The circumstances of Coun. Jim Downer’s medical emergency last month were nothing to feel good about, but his passion to pause a sudden notice of motion regarding Midland Bay Landing may have changed the literal landscape for decades to come.
In March, Downer fell ill during a council meeting, immediately following his concerns expressed over Mayor Bill Gordon and Deputy Mayor Jack Contin bringing a notice of motion to the floor.
The motion was for Midland council to support an RFP (request for proposals) for the west 20-acre half of Midland Bay Landing, while the east half would be the subject of a citizen-led steering committee.
Downer had agreed with Coun. Catherine MacDonald that learning about the plan through a MidlandToday article ahead of the council meeting was disappointing, and challenged members of the new term of council who had platformed on a ‘pause and wait’ campaign over the waterfront site; it was a campaign that caused developers to withdraw.
At the recent committee of the whole meeting, Downer’s absence was repeatedly noted as he was recuperating with the best wishes of those in attendance. A continuation of the unfinished business from the March meeting resulted in picking up where a motion to defer by Coun. Sheldon East left off – requesting a pause to allow for more information on the subject.
“(I’m) super happy that we’re able to carry on the conversation where we are,” Gordon said, “and again that Coun. Downer is on the mend. I look forward to him coming back and resuming his chair here.
“(As) a friendly amendment to this, rather than just leaving it ambiguous deferring it to a future council meeting, (I request) that we defer it to a future council meeting and a staff report outlining recommendations,” Gordon stated.
Both Gordon and Contin reaffirmed that the notice of motion in the March meeting was a simple following of the rules of procedure for how those items are brought forward to council and staff, with Contin later stating that “there were no backroom discussions; we just followed the process.”
Gordon talked in brief about both the notice of motion process as well as general municipal procedure, where a council vote was counted as simply carried or defeated even if split among the members, and emphasized that the Midland Bay Landing discussion wasn’t one he wanted passed if it wasn’t a completely unanimous decision by council.
The depth of the matter was also apparent as Gordon admitted to further examination of the concerns raised last month, having reviewed the discussion just prior to the medical incident.
“So I am grateful to you and the pause that we had because of the delay,” said Gordon, “to have thought about this, listened to Coun. Downer’s and Coun. MacDonald’s concerns, and perhaps the unspoken other member’s concerns – because I know I never had a chance to even speak to this motion that I brought forward with the deputy mayor.
“And that may have been the best thing that ever happened because now we have the opportunity, that clearly I’m supporting, to defer this for a staff report coming to us at a future date where we can all ruminate on the options and have staff tell us: ‘here’s the pros and cons’."
A minor point of interest came when Coun. Bill Meridis asked staff for a rough due date of the anticipated report, as acting CAO Andy Campbell shared that due to booked vacation time, he would only be able to write the report “as soon as possible” with the June regular council meeting as the likely date.
At the vote to proceed with deferring the item to a later date when the staff report is ready, members of council voted in favour with Meridis slowly raising his hand to agree. And when asked if any members were against the motion Meridis also slowly raised his hand after the count with a smile on his face; unseen by Gordon. The motion was carried.
Staff is expected to bring a report on Gordon and Contin’s Midland Bay Landing motion to a later regular council meeting outlining recommendations.
For Downer’s contribution to the conversation immediately proceeding his medical emergency in March, his request was to know the amount of money lost from withdrawal of the developer.
The notice of motion by Gordon, including RFP details, can be found in the council agenda on the Town of Midland website.
Council meetings are held every third Wednesday, and can be attended virtually through Zoom by contacting the clerk’s department of Midland town hall for a link to the meeting.
Council meetings can also be viewed on Rogers TV cable channel 53, or through the livestream on the Rogers TV website. Archives of council meetings are available through Rogers TV and on the Town of Midland’s YouTube channel.