From joint council presentations to adding a councillor to the committee, consultants recommend 27 ways to improve the “strained relationship” between Heritage Guelph (HG) and city staff.
Enhancing communication is a recurring theme.
“I feel Heritage Guelph is just becoming a calliope,” said HG member James Smith, referring to carnival displays meant to attract attention but do nothing other than distract observers from other happenings. “I’m hoping this report changes that.”
The report and recommendations were presented during HG’s meeting on Monday following a mediation process between committee members and city staff that began earlier this year after issues of mistrust and differing opinions publicly surfaced around a number of issues, including the development of the cultural heritage landscape plan (CHAP) and differing opinions as to the extent HG’s comments and concerns were conveyed to council.
In addition to including a council member on HG and making presentations to council alongside city staff, recommendations include increasing heritage staff on the city roster, onboarding and ongoing training for HG members, consideration of less formal meetings, communicating with other committees of issues that overlap, provision of additional heritage resources, and city staff support to discuss ideas and opportunities even if they don’t align with past decisions.
“I think they do want to work on improving this,” said Michael Wildman, principal consultant for Municipal Government Wayfinders, referring to HG members and city staff. “Strong relationships do take time to build and require an ongoing commitment.
“The 27 opportunities really should be viewed as a starting point, not a finish line.”
Wildman noted several of the commendations were brought up in different contexts and were therefore repeated in the list of 27.
Having a council member on the committee is among the key ideas for HG vice-chair Arlin Otto – something past and present members of several other committees have also called for.
“That’s a critical path to getting the information to council,” she said, noting it’s “not uncommon” for city staff and HG to disagree on matters before them. “Our recommendations get misconstrued to council.”
While council members sit on heritage advisory committees in the City of Waterloo, Town of Oakville and City of Ottawa – comparator municipalities used in evaluating best practices – a staff report notes recently approved city rules regarding advisory committees require that all HG members be appointed from the public.
Some of the recommendations are already being addressed, including updating the committee’s terms of reference and collaborative development of annual work plans.
“I think we’re in a good spot,” said Dylan McMahon, deputy clerk.
City council decided in January – during the same meeting when the controversial CHAP was approved – to bring in an independent mediator to address the “strained relationship,” as Coun. Cathy Downer put it, between HG and city staff. Heading into that meeting, staff recommended mediation efforts be handled internally, with a staff member from another department brought in to address concerns.
“It is important that the heritage goals of the city be done collaboratively between staff and Heritage Guelph,” Downer said during the Jan. 25 council meeting.
HG unanimously received both the report and recommendations on Monday, with prioritization of the recommendations expected to follow during the next couple of months.
