By Pam Wright, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Chatham Voice
Chatham-Kent council and staff waded into the procedural weeds recently regarding a possible referendum regarding the C-K Community Hub.
A notice of motion put forward Oct. 21 by North Kent Coun. Rhonda Jubenville, seeking a referendum on the hub project was deferred to the Nov. 4 meeting. Council simply ran out of time Oct. 21.
The marathon meeting, devoted to deputations and discussions pertaining to the development, went into overtime, lasting nearly five hours.
Dave Taylor, the municipality’s director of legal services, provided council with some clarification on the referendum.
Originally it was believed that referendums could only be held during a municipal election, however Taylor said research has revealed that a referendum can be held on a single issue.
Taylor said a report on the matter needs to be completed and presented to council.
A second motion from Jubenville to reconsider the Sears building purchase and development was withdrawn Oct. 21. According to information from the municipal clerk’s office, council passed a motion on Oct. 30, 2023 to direct administration to move ahead with the Imagine Chatham-Kent proposal. Then on Jan. 15, 2024, council directed administration to enter into an agreement to purchase a portion of the Downtown Chatham Centre and not to proceed with the renovation of the Chatham-Kent Civic Centre.
But because Jubenville did not vote on the prevailing side of either of the earlier motions, she cannot bring the motion forward based on the procedural bylaw, officials said.
