Transportation meeting of the week before.
Then I read this:
"I’d just like to say a couple of words as this is my last formal session as a New Maryland Councillor.
First, I salute the Village staff for all of their hard work and for putting up with me for the last 4 years. Especially Cynthia for being my brain when my own wasn’t keeping up with the task at times.
I also thank my fellow committee members for caring enough about the Village to dedicate their personal time.
As I have mentioned in the past, I would like to continue as a member of committees as a public member.
To my fellow Councillors and Mayor Dunn, the last 4 years have been much more educational than I expected them to be. Thank you all for being such a great team and making the lessons go smoothly.
Congratulations to you all for being re-elected, to our incoming mayor Judy Wilson-Shee and to Peter Wiggins for his victory.
I wish you all nothing but the best of luck for the next 4 years.
Also, congratulations to the other candidates for all of their hard work and efforts.
I have learned that even though our group has a diverse background, we all have the best interests of New Maryland at heart which is all that matters."
This next part was fun. Here comes the moon.:
"I am now going to do something that several of my Twitter followers and Facebook friends have told me to do. I am mooning you all."
And held this up.
Everyone got a good chuckle out of that.
Then I continued. This is where I choked up but I got through.
"The reason for this choice is that the moon is like us.
For years it was struck by objects which left all of these craters and marks. This was due to no fault of its own except that it was where it was at the time.
As members of Council, over the years we have also taken numerous hits. Some justified. Some unjustified. But we took them for the simple reason that this is where we are at this time.
Our craters aren’t visible like those on the moon but some impacts do leave marks on us.
However, just like the moon, we have continued in our orbits and stayed on the paths that we have chosen to be on. And for that I am proud to have been a part of this group.
And with that I move acceptance of my final report."
And that was that. It felt good to be done but sad at the same time.
When the reports were finished Mayor Dunn stood up to the podium and read this. I could see that Cheryl was a little teary and I was feeling it too:
"As many of you know, Councillor Tim Scammell decided not to re-offer in the recent municipal election, and therefore tonight will be Tim's last official Council meeting as an elected official.
On behalf of my collegues and Village staff, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tim for his hard work and dedication while serving as Councillor for the past four years.
Tim was elected to Council in 2008 and during his term has served as Chairperson of the Water & Wastewater Committee and the Transportation Committee, as well as Vice-Chair of the Recreation Committee, and a member of the Community Council of Policing Committee. He was an active participant in our development strategy, strategic planning, the Sidewalk Installation Plan, and the establishment of the Trails and Bikeways Master Plan currently under review. Tim has worked hard on behalf of our residents and the Village benefited from his experience and expertise. He always represented the Village with professionalism and enthusiasm. Tim also brought a great sense of humor to our meetings which helped provide a positive and creative work environment.
We are definitely going to miss having Tim around the Council table. However, we understand the dedication to his family. His family is extremely busy right now with his twin sons being involved in various activities and groups. Due to the time commitment required of a council member, Tim has missed a number of important events with his family over the past few years, and made the decision to ensure thay are his first priority.
Tim has graciously offered to serve on our various committees as a resident, and we look forward to continuing to work with him and benefit from his knowledge and skills.
It gives me great pleasure to present a small token of our thanks and gratitude to Councillor Tim Scammell."
Mayor Dunn then presented me with a gift box from Aitken's Pewter containing this awesome desk clock.
The inscription says "Tim Scammell, Councillor, Village of New Maryland, 2008-2012".
What a wonderful gesture.
Mayor Dunn was also presented with a gift for his years of service as the Mayor.
It was a great evening.
I'm going to miss those folks.
Four years may creep up quickly and it will again be time to decide what I'd like to do and what would be best for my family.
What am I going to do until then with all of my spare time?
Not to worry. I'll be around.
Stay well,
Tim
I know several people that are going to be disappointed when they read this that it is not quite what they expected but I would like to point out that I am considering an attempt for a Council position in the future.
Of course that is a long way off and many things can change by then but I don't want to burn bridges regardless.
Last night was my last formal New Maryland Council meeting as a Councillor (for now anyway). Prior to the meeting I was under the impression that I would be required to be at the June Council in Committee meeting so I figured that I still had two meetings to go.
However, during the meeting last night Council decided that the swearing-in ceremony would take place prior to the June CIC so last night was officially my last meeting. That sounded just perfect to me.
It's funny that I had been looking to this moment so much but when it was finally upon me I started to feel a little sad.
When I think back over the four years of my term there were so many events and emotions that had taken place. I may not have enjoyed them all but they certainly have been memorable.
Try thinking back to something that you did four years ago and see how long ago it feels like.
Even when I was away somewhere on vacation or otherwise it was often somewhere in my head that I was a Councillor with work to do.
You may recall that in 2008 as I was sitting at my mother's bedside in Ontario just prior to her passing I used some of this time to send a detailed letter to Council from my Blackberry.
It was a full-time job really. If people wanted to reach me they would send emails to me or call me at home. There was no such thing as office hours.
But, as trying and frustrating as being a Councillor may be at times there will always be something inside me that loved the experience.
I'm thinking that part of it is the satisfaction that what we did or tried to do was in some way making our Village a better place.
Before I go further I want to mention that the election results from Monday night were exactly what I was hoping for.
The Councillors that have served with me, Scott Sparks, Gisele McCaie-Burke, and Paul LeBlanc were all re-elected. I am very pleased with this. Our Mayor Frank Dunn had decided not to seek another term as Mayor and ran for a Council seat instead. He was successful. I am pleased with this as well.
It was mentioned to me that the election results were a good indicator that the voters were satisfied with Council and the job that we were doing.
The exception to this are the residents of Baker Brook Court who will likely never be satisfied at anything no matter how much is given to them on a platter.
I was saddened to hear that a couple of the incumbent Council candidates placed campaign signs on Village property near the entrance to Baker Brook Court only to have these signs disappear within a few hours.
If the person(s) responsible for this ever happen to stumble onto this blog I want to point out that no matter how much you loathe somebody, removing a campaign sign from public property is against the law.
Smarten up and grow up. Get over it.
The Deputy Mayor Judy Wilson-Shee ran for Mayor and was acclaimed as no-one ran against her.
A chap by the name of Peter Wiggins was elected and will likely be sitting in my old seat in Council chambers.
Peter has been on the Recreation Committee with me for a while now and has prior municipal Council experience from where he used to live. He's a smart, likable guy and I know he'll do well. I was rooting for him in the election.
None of the candidates that I referred to in my last blog post were successful but I'm sure that they gained a fair amount of insight during their campaigning.
All righty. Back to last night.
Usually when I'm going to a meeting I have dressed fairly casual. Usually blue jeans and a fairly nice shirt.
Scott always wears a suit but I think that's usually because he doesn't have much time between his day job and the Council meetings so he doesn't get changed.
Paul usually wears blue jeans which was a perfect idea to me so I usually did as well.
While I was getting dressed for last night I decided to wear a dress shirt with a tie and beige pants with dress shoes. I figured that I should look nice for the last big meeting.
Part of this was also that I was hoping that some media may be present when I read my finale that I had planned. I should look nice for that, shouldn't I?
Sadly, the media never did show up. We've sort of gotten used to that in New Maryland. It's nice when someone does show up but it's usually because there is a hot topic on the agenda and there will probably be someone there who is ticked off about it.
No matter.
I guess I should have spotted it prior to the meeting but there was something on the agenda right near the end of the meeting. It was a presentation by Mayor Dunn and the CAO Cynthia Geldart.
This didn't initially get my attention. From what I could recall when someone had been leaving a Council position there was something special for them but I thought that it took place later than this after they had left the spot.
It turned out that the special presentation did involve me and during the meeting my wife and two handsome lads came into the Public Gallery to be there for it. Yes, I was surprised. :)
What I didn't realize was that they were in the hallway for a while and heard me when I gave my final Committee report and farewell.
Now, about that report and my farewell.
For regular sessions of Council each Councillor provides an update and report of what transpired at the committee meeting that they chaired. If there were any motions coming from a committee they were read following the committee report being read and moved, seconded and approved by a majority vote. (This sounds like much hoohaw but it's really a very smooth process).
Here's something really cool. Usually the seconder of a motion will be any member of Council except the person who made the motion. It's really just who happens to say it first.
Last night before the meeting I suggested to the others that I will second every single motion of the night except for my report which I was moving. As the meeting went on my family and the others in the public gallery caught on to what was going on and it was pretty amusing.
I'm looking forward to seeing the final minutes of the meeting with my name seconding everything.
I was somewhat nervous as my turn got closer. This was my big one. The last one is the one people usually remember right? I think much of being nervous was worrying that I wouldn't choke up while reading. I had heard a clip on the radio of my pal Jordan Graham doing his farewell at Fredericton Council the night before. He really had a hard time getting through it.
When it came my turn I read my summary of the Transportation meeting of the week before.
Then I read this:
"I’d just like to say a couple of words as this is my last formal session as a New Maryland Councillor.
First, I salute the Village staff for all of their hard work and for putting up with me for the last 4 years. Especially Cynthia for being my brain when my own wasn’t keeping up with the task at times.
I also thank my fellow committee members for caring enough about the Village to dedicate their personal time.
As I have mentioned in the past, I would like to continue as a member of committees as a public member.
To my fellow Councillors and Mayor Dunn, the last 4 years have been much more educational than I expected them to be. Thank you all for being such a great team and making the lessons go smoothly.
Congratulations to you all for being re-elected, to our incoming mayor Judy Wilson-Shee and to Peter Wiggins for his victory.
I wish you all nothing but the best of luck for the next 4 years.
Also, congratulations to the other candidates for all of their hard work and efforts.
I have learned that even though our group has a diverse background, we all have the best interests of New Maryland at heart which is all that matters."
This next part was fun. Here comes the moon.:
"I am now going to do something that several of my Twitter followers and Facebook friends have told me to do. I am mooning you all."
And held this up.
Everyone got a good chuckle out of that.
Then I continued. This is where I choked up but I got through.
"The reason for this choice is that the moon is like us.
For years it was struck by objects which left all of these craters and marks. This was due to no fault of its own except that it was where it was at the time.
As members of Council, over the years we have also taken numerous hits. Some justified. Some unjustified. But we took them for the simple reason that this is where we are at this time.
Our craters aren’t visible like those on the moon but some impacts do leave marks on us.
However, just like the moon, we have continued in our orbits and stayed on the paths that we have chosen to be on. And for that I am proud to have been a part of this group.
And with that I move acceptance of my final report."
And that was that. It felt good to be done but sad at the same time.
When the reports were finished Mayor Dunn stood up to the podium and read this. I could see that Cheryl was a little teary and I was feeling it too:
"As many of you know, Councillor Tim Scammell decided not to re-offer in the recent municipal election, and therefore tonight will be Tim's last official Council meeting as an elected official.
On behalf of my collegues and Village staff, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tim for his hard work and dedication while serving as Councillor for the past four years.
Tim was elected to Council in 2008 and during his term has served as Chairperson of the Water & Wastewater Committee and the Transportation Committee, as well as Vice-Chair of the Recreation Committee, and a member of the Community Council of Policing Committee. He was an active participant in our development strategy, strategic planning, the Sidewalk Installation Plan, and the establishment of the Trails and Bikeways Master Plan currently under review. Tim has worked hard on behalf of our residents and the Village benefited from his experience and expertise. He always represented the Village with professionalism and enthusiasm. Tim also brought a great sense of humor to our meetings which helped provide a positive and creative work environment.
We are definitely going to miss having Tim around the Council table. However, we understand the dedication to his family. His family is extremely busy right now with his twin sons being involved in various activities and groups. Due to the time commitment required of a council member, Tim has missed a number of important events with his family over the past few years, and made the decision to ensure thay are his first priority.
Tim has graciously offered to serve on our various committees as a resident, and we look forward to continuing to work with him and benefit from his knowledge and skills.
It gives me great pleasure to present a small token of our thanks and gratitude to Councillor Tim Scammell."
Mayor Dunn then presented me with a gift box from Aitken's Pewter containing this awesome desk clock.
The inscription says "Tim Scammell, Councillor, Village of New Maryland, 2008-2012".
What a wonderful gesture.
Mayor Dunn was also presented with a gift for his years of service as the Mayor.
It was a great evening.
I'm going to miss those folks.
Four years may creep up quickly and it will again be time to decide what I'd like to do and what would be best for my family.
What am I going to do until then with all of my spare time?
Not to worry. I'll be around.
Stay well,
Tim
Monday, May 7, 2012
Clear conscience? Yes indeed.
For a few weeks I've been stewing over some things in my head about next Monday's Municipal election day here in New Brunswick.
I've been reading things from candidates in the newspaper and hearing things on the radio and television.
I can get past the people who aren't currently in office saying things like "we need open access to members of Council which we don't have."
Personally, this ticks me off a bit. I suppose that the evening phone calls or messages that I have promptly returned from my home don't count as access?
What of the multitude of emails from residents that I have received during my term that I replied to as soon as I was able to? I suppose if a reply is not instantaneous some may deem that unacceptable.
Oh, let's not forget on more than one occasion that someone has contacted me requesting that I attend their property to see something.
If I could I went right away.
There were instances that I contacted these people to advise that I was asking a member of staff or other to attend on my behalf as they were better suited to address the topic.
I guess that could be seen as my not being accessible.
Now I know that I can't speak for the other members of Council. Perhaps there were times that they didn't reply to or ignored something.
It just annoys me when there are broad brush strokes though. I tend to take it personally.
Let's just say that I am going into my last week as an elected representative of the Village of New Maryland with a clear conscience.
I believe that I have done all that I could and what I said I would do to keep New Maryland as an awesome place to live and raise a family.
There was a letter to the editor the other day from an elderly lady which seemed to imply that most of Council has failed to do any of the things that they promised before the last election.
I honestly don't have time to go into everything that was screwed up with that letter but it was full of misinformation and confusion.
She praised one member of Council for being a champion of the people and standing up against the rest of us.
No-one has ever properly explained to these people that when things like the Baker Brook construction came to Council for decisions the votes were unanimous. Who opposed them? No-one.
Council all agreed that the poor residents of Baker Brook had lived with a goat path of a road for long enough and we were going to do right by them and throw in a big bonus of municipal water and drainage while we were there. At no cost to them except to decommission their wells. What a great deal that was.
All of us felt great that we were doing a great thing.
ALL of us.
I wish that more people would take the time to go to the Village web site and read through all of the posted committee and Council minutes and see what really went on and who voted for what.
That would be very time-consuming but man, it would bring so much clarity.
While you're in there, have a look at the minutes from committee meetings and see what Council candidates were really part of what committees as they have stated in their campaign literature.
I understand that attending one committee meeting and then resigning shortly afterwards officially could be considered "being on the committee" but feel it is misleading.
The reader of the campaign literature would read that someone was "on" the committee and must have gained some great knowledge and experience from it.
In reality, one meeting really gives a person little experience.
Then there was a candidate who was a part of the construction of the walking trails behind the New Maryland Centre.
Myself and my entire family were involved in that project from its absolute start to the last day and I don't recall seeing this individual on site at all. I guess he may have been there on a day that I had to miss for some reason.
Or perhaps he was a part of the planning phase at a time when I was not? That seems unlikely though. I recall that very first meeting at the Village offices when we met to start planning the trails.
This was a few years before I ran for a Council position. My father was also at that meeting and was a large part of the construction too.
When I set up my campaign four years ago I listed the board and committee experiences with complete confidence.
When I said that I had been a member of the Water and Wastewater Committee I was talking about being at almost every single meeting for the previous four years.
That's what being a member of a committee really is. Not popping in for one meeting and skipping off again.
Prior to that last election I had sat in the public gallery on the Council chambers for over a year to see what went on and to get a feel for what Council is about.
While I was there I took that opportunity to do a Home and School report from New Maryland Elementary School. I was the president for a few years and felt that it was a good idea for Council to be aware of what was going on at the school.
I clearly realize now that there are things that a member of the public will not know that Council members and Village staff do.
In honesty though, these things are few in number and the reasons for privacy are clear to me.
Eventually all comes out to the public though. Once minutes are approved by Council they become public.
I really want to mention as well that every meeting of any committee or council session is open to all members of the public at all times unless there is a reference to a specific individual or property being made.
We have to adhere to privacy regulations for those cases and ask members of the public to step out until the discussion is over.
I can't recall a single time that this has happened though because no-one ever attends any meetings.
People complain that they can't get information or that things are being kept from them but everything is right there in front of them.
There is so much information for so many people to see, yet nobody takes a moment to see it and decides that it's easier to complain.
Ah well. This rant is nothing new.
I have told people this over and over again.
If you REALLY want to be a part or have input in what goes on. Step up!
Put your money where your mouth is!
When my term is done in the next couple of weeks I hope to remain on the Recreation and Transportation committees as a public member. If the new mayor and Council will have me.
If they decide that they don't want me there anymore I'll accept that and ride off into the sunset with my clear conscience and the satisfaction of a job well done.
At least until the next election.
But that's a blog post for another day. :)
Oh, I should mention that the Public Gallery will be a sweet place to be if I happen to have something to raise at a future Council meeting.
I'm just saying.
Stay well,
Tim
I can get past the people who aren't currently in office saying things like "we need open access to members of Council which we don't have."
Personally, this ticks me off a bit. I suppose that the evening phone calls or messages that I have promptly returned from my home don't count as access?
What of the multitude of emails from residents that I have received during my term that I replied to as soon as I was able to? I suppose if a reply is not instantaneous some may deem that unacceptable.
Oh, let's not forget on more than one occasion that someone has contacted me requesting that I attend their property to see something.
If I could I went right away.
There were instances that I contacted these people to advise that I was asking a member of staff or other to attend on my behalf as they were better suited to address the topic.
I guess that could be seen as my not being accessible.
Now I know that I can't speak for the other members of Council. Perhaps there were times that they didn't reply to or ignored something.
It just annoys me when there are broad brush strokes though. I tend to take it personally.
Let's just say that I am going into my last week as an elected representative of the Village of New Maryland with a clear conscience.
I believe that I have done all that I could and what I said I would do to keep New Maryland as an awesome place to live and raise a family.
There was a letter to the editor the other day from an elderly lady which seemed to imply that most of Council has failed to do any of the things that they promised before the last election.
I honestly don't have time to go into everything that was screwed up with that letter but it was full of misinformation and confusion.
She praised one member of Council for being a champion of the people and standing up against the rest of us.
No-one has ever properly explained to these people that when things like the Baker Brook construction came to Council for decisions the votes were unanimous. Who opposed them? No-one.
Council all agreed that the poor residents of Baker Brook had lived with a goat path of a road for long enough and we were going to do right by them and throw in a big bonus of municipal water and drainage while we were there. At no cost to them except to decommission their wells. What a great deal that was.
All of us felt great that we were doing a great thing.
ALL of us.
I wish that more people would take the time to go to the Village web site and read through all of the posted committee and Council minutes and see what really went on and who voted for what.
That would be very time-consuming but man, it would bring so much clarity.
While you're in there, have a look at the minutes from committee meetings and see what Council candidates were really part of what committees as they have stated in their campaign literature.
I understand that attending one committee meeting and then resigning shortly afterwards officially could be considered "being on the committee" but feel it is misleading.
The reader of the campaign literature would read that someone was "on" the committee and must have gained some great knowledge and experience from it.
In reality, one meeting really gives a person little experience.
Then there was a candidate who was a part of the construction of the walking trails behind the New Maryland Centre.
Myself and my entire family were involved in that project from its absolute start to the last day and I don't recall seeing this individual on site at all. I guess he may have been there on a day that I had to miss for some reason.
Or perhaps he was a part of the planning phase at a time when I was not? That seems unlikely though. I recall that very first meeting at the Village offices when we met to start planning the trails.
This was a few years before I ran for a Council position. My father was also at that meeting and was a large part of the construction too.
When I set up my campaign four years ago I listed the board and committee experiences with complete confidence.
When I said that I had been a member of the Water and Wastewater Committee I was talking about being at almost every single meeting for the previous four years.
That's what being a member of a committee really is. Not popping in for one meeting and skipping off again.
Prior to that last election I had sat in the public gallery on the Council chambers for over a year to see what went on and to get a feel for what Council is about.
While I was there I took that opportunity to do a Home and School report from New Maryland Elementary School. I was the president for a few years and felt that it was a good idea for Council to be aware of what was going on at the school.
I clearly realize now that there are things that a member of the public will not know that Council members and Village staff do.
In honesty though, these things are few in number and the reasons for privacy are clear to me.
Eventually all comes out to the public though. Once minutes are approved by Council they become public.
I really want to mention as well that every meeting of any committee or council session is open to all members of the public at all times unless there is a reference to a specific individual or property being made.
We have to adhere to privacy regulations for those cases and ask members of the public to step out until the discussion is over.
I can't recall a single time that this has happened though because no-one ever attends any meetings.
People complain that they can't get information or that things are being kept from them but everything is right there in front of them.
There is so much information for so many people to see, yet nobody takes a moment to see it and decides that it's easier to complain.
Ah well. This rant is nothing new.
I have told people this over and over again.
If you REALLY want to be a part or have input in what goes on. Step up!
Put your money where your mouth is!
When my term is done in the next couple of weeks I hope to remain on the Recreation and Transportation committees as a public member. If the new mayor and Council will have me.
If they decide that they don't want me there anymore I'll accept that and ride off into the sunset with my clear conscience and the satisfaction of a job well done.
At least until the next election.
But that's a blog post for another day. :)
Oh, I should mention that the Public Gallery will be a sweet place to be if I happen to have something to raise at a future Council meeting.
I'm just saying.
Stay well,
Tim
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Short and Sweet
I know many bloggers don't like to quote or refer to newspapers or other media sources but I make exceptions when I'm the one being written about.
I don't think the Gleaner would mind since I have praise for them in this post.
A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Heather McLaughlin of the Daily Gleaner to talk about my last blog. She had a couple of questions about my decision to not seek re-election in the spring.
We spoke for a few minutes and I left it to fate to see how it would play out.
(You recall that in the past some news sources have taken my words and I haven't always come out looking so well.)
I was very pleased when I saw this in the Gleaner on Monday October 10.
Heather did a very nice job of keeping the details of our conversation short and sweet to which I am thankful.
Here is a link to it.
Gleaner article
If for some reason the link above doesn't work I have copied and pasted it here as well.
Scammell won't reoffer
Published Monday October 10th, 2011
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
New Maryland Coun. Tim Scammell says he has decided not to reoffer when municipal elections roll around next spring.
Scammell said he's enjoyed his experience on council.
"I would encourage anyone to offer themselves for public office, but I really recommend that they evaluate the time commitment and determine if it fits into their lives or not," Scammell said.
The married father of twin boys, who will be 14 by the time May elections roll around, said he wants to spend more time with them during their teenage years.
Scammell said he wanted to make his intentions known early so that anyone interested in running in the next municipal election has a headstart.
"I know of a couple of guys who have expressed their interest in it and if they do, it will be great. It would be an awesome council if they got on," he said.
Scammell said he'd be happy to share his thoughts with any candidates who want to know what the job of councillor entails, and he's not ruling out a return to local politics if the timing is right.
This appeared in the Comments section on the web version of the story.
"But Tim, you are the one who should be running for Mayor! If anyone can get some GOOD things happening for the village, it would be YOU. Too bad the younger blood and voices are being chased out. Wish you would really stay on!"
A Reader, Fredericton on 10/10/11 11:02:10 AM ADT
I appreciated this and replied to it.
"Thank-you very much for the kind words and confidence A Reader. I appreciate it more than I can tell you.
Please don't feel that I'm being chased out though. I don't feel that way.
I plan on staying involved with Village matters and would like to remain on at least one of the committees that I'm presently on if the upcoming Mayor and Council will permit.
It wasn't an easy decision to make but it's the right one for now.
However, in 2016 my sons will be 18 and most likely quite independent of their dear old dad.
That may be a good time to consider seeking office again. (If the voters would have me).
Thanks again.
Tim"
Tim Scammell, New Maryland on 11/10/11 12:05:38 PM ADT
I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by what A Reader said.
My pal Charles posted my last blog on his blog site and I was stunned by the level of nastiness that spilled out of the comments section.
If that venom was left here I would not allow them to be posted but Charles censors very little on his blog.
I won't bother repeating them here but I was saddened that there are people who could look at what I had written and blast me for it.
I've blown it off now thanks to good words from good friends who put it in perspective.
Anyhoo, now I carry on with the last few months of my term on New Maryland Council.
There's some busy times ahead with the upcoming budget and the new year coming.
Carry on.
Stay well,
Tim
I don't think the Gleaner would mind since I have praise for them in this post.
A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Heather McLaughlin of the Daily Gleaner to talk about my last blog. She had a couple of questions about my decision to not seek re-election in the spring.
We spoke for a few minutes and I left it to fate to see how it would play out.
(You recall that in the past some news sources have taken my words and I haven't always come out looking so well.)
I was very pleased when I saw this in the Gleaner on Monday October 10.
Heather did a very nice job of keeping the details of our conversation short and sweet to which I am thankful.
Here is a link to it.
Gleaner article
If for some reason the link above doesn't work I have copied and pasted it here as well.
Scammell won't reoffer
Published Monday October 10th, 2011
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
New Maryland Coun. Tim Scammell says he has decided not to reoffer when municipal elections roll around next spring.
Scammell said he's enjoyed his experience on council.
"I would encourage anyone to offer themselves for public office, but I really recommend that they evaluate the time commitment and determine if it fits into their lives or not," Scammell said.
The married father of twin boys, who will be 14 by the time May elections roll around, said he wants to spend more time with them during their teenage years.
Scammell said he wanted to make his intentions known early so that anyone interested in running in the next municipal election has a headstart.
"I know of a couple of guys who have expressed their interest in it and if they do, it will be great. It would be an awesome council if they got on," he said.
Scammell said he'd be happy to share his thoughts with any candidates who want to know what the job of councillor entails, and he's not ruling out a return to local politics if the timing is right.
This appeared in the Comments section on the web version of the story.
"But Tim, you are the one who should be running for Mayor! If anyone can get some GOOD things happening for the village, it would be YOU. Too bad the younger blood and voices are being chased out. Wish you would really stay on!"
A Reader, Fredericton on 10/10/11 11:02:10 AM ADT
I appreciated this and replied to it.
"Thank-you very much for the kind words and confidence A Reader. I appreciate it more than I can tell you.
Please don't feel that I'm being chased out though. I don't feel that way.
I plan on staying involved with Village matters and would like to remain on at least one of the committees that I'm presently on if the upcoming Mayor and Council will permit.
It wasn't an easy decision to make but it's the right one for now.
However, in 2016 my sons will be 18 and most likely quite independent of their dear old dad.
That may be a good time to consider seeking office again. (If the voters would have me).
Thanks again.
Tim"
Tim Scammell, New Maryland on 11/10/11 12:05:38 PM ADT
I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by what A Reader said.
My pal Charles posted my last blog on his blog site and I was stunned by the level of nastiness that spilled out of the comments section.
If that venom was left here I would not allow them to be posted but Charles censors very little on his blog.
I won't bother repeating them here but I was saddened that there are people who could look at what I had written and blast me for it.
I've blown it off now thanks to good words from good friends who put it in perspective.
Anyhoo, now I carry on with the last few months of my term on New Maryland Council.
There's some busy times ahead with the upcoming budget and the new year coming.
Carry on.
Stay well,
Tim
Monday, September 26, 2011
It's been interesting, Thanks
To many this isn't news since I made this decision several weeks ago.
I haven't kept it a secret but I figured that I should say something publicly.
There's no better place to do so than right here where people can see it.
This decision has actually been brewing in my mind for a pretty long time.
In my July 21st post I referred to the Council meeting of that week.
Specifically a member of the public who showed up and was somewhat annoying.
What I didn't mention was that to be at that Council meeting I had to leave my sons' baseball game in the second inning.
As I sat in the meeting listening to that gentleman a nagging thought in my head was saying "I am missing my boys' baseball game for this".
That wasn't the first time I had heard that thought.
I'll admit that I've been pretty lucky in my term on Council as far as schedule conflicts. Usually these things have worked out pretty well.
However, there have been several occasions that I have missed a game due to a meeting.
I won't blame New Maryland Council for all that I've missed.
I missed T's very first hockey goal several years ago to be at a meeting of NBSCETT Council. I was the president at the time. (I'm not currently involved with NBSCETT Council.)
I still feel the sting of that day.
I remember clearly when my cell phone rang during the meeting. I excused myself to take the call.
It was T calling to tell me that he scored his very first goal that day.
I was so damn proud of him and announced it to everyone at the meeting that my son had scored his first goal.
An awesome feeling and a terrible feeling at the same time.
I wasn't there when he scored the goal.
Honestly, I don't know how my boys feel when I wave goodbye to them while they are on the ball diamond or hockey rink in the middle of a game.
If you were to ask them they would probably tell you that it's okay and no big deal but I'm not sure that would be the whole truth.
Do you know why I think this? Because of the bad feeling I have in my stomach as I am waving goodbye to them while they are in the middle of a game.
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love watching my sons in anything that they are involved in.
That's no surprise. Any decent parent has that feeling.
My sons will be 14 years old next year when the municipal election comes along.
If I were to run for a Council position and win, that would mean another 4 year term on New Maryland Council.
At the end of that 4 years my boys will be 18 years old.
I'm not trying to predict the future but I'm thinking that by the time my sons are 18 years old they may not have as much time in their lives for baseball, hockey and activities as they do right now.
The next few years in my sons' lives are going to be pretty special ones.
My being there with them may be important for them.
It will be critical to me.
So, I've made up my mind that I will not be running for a position on New Maryland Council in the upcoming election.
I'm not saying that I will never run again though.
I plan to stay on at least one of the committees that I am on right now.
Perhaps in a few years when the boys have grown up and have lives that are mainly independent of my own I'll decide to jump into the fray again.
I'm not leaving the game. I just want to sit on the bench for a while.
Thanks for putting me in Coach.
Stay well,
Tim
I haven't kept it a secret but I figured that I should say something publicly.
There's no better place to do so than right here where people can see it.
This decision has actually been brewing in my mind for a pretty long time.
In my July 21st post I referred to the Council meeting of that week.
Specifically a member of the public who showed up and was somewhat annoying.
What I didn't mention was that to be at that Council meeting I had to leave my sons' baseball game in the second inning.
As I sat in the meeting listening to that gentleman a nagging thought in my head was saying "I am missing my boys' baseball game for this".
That wasn't the first time I had heard that thought.
I'll admit that I've been pretty lucky in my term on Council as far as schedule conflicts. Usually these things have worked out pretty well.
However, there have been several occasions that I have missed a game due to a meeting.
I won't blame New Maryland Council for all that I've missed.
I missed T's very first hockey goal several years ago to be at a meeting of NBSCETT Council. I was the president at the time. (I'm not currently involved with NBSCETT Council.)
I still feel the sting of that day.
I remember clearly when my cell phone rang during the meeting. I excused myself to take the call.
It was T calling to tell me that he scored his very first goal that day.
I was so damn proud of him and announced it to everyone at the meeting that my son had scored his first goal.
An awesome feeling and a terrible feeling at the same time.
I wasn't there when he scored the goal.
Honestly, I don't know how my boys feel when I wave goodbye to them while they are on the ball diamond or hockey rink in the middle of a game.
If you were to ask them they would probably tell you that it's okay and no big deal but I'm not sure that would be the whole truth.
Do you know why I think this? Because of the bad feeling I have in my stomach as I am waving goodbye to them while they are in the middle of a game.
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love watching my sons in anything that they are involved in.
That's no surprise. Any decent parent has that feeling.
My sons will be 14 years old next year when the municipal election comes along.
If I were to run for a Council position and win, that would mean another 4 year term on New Maryland Council.
At the end of that 4 years my boys will be 18 years old.
I'm not trying to predict the future but I'm thinking that by the time my sons are 18 years old they may not have as much time in their lives for baseball, hockey and activities as they do right now.
The next few years in my sons' lives are going to be pretty special ones.
My being there with them may be important for them.
It will be critical to me.
So, I've made up my mind that I will not be running for a position on New Maryland Council in the upcoming election.
I'm not saying that I will never run again though.
I plan to stay on at least one of the committees that I am on right now.
Perhaps in a few years when the boys have grown up and have lives that are mainly independent of my own I'll decide to jump into the fray again.
I'm not leaving the game. I just want to sit on the bench for a while.
Thanks for putting me in Coach.
Stay well,
Tim
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Wait! What Summer?
I can't believe it.
When we were driving home from Moncton the other day I glanced over at some trees near the highway and saw a whole lot of leaves that were already changing colour.
For crying out loud. There are still 2 weeks left in August! The boys are still on summer vacation.
I have to say that this summer has been one of the more disappointing ones in terms of the weather.
The sun would be out on days that we had nothing in particular going on but many days that the boys had a baseball game the rain would blast down and ruin everything.
What's worse is that on a few occasions it rained like crazy in the morning and stopped by midday.
By then it was too late to try and prepare the ball field for a game that night even if it could dry out enough to play a game.
Last night was supposed to be their last regular season game before the end of year tournament this weekend. But, it poured rain yesterday morning and the game was cancelled.
That sucks. We have all been very disappointed when this has happened.
As you know, we love our baseball and I REALLY look forward to watching my guys play.
On top of this, there were 2 games that we were supposed to play that were cancelled because they couldn't find an umpire!
How sad is that?
I'm ashamed to say this but there were a couple of times that I had to leave when the game was in progress in order to be at Council related meetings.
In fact, do you recall my last post? The one about that idiot spouting off at Council about what he felt was the right way to build a road?
That was one of those nights that I had left the boys' ball game to be at that meeting.
I didn't mention this in the last post but what was going through my head when that goof was talking (apart from wanting to tell him where the door was, and for him to use it right away) was that I was sitting there listening to that rubbish while my sons were playing baseball.
And that really ticked me off. The straw that broke the camel's back and provided me with some clarity, if you will.
I guess I'm mentioning this so that the blog I will be posting in the near future won't come as a real surprise to anyone reading it.
A couple of people already know what's coming but I'll leave it at that for now.
For now I'm going to cross my fingers that the weather decides to be nice to us this weekend so that we can at least have a decent conclusion to the lads' ball season.
Stay well,
Tim
When we were driving home from Moncton the other day I glanced over at some trees near the highway and saw a whole lot of leaves that were already changing colour.
For crying out loud. There are still 2 weeks left in August! The boys are still on summer vacation.
I have to say that this summer has been one of the more disappointing ones in terms of the weather.
The sun would be out on days that we had nothing in particular going on but many days that the boys had a baseball game the rain would blast down and ruin everything.
What's worse is that on a few occasions it rained like crazy in the morning and stopped by midday.
By then it was too late to try and prepare the ball field for a game that night even if it could dry out enough to play a game.
Last night was supposed to be their last regular season game before the end of year tournament this weekend. But, it poured rain yesterday morning and the game was cancelled.
That sucks. We have all been very disappointed when this has happened.
As you know, we love our baseball and I REALLY look forward to watching my guys play.
On top of this, there were 2 games that we were supposed to play that were cancelled because they couldn't find an umpire!
How sad is that?
I'm ashamed to say this but there were a couple of times that I had to leave when the game was in progress in order to be at Council related meetings.
In fact, do you recall my last post? The one about that idiot spouting off at Council about what he felt was the right way to build a road?
That was one of those nights that I had left the boys' ball game to be at that meeting.
I didn't mention this in the last post but what was going through my head when that goof was talking (apart from wanting to tell him where the door was, and for him to use it right away) was that I was sitting there listening to that rubbish while my sons were playing baseball.
And that really ticked me off. The straw that broke the camel's back and provided me with some clarity, if you will.
I guess I'm mentioning this so that the blog I will be posting in the near future won't come as a real surprise to anyone reading it.
A couple of people already know what's coming but I'll leave it at that for now.
For now I'm going to cross my fingers that the weather decides to be nice to us this weekend so that we can at least have a decent conclusion to the lads' ball season.
Stay well,
Tim
Thursday, July 21, 2011
The facts? That would be great please.
After this entry I hope to never discuss Baker Brook ever again on this blog.
This was taken directly from FOX FM News page this morning and was played on the air as I was travelling to work.
"A resident of New Maryland is concerned that flooding may start on Baker Brook Court if the village keeps just a paved curb on the street instead of digging a ditch. Bela Galantai made a presentation to the council about his concern last night, he says he wanted to educate council about the problem and hopes council can look into fixing it.
New Maryland Mayor Frank Dunn says he appreciates Galantai coming forward and he will take a look into his concern."
As you know, I am on New Maryland Council and happened to be there. I also have a little knowledge of details that were overlooked by the reporter on hand last night.
I really don't want to go back and detail all of the problems that have taken place with the Baker Brook project. I don't have enough time.
If you like, there's some details here in my blog entry from last year. A little bit weary I suppose. How are you?
I accept that far less people will read this than who heard the radio news item this morning. Plus, most reading this will not have heard it or even care about what I'm talking about.
So I guess I'm writing this as personal way to get things off my back and give some small satisfaction that (to steal a phrase from X-Files) "The Truth is Out There" since my local media outlets don't appear to share my attention to detail.
That's okay. They are very busy with many things.
Okay, let's go.
First of all, when the Baker Brook work was being planned as part of the larger Infrastucture project it was agreed that we should give the residents as much as we possibly can since it had been far too long since their street had been upgraded.
The sanitary system upgrade was mandatory since the existing wastewater lagoon had long passed the end of its lifespan and likely become an environmental hazard.
While this work was to happen the Council decided that we would go that extra mile and connect the residents to the Village municipal water supply. The new water tower being built in the project added some water capacity and hooking on a few more homes onto the system would be no problem.
Presently about 1/3 or so of the Village homes are connected to the Village system. The rest of us are on our own wells.
So that was added to what was to be done.
Prior to the project both sides of the street had sufficient drainage of storm water.
There had been no reports of inablity to handle the capacity of storm water that flowed on the street.
However, there were some funds available so that we could improve the storm drainage on the high side of the street and add curb and gutter and catchbasins while we were in there.
So we chose to go for it. After all, we were giving the residents of Baker Brook a sweet new street with sparkling new features already.
Keep in mind that there was nothing wrong with the system as it was. By rights all we really should have done was fix the road and keep the rest as it was.
This upgrade to the upper side of the street would add appeal to the appearance and also improve the stormwater drainage capacity. Just in case.
The lower side of the street was to remain as it is since we could not afford to do both sides.
That was okay though.
There are other places in New Maryland with curb on one side and none on the other. It's quite common and functions adequately.
The Village's consulting engineer has been satisfied with the work that we have decided to do.
This chap is a Professional Engineer who gets paid well to have knowledge in these things and provide these opinions to his clients.
That was fine with me.
Now to the present day.
The Baker Brook portion of the project is in its final stages.
The watermain laterals are installed in all except one home.
The sanitary system has been modified and that stuff is now travelling to our treatment plant instead of the derelict lagoon which it did before.
The stone is all down and the new curbing is finished on the upper side of the road.
There are a couple of things being tidied up and then it's paving time.
Brand new blacktop.
It will be quite a street to see.
Just prior to our Council meeting last night I received a message detailing this chap's concerns which he brought up with the engineer.
The engineer advised him that it is what it is but that he could go to the meeting and say what was on his mind if he wished.
When this dude started talking he indicated that he has been building concrete foundations for many years and personally did many of the homes in New Maryland.
Somewhere I thought I heard it mentioned that he stated that he is a developer but that is very different than building foundations for someone else completing a home.
Here's my thing.
As you see in the above news item he told the news that he wanted to educate Council about the problem.
First of all, who the heck is he to say that he will "educate" me??
I completely understand the value of practical experience related to formal education. In fact, there is a man I work with who has more experience-gained knowledge in his little finger than most people who are university or college educated.
But for this guy to stroll in out of nowhere and proclaim himself to be an expert and show us what's really going on? I don't think so.
Thanks anyway.
Secondly, this is the very end of the project. No-one has had any issues with the way we were doing this up until now.
Thirdly, there is no more money even if we wanted to add more curbs. The Infrastructure funds are done.
If there is to be more curbing it will have to come out of my Transportation budget. And that will not happen.
Right now we are working on a 5-year plan to add to the sidewalk system in the areas surrounding New Maryland Elementary School so that kids walking to school won't have to walk in the roadways as they do now.
This is my priority and you can't have any money from that.
Lastly, and this is pretty huge.
This guy ISN'T a New Maryland resident!
He lives in Fredericton and just bought a vacant lot on Baker Brook.
His plan is to build a house on the lot and probably sell it.
I don't think that he has ever had any intention of becoming a resident of the Village.
What I see is that he thinks that a new house with a new curb in front of it would fetch more than one without.
I should point out that the news item is confused about what is to go in and what this guy wants.
There is no problem with that drainage.
Will there ever be in the future? Maybe. Maybe not. Who the heck knows? With the wild weather the world is being hit with these days I think that we could all be in for surprises now and then.
The major flooding in New Brunswick last December was a perfect example of it.
I mentioned something last night which I'll say here.
Even if the Village had an extra $100,000, for example, to go out and build some curbs, what makes that piece of Baker Brook any more deserving than any other Village street that is in the same situation?
I'll wrap it up now.
Keep in mind that not all that you read is precise or even true and that even if it is true, there may be details not included that could change the entire tone or meaning.
Stay well,
Tim
This was taken directly from FOX FM News page this morning and was played on the air as I was travelling to work.
"A resident of New Maryland is concerned that flooding may start on Baker Brook Court if the village keeps just a paved curb on the street instead of digging a ditch. Bela Galantai made a presentation to the council about his concern last night, he says he wanted to educate council about the problem and hopes council can look into fixing it.
New Maryland Mayor Frank Dunn says he appreciates Galantai coming forward and he will take a look into his concern."
As you know, I am on New Maryland Council and happened to be there. I also have a little knowledge of details that were overlooked by the reporter on hand last night.
I really don't want to go back and detail all of the problems that have taken place with the Baker Brook project. I don't have enough time.
If you like, there's some details here in my blog entry from last year. A little bit weary I suppose. How are you?
I accept that far less people will read this than who heard the radio news item this morning. Plus, most reading this will not have heard it or even care about what I'm talking about.
So I guess I'm writing this as personal way to get things off my back and give some small satisfaction that (to steal a phrase from X-Files) "The Truth is Out There" since my local media outlets don't appear to share my attention to detail.
That's okay. They are very busy with many things.
Okay, let's go.
First of all, when the Baker Brook work was being planned as part of the larger Infrastucture project it was agreed that we should give the residents as much as we possibly can since it had been far too long since their street had been upgraded.
The sanitary system upgrade was mandatory since the existing wastewater lagoon had long passed the end of its lifespan and likely become an environmental hazard.
While this work was to happen the Council decided that we would go that extra mile and connect the residents to the Village municipal water supply. The new water tower being built in the project added some water capacity and hooking on a few more homes onto the system would be no problem.
Presently about 1/3 or so of the Village homes are connected to the Village system. The rest of us are on our own wells.
So that was added to what was to be done.
Prior to the project both sides of the street had sufficient drainage of storm water.
There had been no reports of inablity to handle the capacity of storm water that flowed on the street.
However, there were some funds available so that we could improve the storm drainage on the high side of the street and add curb and gutter and catchbasins while we were in there.
So we chose to go for it. After all, we were giving the residents of Baker Brook a sweet new street with sparkling new features already.
Keep in mind that there was nothing wrong with the system as it was. By rights all we really should have done was fix the road and keep the rest as it was.
This upgrade to the upper side of the street would add appeal to the appearance and also improve the stormwater drainage capacity. Just in case.
The lower side of the street was to remain as it is since we could not afford to do both sides.
That was okay though.
There are other places in New Maryland with curb on one side and none on the other. It's quite common and functions adequately.
The Village's consulting engineer has been satisfied with the work that we have decided to do.
This chap is a Professional Engineer who gets paid well to have knowledge in these things and provide these opinions to his clients.
That was fine with me.
Now to the present day.
The Baker Brook portion of the project is in its final stages.
The watermain laterals are installed in all except one home.
The sanitary system has been modified and that stuff is now travelling to our treatment plant instead of the derelict lagoon which it did before.
The stone is all down and the new curbing is finished on the upper side of the road.
There are a couple of things being tidied up and then it's paving time.
Brand new blacktop.
It will be quite a street to see.
Just prior to our Council meeting last night I received a message detailing this chap's concerns which he brought up with the engineer.
The engineer advised him that it is what it is but that he could go to the meeting and say what was on his mind if he wished.
When this dude started talking he indicated that he has been building concrete foundations for many years and personally did many of the homes in New Maryland.
Somewhere I thought I heard it mentioned that he stated that he is a developer but that is very different than building foundations for someone else completing a home.
Here's my thing.
As you see in the above news item he told the news that he wanted to educate Council about the problem.
First of all, who the heck is he to say that he will "educate" me??
I completely understand the value of practical experience related to formal education. In fact, there is a man I work with who has more experience-gained knowledge in his little finger than most people who are university or college educated.
But for this guy to stroll in out of nowhere and proclaim himself to be an expert and show us what's really going on? I don't think so.
Thanks anyway.
Secondly, this is the very end of the project. No-one has had any issues with the way we were doing this up until now.
Thirdly, there is no more money even if we wanted to add more curbs. The Infrastructure funds are done.
If there is to be more curbing it will have to come out of my Transportation budget. And that will not happen.
Right now we are working on a 5-year plan to add to the sidewalk system in the areas surrounding New Maryland Elementary School so that kids walking to school won't have to walk in the roadways as they do now.
This is my priority and you can't have any money from that.
Lastly, and this is pretty huge.
This guy ISN'T a New Maryland resident!
He lives in Fredericton and just bought a vacant lot on Baker Brook.
His plan is to build a house on the lot and probably sell it.
I don't think that he has ever had any intention of becoming a resident of the Village.
What I see is that he thinks that a new house with a new curb in front of it would fetch more than one without.
I should point out that the news item is confused about what is to go in and what this guy wants.
There is no problem with that drainage.
Will there ever be in the future? Maybe. Maybe not. Who the heck knows? With the wild weather the world is being hit with these days I think that we could all be in for surprises now and then.
The major flooding in New Brunswick last December was a perfect example of it.
I mentioned something last night which I'll say here.
Even if the Village had an extra $100,000, for example, to go out and build some curbs, what makes that piece of Baker Brook any more deserving than any other Village street that is in the same situation?
I'll wrap it up now.
Keep in mind that not all that you read is precise or even true and that even if it is true, there may be details not included that could change the entire tone or meaning.
Stay well,
Tim
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
While I Was Out...
It's sort of funny really.
Since I was elected onto Village Council I didn't get much media coverage.
This was understandable.
I haven't had too much of interest going on to warrant coverage so I understood.
This morning Cheryl emailed me that I made the front page of the Gleaner.
Since I was elected onto Village Council I didn't get much media coverage.
This was understandable.
I haven't had too much of interest going on to warrant coverage so I understood.
This morning Cheryl emailed me that I made the front page of the Gleaner.
http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/front/article/525358
When I read the article I was surprised and couldn't believe that someone outside of my friends and family was really looking at my blog!
Then I realized that it was because my pal Charles mentioned it in his blog.
http://charlesotherpersonality.blogspot.com/2008/12/new-maryland-councilor-tim-scammell.html
At least I know that Charles is taking care of business while I am here in Ontario.
Tim
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry
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