Kingston looks at ‘lean and mean’ split of commission to keep village going

BY NANCY KELLY

Kings County Register

With the addition of two new faces at the table, changes are in the works for the Kingston village commission.

The first order of business at the Dec. 9 meeting was for members of the commission to change their regular meeting date. To accommodate new commissioners Doug Beaman and Brad Beardsley, the commission will begin meeting the second Thursday of the month, effective February 11. The commission will meet Jan. 13, as per its regular schedule.

The commission, which once again has “100 per cent representation,” will continue to operate with Tom Beardsley at the helm as chairman and Beaman in the vice-chairman role. He volunteered for the position, noting he had served as Beardsley’s alternate during a previous tenure on the commission.

Portfolios were also redistributed. Beaman will take over the tourism file and Beardsley will assume responsibility for the village’s waste water portfolio. Martha Armstrong and Lorne Reid will continue to lead public works and recreation programs and services, respectively.

More change was discussed when clerk treasurer Greg Towne introduced a motion to establish a new policy and finance committee that will offer “a forum to discuss sensitive items,” including policy development, business conduct, staff evaluations and professional services.

In his Dec. 1 report to the commission, Towne outlined “staff have identified shortcomings with the commission structure that would allow for a venue to discuss issues in greater depth, internal village policies and other items. To facilitate these discussions, staff are proposing the creation of a new committee that can deal with these items,” and “allow the village to move ahead on several initiatives and streamline village functions.”

Towne, looking for one or two commissioners to sit on this new committee, elaborated the committee will meet on an “as-needed basis,” providing an additional forum to do the commission’s “nose to the grindstone work. “The regular monthly meeting of the commission is not the forum for that kind of discussion,” noted Towne. He suggested dedicating one position on the committee for a member of the community. “That way, we can draw on the resources of the community,” he explained.

Commissioner Reid expressed concern having two village commissioners sit on the proposed new committee, drafting recommendations to bring forward to the commission “could potentially sway the commission” when it comes time to vote on issues. “You do the math,” said Reid of a structure that could “be contentious” or “unproductive.” From his own perspective, he said keeping up with meetings of the recreation and regular commission “keep him busy enough,” and indicated he was not interested in sitting on the new committee. He saw “no need for a double meeting without public access.”

Beaman volunteered to chair the new committee and Beardsley threw his hat into the ring to “offer a fresh mind” to the initiative.

Towne plans to present a framework for the proposed committee at the commission’s meeting in January. This would include a mechanism to advertise meetings, which he says would be open to the public.