City Manager will meet with Stephen White (virtually) then a larger group later in the day

By Pepper Parr

August 31st, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Has it all really come to this:

A Hamilton radio station is reported to have referred to the Burlington Coyote problem as “whistlegate”

Whatever happened to the best mid-sized city in the country to lIve in?

Other than the city and some of the Councillors handing out whistles to anyone who passes by, there was the sense that nothing was going to get done until the middle of September when a report was to be presented at a Standing committee.

City Manager Tim Commisso

Not so – there is to be a meeting on Thursday with Stephen While, one of the authors of the Burlington Oakville Coyote Management report and the City Manager to be followed by another meeting later in the day that appears to include a larger participation.

If all the members of Councillor are on the call – would that make it a meeting of Council ? – perhaps the City Clerk might want to rule on that.  Nothing on the city calendar at this point.

There is no agenda that the Gazette is aware of – however this would be a perfect opportunity to verbally ask the questions he put to the city when his report was first made public – something, by the way, that the Gazette first published.

The five questions were:

 

1) Why does BOCM have to wait over six months for City of Burlington officials to read BOCM’s Report and provide comments and feedback on our recommendations?

2)            Why did Nick Anastasopoulos say that our Report had not been sent to Coyote Watch, but Rosemary Fitzpatrick advised us in mid-May that is what had occurred?

3)            Why did Tim Commisso say in a June 2nd meeting that he would get back to us with a response shortly, but we are still waiting?  How long are we expected to wait?

4)            Why did Nick Anastasopoulos feel it was all right to forward a Report created by an outside advocacy group to another third party advocacy group without our prior knowledge or approval?

5)            Why does City Hall not have a formal, established process for reviewing Reports and recommendations from outside entities and organizations?

While this whole business is an embarrassment – there is as well a serious public safety issue that many don’t feel is going to be solved with people blowing a whistle when a coyote is spotted.

The upside is that there do not appear to be anymore reports of people being attacked by a coyote.  Was it just the one animal? With at one “eliminated”?

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2 comments to City Manager will meet with Stephen White (virtually) then a larger group later in the day

  • Mitch

    The coyote den at Spruce Ave and Tuck Drive has been cleared from a new home Construction site next to the Appleby United Church which operates a Co-Op nursery school. Spruce Avenue is a major route for students. We are not safe in this area and giving out whistles is not what we need from the mayor and council. Coyotes were not seen until about six or seven years ago. They need to be removed.

  • Deborah

    Thank goodness for public and media pressure, Tks to the Gazette for publishing Stephen White’s document. And shame on City of Burlington staff and Council (again) for waiting for an uproar to respond. Eerily similar to Ford’s playbook.