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Source : Bradford West Gwillimbury Times
Media Type : Newspaper Article
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Community : Bradford West Gwillimbury
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Description : The long-simmering dispute between Council and the Bradford West Gwillimbury Heritage Committee has finally boiled over. Following the demolition of the Ferguson-Bateman farmhouse on December 1st, Committee chair David Chambers roundly criticized both the new owners of the property and Councillors - and on December 11th, Bradford West Gwillimbury Council met behind closed doors to discuss dissolving the committee. Council came out of the closed door session to pass a resolution terminating the Heritage Committee. On December 12th, Heritage Committee members were contacted by the Municipal Clerk and informed that the committee had been "formally disbanded." They also received an email, signed by Mayor Doug White, providing the reasons for the decision - including a statement that "for many months members of Council have felt that the work of the Heritage Committee has been unfocused and unproductive. Other than the recent case of a designation of one property under the Heritage Act, the Committee has not come to Council with any actionable recommendations. The Committee jumps from one perceived crisis to another." The Mayor indicated that "Council is by no means abandoning the effort to preserve heritage properties.", and could reconstitute a BWG Heritage Committee in 2008 - but if it does, the Committee will no longer operate independently of the wishes of Council.