02 July 27, 2002 - ObserverXtra

2 WOOLWICH OBSERVER • NEWS • JULY 27, 2002
Failed bid to stop raceway move costs $86,000
Elora residents ordered to pay portion of legal costs for township, county
By By By Steve Steve Kannon Kannon
Kannon
OBSERVER STAFF
A
group of Elora
residents who
fought the move
of the Elmira Raceway to
their community is
placing one last bet that
Centre Wellington
Township will let them
slide on thousands of
dollars in legal bills.
A provincial assessor
ruled July 22 that the
Centre Wellington
Citizens’ Coalition (CWCC)
must pay $86,000 to offset
the legal fees amassed by
the township and
Wellington County in two
court battles. The costs
stem from cases heard in
Superior Court and the
Ontario Court of Appeal as
the citizens’ group
attempted to overturn
township council’s March,
2000 decision to welcome
the raceway and its 200 slot
machines.
The 109 members of the
coalition are on the hook
for the full $86,040.
CWCC representative
Harry Panjer said July 24
the decision came as a
surprise to the group.
Members have requested a
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Wellington council and
will ask them to waive the
fees, he added.
“That was obviously a
big shock to us to see a
cost settlement that big.
We had expected a significantly
lower figure. We’re
really disappointed that
council even chased us for
costs. We were surprised
at that.”
Panjer said the members
were acting in the best interests
of the community
and should not be penalized
for making use of
their democratic rights.
“They have every right to
ask us for $86,000 plus interest,
based on the court
decision. But even though
it’s legally right, we don’t
think it’s morally right for
them to be doing this because
of the chilling effect
it has on the whole process
of democracy.
“Our position is that
citizens should be free and
able to express their objections
to the actions of
their elected officials. If
there’s a threat of going
after costs, that will inhibit
citizens from actually
doing something like
this.”
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Although he would not
comment on the details of
the decision pending the
appeal period, Centre
Wellington Mayor George
Pinkney said the coalition
brought the fees on themselves.
Not satisfied with an
Ontario Municipal Board
hearing that found council
acted properly when it approved
the zoning for the
new raceway site, the coalition
took the issue to the
courts and is liable for the
consequences, he added.
“Because there’s still an
opportunity for reconsideration
of this award, I
won’t have any specific
comments to make,”
Pinkney said July 23. “The
general comment being,
of course, that the taxpayers
and residents of Centre
Wellington had an opportunity
to have
council’s decision of
March 30, 2000 reviewed
by the OMB. The OMB
dealt with the planning
issues, the zoning, official
plan and so on – no costs
were assessed to any taxpayers
for this process.”
While the OMB costs
were covered by the developer
(the Woolwich Agri-
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costs were borne by the
township and the county
themselves.
The two levels of government
had sought to recoup
$113,999 in expenses
from the coalition.
“These were additional
costs incurred by the
township to defend accusations
by the Centre
Wellington Citizens’ Coalition
that we had not
acted in a proper manner,”
he said. “I think it’s important
that we defend that
and I think it’s unusual
that for a Superior Court
to have to deal with these
items.”
Panjer said Pinkney’s
comments reflect
council’s “vindictiveness”
for the group’s challenge
of its decision.
“Clearly, what that says
to us is that he is chasing
us for costs because we
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took them to court. It
seems to me that, if they
use this as a threat, in the
future when someone objects,
then someone will
not likely take them to
court,” said Panjer. “Vindictiveness
is not an appropriate
response here.”
Despite the township’s
position, he added, the
coalition still believes it
acted properly throughout
the process that has lasted
more than two years.
“We did this with our
heads held high. We did it
fairly and honestly. We
truly felt that the process
that they followed on Mar.
29 [2000] did not meet the
minimal standards of the
law. And the courts said
we were wrong - fair
enough. We were wrong; it
did meet the minimum
standards, but it certainly
didn’t meet the standard
to which we would expect
West Nile virus hits Waterloo Region
According to the Waterloo
Regional health department,
initial tests on a dead crow found
in the region indicate signs of the
deadly West Nile virus.
Further tests by the federal
laboratory in Winnipeg will be
carried out to confirm the
findings. In most cases tests
confirm the initial findings.
The region has submitted over 30
birds for testing in 2002. To date,
seven Ontario health units have
detected birds carrying the virus.
While the virus has killed people
in the US, no deaths due to the
virus have occurred in Canada.
Most people exposed to the virus
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of council. It met the minimum
standard required
under law – that’s a D- in
my books.”
Since the assessor’s decision
was announced, the
coalition has been receiving
increased support
from the community, said
Panjer, noting that the decision
makes each CWCC
member individually legally
responsible for the
entire $86,000 unless the
township waives the fees.
“If they don’t, we have
no choice. We have to pay
up. If they want to pursue
us for costs, we’ve got legal
advice that they will
put a writ on all of our
properties, all of our
houses. They can go after
our wages, the salaries of
each and every member
until the entire $86,000 is
paid off.
“That’s a pretty scary
prospect.”
only suffer very mild illness, said
Shawn Zentner of the Region of
Waterloo Public Health’s manager
of environmental protection.
West Nile virus is spread to people
through infected mosquitoes,
which contract the virus by biting
an infected bird. The virus does not
spread from person to person.
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