Regional board rejects LNG motion
Laura Walz, Editor
Powell River Peak
09/27/2007
Texada Island director puts forward referendum motion that other representatives refuse to adopt
Texada Island's director on the Powell River Regional District board found scant support from other elected officials for action on a proposal for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility and natural gas-fired power generation plant.
Dave Murphy added the proposal by WestPac LNG to the September 20 board meeting agenda. After explaining concerns island residents have been expressing to him, Murphy attempted to make a motion covering four points: to have the regional district embark on a process to initiate a referendum in the future; to hire a consultant to provide unbiased information to the board; to make the WestPac proposal a planning priority and include the issue in a proposed Texada Island protection bylaw; and to hold the next regional board meeting on Texada.
Colin Palmer, board chairman and Electoral Area C director, said he would not accept a motion with four "avenues. I'm not going to accept one motion," he said.
Palmer asked Murphy to make one motion on each point.
Palmer pointed out that WestPac's plan [is] not [a] project. "It's a proposal at this stage and we're going to work out the details," he said. "When the details appear, we'll definitely be voting on a project."
Palmer also said he was "a little bit worried" about setting a precedent and added that a referendum would be a "legalized opinion. It won't be binding. This is not the United States."
Stan Gisborne, Area B director who lives in Paradise Valley, asked who would vote in a referendum; Texada residents or the entire regional district. "I happen to live closer to that proposed site than many residents of Texada Island," he said.
Patrick Brabazon, Electoral Area A director, echoed Gisborne's question. "This is a regional issue," he said. "I'm assuming it would be regional referendum. Secondly, we don't have a question. Without a question and without a decision on who gets to vote, I'm out."
Other directors said it was too soon to make a decision about a referendum and they didn't have enough information about the issue.
When the vote was taken, Murphy was the only director to vote in favour of it. He then attempted to make a motion to find a source of funding to hire a consultant to provide unbiased information. But Palmer said, "We can't have a motion like that. The board knows we don't do that. It's irresponsible."
No one seconded Murphy's motion and it died.
The second motion Murphy made, which did have a seconder, was to make the WestPac proposal a planning priority.
Palmer said it could be one of the priorities. "I'm not going to give up the southern OCP [Official Community Plan] after 12 years, I'll tell you that," he said. "I've been waiting too long."
The motion was defeated, but Merrick Anderson, the Lasqueti Island director, voted in favour of it, along with Murphy.
The third motion Murphy made was to hold a regional board meeting on Texada sometime in the near future.
Myrna Leishman, City of Powell River director, said she didn't mind going to Texada. "But I don't want to go to Texada to be hung," she said. "I could go to Texada once I have all the information so that it's a board meeting with proper information. I don't want to go there and have a hundred people yelling at the board."
That motion passed, with Gisborne and Brabazon voting in opposition to it.
Murphy told the Peak the following day that what happened at the board meeting was not democracy. "I was appalled at Colin Palmer's and some of the other director's behaviour," he said. "The board chairman doesn't have the right to spin my motions."
Murphy also said the board was "dysfunctional" and Palmer "should resign."
Chuck Childress, a spokesman for TAN (Texada Action Now), said, "It looks like the regional board is against democracy and in favour of global warming. I don't think that is a wise position to be in."
©The Powell River Peak 2007
Powell River Peak
09/27/2007
Texada Island director puts forward referendum motion that other representatives refuse to adopt
Texada Island's director on the Powell River Regional District board found scant support from other elected officials for action on a proposal for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility and natural gas-fired power generation plant.
Dave Murphy added the proposal by WestPac LNG to the September 20 board meeting agenda. After explaining concerns island residents have been expressing to him, Murphy attempted to make a motion covering four points: to have the regional district embark on a process to initiate a referendum in the future; to hire a consultant to provide unbiased information to the board; to make the WestPac proposal a planning priority and include the issue in a proposed Texada Island protection bylaw; and to hold the next regional board meeting on Texada.
Colin Palmer, board chairman and Electoral Area C director, said he would not accept a motion with four "avenues. I'm not going to accept one motion," he said.
Palmer asked Murphy to make one motion on each point.
Palmer pointed out that WestPac's plan [is] not [a] project. "It's a proposal at this stage and we're going to work out the details," he said. "When the details appear, we'll definitely be voting on a project."
Palmer also said he was "a little bit worried" about setting a precedent and added that a referendum would be a "legalized opinion. It won't be binding. This is not the United States."
Stan Gisborne, Area B director who lives in Paradise Valley, asked who would vote in a referendum; Texada residents or the entire regional district. "I happen to live closer to that proposed site than many residents of Texada Island," he said.
Patrick Brabazon, Electoral Area A director, echoed Gisborne's question. "This is a regional issue," he said. "I'm assuming it would be regional referendum. Secondly, we don't have a question. Without a question and without a decision on who gets to vote, I'm out."
Other directors said it was too soon to make a decision about a referendum and they didn't have enough information about the issue.
When the vote was taken, Murphy was the only director to vote in favour of it. He then attempted to make a motion to find a source of funding to hire a consultant to provide unbiased information. But Palmer said, "We can't have a motion like that. The board knows we don't do that. It's irresponsible."
No one seconded Murphy's motion and it died.
The second motion Murphy made, which did have a seconder, was to make the WestPac proposal a planning priority.
Palmer said it could be one of the priorities. "I'm not going to give up the southern OCP [Official Community Plan] after 12 years, I'll tell you that," he said. "I've been waiting too long."
The motion was defeated, but Merrick Anderson, the Lasqueti Island director, voted in favour of it, along with Murphy.
The third motion Murphy made was to hold a regional board meeting on Texada sometime in the near future.
Myrna Leishman, City of Powell River director, said she didn't mind going to Texada. "But I don't want to go to Texada to be hung," she said. "I could go to Texada once I have all the information so that it's a board meeting with proper information. I don't want to go there and have a hundred people yelling at the board."
That motion passed, with Gisborne and Brabazon voting in opposition to it.
Murphy told the Peak the following day that what happened at the board meeting was not democracy. "I was appalled at Colin Palmer's and some of the other director's behaviour," he said. "The board chairman doesn't have the right to spin my motions."
Murphy also said the board was "dysfunctional" and Palmer "should resign."
Chuck Childress, a spokesman for TAN (Texada Action Now), said, "It looks like the regional board is against democracy and in favour of global warming. I don't think that is a wise position to be in."
©The Powell River Peak 2007
posted by Friend of Texada at
11:04 PM
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