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Mono councillors say they remain accessible to the public after concerns raised over responsiveness

June 19, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

At least one Mono resident would like town councillors to be more accessible.

Mono resident Anthony Hosein said in an email to Mono Town Council on June 10 that there have been “a few residents” who tried to contact members of council but have been unsuccessful. He said some residents would like to meet one-on-one with municipal elected officials but he is uncertain about a possible protocol to make such a meeting happen.

“Speaking for myself, I try to get back to people in writing by way of email,” Mayor John Creelman said.

The mayor asks anybody who wants to meet with him what it is regarding so he can best prepare, he said.

“And is it something that we can do over the phone or do by way of email as opposed to in person?” he said.

Most recently Creelman said he was asked about starting a drop-in opportunity on a semi-regular basis for people who wish to speak to council.

“Unfortunately, the Municipal Act says that the minute there is three of us (councillors) in the same location, it can be construed as a council meeting,” he said. “And I presume that’s even including shopping at Zehrs together. So there are limitations on making ourselves available in numbers of three or more.”

Councillor Ralph Manktelow said he will see people who ask for a meeting, either at their place or his own.

“Usually at their place because it often involves something local,” Manktelow said, and added that email addresses are available on the town’s website for people who would like to reach out to councillors.

Coun. Elaine Capes said she’d like to know who tried to contact council but failed.

In his email to council, Hosein said there have been a few residents unsuccessful in getting a note to Creelman and other councillors.

“I have seen no note asking about this,” she said. “Maybe it’s not about this. I’m not sure what that means.”

She said she isn’t entirely sure what’s meant by Hosein’s question.

“The other thing is, some of us engage on Mr. Hosein’s favourite electronic media, that being Facebook,” Creelman said. “And when people address me directly on Facebook, I usually try and respond to them either in the open or by way of a private message.”

Capes said she responds to all emails and telephone messages to her.

“I’ve never had this one-on-one meeting request, so I don’t understand the question,” she said.

“If someone wants to meet with me, I’m game,” Deputy Mayor Fred Nix said.

“If ever I get a phone call or if I get an email, I respond,” Coun. Melinda Davie said. “I’m not sure, it just may be that they really want to talk to the mayor.”

Residents need to know councillors are not meeting all the time, Davie said.

“There isn’t a bunch of discussion that happens on any topics ever, except right here with all of us,” she said.

Davie said a resident who sends the same email to all of council isn’t going to receive a reply from each councillor.

“Or you shouldn’t,” Davie said and added that she doesn’t use Reply All if there is a recipient chain when she responds to emails.

“I know that it’s terrific to have a community spokesperson, Mr. Hosein, but perhaps it would be nice if the actual residents themselves came forward with the questions,” she said.

“And, quite frankly, make public their complaint if we don’t get back to them or if we refuse to meet,” Creelman said. “I do meet with people, but I try to triage the requests as they come in. Most of the time, they can be dealt with over the phone or through email.”

Mono resident Emerson Pendleton asked in a separate question what it takes to get the mayor to reach out to somebody passionate about an issue. He said a new resident asked at a recent meeting about the paving of town roads.

Pendleton said Creelman gave the resident a card and asked that the resident contact him.

Pendleton, who has attended multiple council meetings, said he is very passionate about some issues such as the proposed municipal firearms bylaw.

“I’m trying to save my powder and do things in the right way, but I’ve had no response,” he said. “I can email each councillor individually, if that’s what you’d wish. But I would like there to be some two-way participation.”

Creelman said he’s given his contact information to a number of people and that he’s listed in the telephone book and on the town’s website.

“I think I’m fairly accessible,” he said.

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