Agenda dispute, asbestos clarification dominate latest session
A contentious Lakeland Ridges council meeting on July 13 featured the resignation of a councillor, heated procedural disputes, renewed debate over asbestos concerns at the Meductic Community Centre and sharp criticism from residents.
The meeting opened with Mayor Greg Grant reading Ward 1 Councillor Elizabeth Luimes’s resignation letter.
“After careful consideration, I have decided to step down as councillor of Ward 1, effective immediately. I apologize for the short notice and any inconvenience this may cause,” Luimes wrote.
Contacted after the meeting, Luimes declined to comment.
Agenda argument
What began as the routine approval of the agenda quickly turned into a lengthy procedural debate.
Ward 3 Councillor Rhonda Alward sought to add two items: a motion to move staff and council meetings from Meductic to Canterbury, and a requirement that the chief financial officer attend all council meetings. Councillor Hans Stevens seconded the motion.
Grant ruled both items constituted new business and could not be added because they missed the submission deadline.
Alward disputed that ruling, saying she had submitted the requests on time and that the mayor refused to include them after speaking with municipal staff.
The disagreement prompted repeated points of order and challenges to the mayor’s ruling before council ultimately voted to approve the agenda with the additions.
Asbestos debate reignited
The meeting’s longest discussion centred on asbestos testing at the Meductic Community Centre, which houses the municipal office, emergency measures organization, Meductic Recreation and the Meductic Fire Department.
Council had previously voted to relocate municipal operations to Canterbury following air quality testing.
The testing found asbestos levels of 0.003 parts per million — well below the provincial guideline of 0.01 parts per million. Although the results were within acceptable limits, the council approved the relocation at an earlier meeting. Luimes and Alward voted against the move.
Councillor Hans Stevens said he spoke at length with the author of the Research and Productivity Council (RPC) report, who told him no other councillor or municipal staff member had contacted him for clarification.
Stevens argued the report had been misunderstood and that earlier references to “high levels” of asbestos misrepresented its findings.
“The building is safe,” Stevens said, adding that the decision to move municipal operations was based on misinformation.
Chief Administrative Officer Susie Patterson responded that council had never said the asbestos levels were unacceptable, only that they were at the higher end of the acceptable range.
“That’s not true,” Stevens replied, pointing to the figures contained in the report.
The exchange escalated after Grant asked Stevens what he was trying to accomplish.
“I believe that this council owes a big apology to the people of Meductic and to the municipality of Lakeland Ridges,” Stevens said. He argued council should have fully understood the report before making decisions and informing the public.
Grant maintained Stevens was expressing an opinion and suggested council seek further clarification from RPC.
“This should have been done in the first place,” Stevens responded. “When you presented the motion saying that because of the type and concentration we were moving the meeting to Canterbury, that was false information.”
Grant rejected that characterization, saying WorkSafeNB had temporarily closed the building due to permitting issues, required that the work be completed, and later approved its reopening.
“That has nothing to do with why council moved,” Grant said. “Council moved because there was asbestos present. People from council came to me and said they didn’t feel comfortable being in the auditorium downstairs where there is asbestos present.”
He reminded councillors the relocation motion passed 6-2.
“Get behind it. That is your job as a councillor,” he said to Stevens.
The debate drew verbal reaction from the gallery, where about 60 residents were present.
Fire chief questions communication
Meductic Fire Chief Dustin Sproul also addressed council, expressing frustration that the department was not consulted before decisions were made.
Sproul said the department had requested a meeting with the mayor but was refused. He added that five firefighters had resigned over the issue, leaving the department with just 12 members.
“Why was the department not informed?” Sproul asked. “Why were we refused a meeting to discuss this?”
Grant declined to answer the questions directly but said WorkSafeNB had determined the fire department area of the building was safe after renovations.
“Nothing has changed,” Grant said.
Resident critical of council
Resident Michelle Horseman addressed council both as a member of the Meductic Recreation Committee and as a private citizen.
She said she was increasingly concerned about what she described as a lack of transparency and communication surrounding major municipal decisions.
“Residents deserve timely information, meaningful opportunities for input, and confidence that all reasonable options have been thoroughly researched before decisions are made,” she said.
Horseman also questioned whether outside pressure was influencing council’s decision-making and asked what steps council planned to take to improve communication with residents.
Grant replied that he was not required to answer questions during the public participation portion of the meeting.
“I just have to listen to you,” he said.
Horseman responded by telling council that its first few months in office were critical to establishing integrity and credibility.
“I would say tonight, I have not been impressed.”
Her remarks drew loud applause from those in attendance.
“I haven’t been very impressed, either,” Grant replied, adding that the current council inherited the situation.
Other business
Council voted 3-2 to reallocate $26,800 from the Skiff Lake Waste Site project to complete payment for the North Lake pickleball court project. Patterson said provincial approval would be required because the funding is tied to the municipality’s five-year capital plan.
Council also reinstated the full job description for the chief administrative officer after receiving legal advice that duties removed in 2024 should be restored. The updated CAO bylaw received first reading despite questions about its timing and reporting structure.
In one of the evening’s final decisions, council voted to pause the planned relocation of municipal staff and council meetings to Canterbury until asbestos-related documentation from the past two years is made public.
The motion ended in a 3-3 tie, with Grant casting the deciding vote in favour of the pause.
– with files from Theresa Blackburn
