Coaldale town office. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Coaldale group garnering petitions to force municipal inspection of town

Oct 20, 2020 | 6:00 AM

COALDALE, AB – Citizens for a Better Coaldale is holding two open houses this week in an effort to secure petitions.

LNN reported last week that the Town of Coaldale denied a request from the group to sponsor a council-led municipal inspection, which would have seen the provincial government look into a wide range of community concerns and how the local government operates.

Instead, the town will hire an independent external investigator to look into accusations that current and former town employees have been bullied, harassed, and intimidated by management.

READ MORE: Coaldale Council to investigate only a portion of community complaints

Citizens for a Better Coaldale Spokesperson Jack Van Rijn told LNN that going in this direction will not be adequate as it will only potentially address some of the many alleged issues at the town office.

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“The HR review will only look at one specific area like the complaints of town employees. An HR review miss questions and concerns from Coaldale residents about many other issues.”

“When the government does the municipal inspection, they come and present it in a town hall meeting to the residents and council and administration for the first time – everyone gets to hear it at the exact same time. When the town hires its own consultant, that company reports to council, so council can then pick-and-choose what they want to release to the general public,” adds Van Rijn.

Even without the town’s support, a municipal inspection can still be triggered by having at least 20 per cent of the local population, or approximately 1,850 residents in this case, sign petitions.

“I am very optimistic that we’re going to be successful in a very short period of time. We have 60 days to get it done and we have a very large team of volunteers and we’re ready to go.”

The group will hold two open house events at the Coaldale Community Centre. They will take place Tuesday, October 20 and Thursday, October 22 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.