Councillors spar over trucking lobby accusation

Startled by the suggestion she might be part of a trucking lobby, Councillor Joan Robson demanded an explanation and got one-- of sorts-- Tuesday night from Councillor Mike Davis, who had made the comment at a January council meeting. In the Feb. 15 edition of The Independent and Free Press it was reported Davis accused rural councillors Robson, Bryan Lewis and Clark Somerville of being part of a trucking lobbying during a debate on posting half-load limits on rural roads at the January 23 council meeting. However, Robson did not hear Davis make the comment that evening and became aware of it upon reading the story. Before demanding answers from Davis, she called to confirm with the paper that the comment was made. "I am quite startled that a fellow councillor would say this," said Robson at the Feb. 20 council meeting, pointing out that she and her colleagues have been working hard to serve their constituents such as getting an aggregate company to reduce tonnage to lessen the wear and tear on roads, and stopping the rerouting of trucks through the village of Glen Williams. I can assure the public, and council here, that I was never approached by any of them (trucking companies) and I have never approached any of them." She demanded a clarification from Davis, who said he didn't recollect making the comment and hadn't read the article, but added he would make a statement at the March 7 meeting. Tuesday night, he read his statement to councillors, in part saying, "My comments were made in open council and interpreted by the reporter." During the January meeting, after Robson, Somerville and Lewis had spoken against the half-load limits proposed by Davis, Davis countered saying, "What I see here is a little bit of a trucking lobby going on; we want to be fully loaded. My side of it, is taxpayers paying for that ... fully loaded on roads that perhaps can't support it and doing damage to the roads." While the implication was clear he had been referring to the previous speakers, Davis said in his Tuesday night statement, "I did not intend them to be specifically directed at Councillor Robson, Somerville or Lewis." But as he continued to read his statement, Davis compounded the issue by painting the whole council with a similar brush. "It's easy to see support for the trucking industry when council shows no concern for possible damage by fully-loaded trucks using roads during unusually warm temperatures recorded throughout January." However Lewis and Councillor Jon Hurst took issue with the words "shows no concern." "I think we had a long debate about this at the time (January)," said Hurst. "We, as a council, don't like to micro-manage our departments. We have a public works department that's been looking after roads for 30 years. They know how to do it and they know what they're doing, and we leave that sort of decision in their capable hands. To say council shows no concern, there could be nothing further from the truth." "I would have a lot more respect for you Councillor (Davis) if you spent a little more time in raising Ward 3 issues instead of trying to pick apart the other councillors' efforts," Robson told Davis. Davis restated his contention that posting half-load limits on rural roads is a town-wide issue. "My concern, which I brought forward in good faith, is for the town budget. If there is such a structural damage due to thawing and from fully-loaded trucks, we could have mitigated unnecessary costs with half-load limits," he said. Ed. Note: The Independent & Free Press stands by its Feb. 15 story.