The news story that just isn't going to go away

By Gazette staff

July 29^th, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

It is a news story that just isn’t going to go away.

A decision to determine which swimming club will be given access to the swimming pools is somewhere in City Hall. All the public knows is that the Mayor will tell us when a decision has been made.

Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns asked at a Council meeting if the matter could be sent to the City Audit committee to examine the facts.  She was told that the matter on the tavle was not about working with an audit committee.

Ted said: “While I do not dismiss the potential value of an independent audit, I can’t see how it would change anything.

It is astonishing and concerning that the sum total of city staff and council in a city of almost 200,000 people does not have the internal structure or capability to recognize a self-created problem, accept responsibility and promptly resolve an important local issue.

The municipal election can’t come soon enough. Hopefully many will see the need for change and experienced, competent candidates will come forward.

Wayne: said it a couple of times already …. “this is going to be fun to watch”.
There’s lot’s wrong here and changes need to be made internally around this process but in the meantime here’s some ideas that show good faith, allows both GHAC and BAD to be heard without political bias and gives council cover for a possible course correction.
– Council and staff must publicly acknowledge that the process was flawed. Pretending everything was done “by the book” when serious questions remain only deepens distrust.
– Without invalidating the RFP yet, bring in an outside municipal procurement expert to conduct a fast-tracked audit of how the RFP was handled. Not internal staff, not council — independent and credible
– While the audit happens, proactively broker a temporary, interim use agreement between GHAC and BAD that ensures continued community access.
– Set a firm 30- to 45-day window to receive the audit results and act.
– If the audit confirms material irregularities — such as misapplied rules or unfair advantages — then council must be willing to cancel or renegotiate the GHAC RFP, even if it’s awkward or expensive.
Council can’t hide behind a bad process. It should admit mistakes, bring in an independent review, and fix this — even if it means tearing up the deal.

Mike:  “I think that Wayne may have identified the way forward – kudos. I do have two reservations, however. The first is that we have learned through painful experience how difficult it is to get a truly “independent” assessment – be it an ethics review, an audit review or a compliance investigation. The City pays the tab so the City often has a say in what is said and how it is expressed. My second concern is that if it was indeed possible to find the right agency with no inherent dependencies attached, then we would need a truly exceptional individual. Ideally, we would want someone used to working with aspiring municipal staff professionals, politicians, entrepreneurs and senior executives; someone capable of supporting them in addressing these challenges while overcoming the many imposed obstacles so they can maximize their full potential as problem solvers and human beings. There are few who could step up to the task.

What is both galling and astonishing is that members of City Council are missing in action.

We aren’t even seeing all that much in the way of photo ops.