It just so happened that last night’s Town of St. Paul council meeting came before the Ides of March. And, as a seer warned Julius Caesar just before he was assassinated at a meeting of the senate on that date, “beware the Ides of March.”
Nothing so sinister has marked local municipal politics, but St. Paul council chambers on the night of March 14 saw emotions running high over another perceived threat. As many as 30 people approached councilors to voice their support and appreciation for the work of Town of St. Paul Recreation director Gary Ward, after recent rumours that Ward was to be let go.
Those rumours came on the heels of other concerns about the operations of the town, not least of which was the town’s handling of the golf course situation, changes in staffing, and morale amongst the remaining town staff.
Emotions ran high at the meeting, and in the aftermath, people expressed their frustration, anger, sadness and confusion at that “ugly rumour” as Amil Shapka called it, expressing concern that a person who had dedicated so much time and energy to support town activities could be let go. Following the meeting, in which answers were scarce, some of those gathered stuck around, wondering what more they could do to push the issue, while others made note of the example of Thorhild County, in which three council members were recently removed from office by Municipal Affairs.
St. Paul is built on the efforts of its volunteers and the voices of those volunteers matter to public discussion. They need to be heard, and council needs to listen.
There can be no doubt that Ward has been a passionate and involved community member who has volunteered much of his own personal time to making St. Paul a better place, whether it’s working with the Ag Society, minor hockey, minor ball, or working for the upkeep of the parks and ball diamonds, or pulling together all the celebrations and events that make St. Paul the town that it is.
While Town of St. Paul council may not be able to share fully its side of the story, hopefully each councillor listened carefully to the message brought by the ratepayers, with the bottom line coming from Calvin Bespalko, who asked them not to make a decision they would regret, but instead, to roll up their sleeves, work out any differences that exist, and to walk out as a team, making the best decision in the interests of the people that call St. Paul home.
