Two Airdrie Councillors are addressing accusations made towards them during Public Question Period on May 1st.

Longtime community member and volunteer Al Jones expressed his disappointment after finding e-mails sent by Councillors Allan Hunter and Darrell Belyk to City Staff stating concerns they had with a member of a city board. Jones accused the Councillors of breaching protocol, asking if a Councillor sent a letter to a staff member without consent of the council to reprimand the board member and if necessary to remove them.

Jones also asked if a second Councillor sent an e-mail supporting the actions of the first.

Both Allan Hunter and Darrell Belyk admitted to sending the emails.

These e-mails were in response to comments made by the board member to Councillor Belyk on Twitter after the April 17th Council Meeting involving the presentation of the results of the downtown visioning exercises. The member of a local advisory board believed that Belyk's attitude towards City Planner Stephen Utz was harsh and told him so on Twitter, which led to Belyk sending an e-mail to City staff with concerns about that board member. Councillor Belyk originally responded to the board member on Twitter, but later removed his response.

In the e-mails provided to Discover Airdrie from Mr Jones. Belyk addresses the tweets sent to him by the board member. One of them reads,

"I cannot believe how rude and dismissive @DarrellBelyk was to Airdrie staff at council tonight. You have lost my vote. Shame on You"

Another tweet states that Belyk was "blatantly dismissive and accused Mr. Utz of messing with the data and not providing accurate numbers.

Belyk's e-mail to City staff expressed his discouragement with the board member stating..."I'd like to lodge a formal complaint against one of the Airdrie Library Board members...I would like to see (board member) receive a written warning for her conduct. Should she continue making derogatory statements I strongly recommend her removal from the board."

When asked to respond to the allegations regarding the e-mail, Councillor Belyk sent this response to Discover Airdrie.

"The confidential email I sent to the library executive director and board chair was, in my opinion, an appropriate way of addressing my concerns regarding the behaviour of a board member and the negative affects it could have. 

If my actions were interpreted as an attempt to silence a city resident I can only say that was not ever my intention. I respect the right of residents to voice their opinion and simply feel that where there is a working relationship we should do so in a respectful manner.

Councillor Allan Hunter responded as well, and wonders how these confidential City e-mails got into public hands.

"I have sent a formal request to the City Manager to investigate a number of things. Number one: how confidential e-mails that were sent to a City employee, how those ended up in the public's hands."

Hunter says that both he and Belyk followed the right protocol when they addressed the concerns with the e-mails.

"We're all afforded the opportunity to have conversation about this and to get any kind of misunderstandings or any kind of misinformation cleared up and do so without throwing it out there into, what I would call, the UFC Ring of Public Opinion."

According to the City of Airdrie, there's no specific protocol legislated for situations like this.

 

Questions, comments or story ideas? Email us at news@discoverairdrie.com