In a surprise announcement at last week’s Council meeting, Councillor Corey Engelsdorfer said he would bring a motion of Non-Confidence in the Mayor to a future meeting, which could be as soon as April 22.

The Wellington councillor said that resident anger about the disruption caused by the municipal roadworks underway to install underground water pipes along Main Street had reached “a boiling point.”

In a notice of motion, to be seconded by Councillor Phil Prinzen, Mr. Engelsdorfer noted, “frustrations are growing daily, anger over detour roads and business disruption is nearing the boiling point. My community is fracturing. It didn’t have to be this way.

“Most residents understand that infrastructure means disruption. Most people can and will adjust. But they can’t adjust when decisions appear to be made randomly, with little notice and what appears to be disregard for their homes, their livelihoods and welfare. 

“This council is responsible. No one else.”

The notice caused surprise and consternation. Councillor John Hirsch noted, “a ‘non-confidence’ motion has no meaning in municipal politics. To vote no confidence in the mayor accomplishes nothing; nothing happens or can come out of that. It’s purely symbolic — and divisive.”

When asked whether the Premier’s announcement that the County’s Mayor was on the list for “Strong Mayor” powers had provoked the move to non-confidence, Mr. Engelsdorfer was emphatic: “that was a complete coincidence.”

Councillor Phil St-Jean was taken aback. “I find it unfortunate that Councillor Engelsdorfer would express his frustration and that of residents over the Wellington construction challenges in a way that targets one person, one member of Council. I find that is personal and inappropriate.”

Noting Picton residents had weathered three years of road closures and detours, he continued, “the motion has no legal standing. It achieves nothing positive and will only serve to further divide this Council and our community.”

“The emails councillors have already received on the issue show that even the suggestion of a non-confidence motion only incites more anger and more division. It certainly does not help us to address any of the issues and frustrations Corey noted.

“I sincerely hope the Councillor will reconsider presenting his motion, and commit to finding solutions and actively working together as a Council, and as a community, to move forward.” 

Wellington resident and former councillor Mike Harper also thought the call for a non-confidence vote went too far. 

“There is no doubt the Wellington detour has been very inconvenient, especially for Wellington on the Lake residents and other ‘west enders’,” he said. “They have borne the brunt of it. The rest of the town — east of Consecon St. — may have  been less affected, unless you are making regular trips to the bakery or the liquor store.  

“But the County responded to complaints. After consultation with the business community, the County did put up signs clarifying that local businesses are open. And the work crews have been doing double shifts to finish ahead of schedule, which started in early March, I think,” he noted.  

“There have been regular update notices about the project, via email and on the radio, and  there is a staff person assigned to handle information needs and follow up on complaints.”

He noted the detour roads are not in very good shape, which has added to the frustration. 

“Yes, the detour roads have taken a major beating over a harsh winter, and you can’t properly fix them until spring.”

“Personally I feel sorry mostly for Main Street businesses that have suffered an additional loss of revenue as a result, as it’s always tough for them in the winter, with many residents gone for big chunks of time.

“I  would also say that many residents are not in favour of the water infrastructure renewal and development in the first place. So that will be a contributing factor.”

Business Slows

In the village, where Main is still open, foot traffic in and out of Everything Variety and Pop Up has dwindled — even as spring arrives.

Owner Sarah Bobas admits she has lent a sympathetic ear to those wandering in to check out her eclectic offerings, everything from vinyl to gourmet prepared meals.

“I knew it would be slow through the winter, but it has really slowed down in the last three weeks,” she says. “I can’t say if that’s totally the fault of the construction and detour — or partly the poor weather.”

Ms. Bobas said a good portion of her regular customers come from Wellington-on-the-Lake and she worries about residents facing isolation during the Main Street shutdown. 

Some have mobility and accessibility issues. Others might be missing their trips to the walking track at the Wellington Arena, or their regular stop ins at the Library or coffee shops because of the detour, she notes.

“We are eager to see the end and get back to living our normal lives. My hope is that the project gets done quickly, gets done right, and we don’t have to deal with it again in our lifetimes.”

Paulette Greer of Sidestreet Gallery drives in from her home near Hillier every day. She has taken to using silky smooth Danforth Road to Consecon Street instead of the battered and beaten Greer Road detour. That adds about four minutes to her commute.

Occasionally she does travel to Wellington’s LCBO using Greer Road and Hubbs Creek Road. She admits the detour is a rough ride.

She agrees that the LCBO has been painfully quiet during the construction project.

“I stop in once in a while to support the workers there,” she said. “They’ve been hearing it from a lot of travellers from Toronto who drive all the way down Loyalist Parkway, get to the closure and have to turn around.”

“It will get done and there’s not much we can do at this point but soldier on,” she added. 

The County accelerated the roadworks in March, allowing for night-time shifts to speed up the project. Main Street is due to partially re-open in June.