Hydro Rally

Friday, 6 June 2014 06:00

A small group asks Mayor Pat Sobeski questions about the sale as he arrives for the council meeting held later that evening

A small group gathered Thursday outside City Hall to rally against the sale of Woodstock Hydro

WOODSTOCK - A very small group of citizens quietly gathered outside of City Hall in Woodstock Thursday night to show their displeasure with the sale of Woodstock Hydro to Hydro One.

While there were no posters or formal speeches, but ralliers did take the opportunity to voice their displeasure to Mayor Pat Sobeski as he arrived for the council meeting.

Rallier Marianne Park says one of the corner stones of democracy is transparency and she says her big concern isn't so much with the decision but with the process.

"My fear is that this is just a gut reaction that these councillors want to make this decision, say "oh ya this is a real great decision just trust us", but I think this close to an election, particularly the municipal election in the autumn, I don't think six months to do the public consultation and have the new councillors make the decision, would have hurt."

The people who showed up to the rally said if there had been a public meeting on the sale before hand, they would have showed up.

Rallier Gerald Grimshaw says the reason he participated in the rally was because he wanted to make sure council knew his stance on the sale.

"I don't like it because it was decided behind closed doors and we had no say. I just want people to know that we should have a say what's going on as a rate payer and we are just not being heard."

No matter how they paint it, Dave Nadalin says council was wrong when they chose not to consult the public on the sale of Woodstock Hydro.

The former city councillor planned the rally and also gave a delegation to council in hopes of getting them to reconsider the sale until a public meeting was held.

Dave Nadalin says he can't say he is surprised the sale isn't being reconsidered but he really did believe he might have been able to shake out a couple of reconsideration votes.

"I know there's legalities involved too but at the end of the day, you do what you have to do. I would have been shocked if it had of happened but again, this was the only meeting where we had that opportunity and knowing how procedure works, it really was a case where we had to take that opportunity to council tonight."

During the council meeting, Sandra Talbot told a delegation that the battle is no longer with council but now with the Ontario Energy Board as a legal document was signed.

She made a motion to have the purchase agreement be added to the City's website ahead of the June 16 public meeting. CAO David Creery said the document should be on the website by the end of the day Friday.

Council is encouraging the public to attend the meeting to discuss the sale. There will be two sessions, the first from 2-4pm and the second from 7-9pm at Goff Hall in Woodstock.