Springwater's chief administrative officer is leaving the township to take on an executive role with the City of Barrie.
Scott LaMantia, the city's manager of marketing and communications, told BarrieToday in an email on Monday that Schmidt has been hired for the role of general manager, community and corporate services.
Schmidt’s resignation has caused concern among some Springwater councillors because, as the township’s chief executive, he has been immersed in the City of Barrie’s boundary expansion plans into Springwater and Oro-Medonte townships.
Springwater council was originally scheduled to discuss Schmidt’s resignation at a meeting on Jan. 2. However, four members of council petitioned for a special closed session meeting that was held at the township’s administration centre this past Friday.
“Prior to resolving into closed to discuss the resignation of CAO Schmidt, it is important to note that a meeting was scheduled at the request of myself, the Office of the Mayor, on Thursday, Jan. 2,” Springwater Mayor Jennifer Coughlin said in her open session preamble Friday, before council resolved into closed session.
“That meeting was scheduled to discuss the pending decisions of council to effectively transition our corporation forward in a timely manner and was set with both outreach to all members of council in consideration for the approved office closure by this council, weighing the significance of the situation," she added.
“The petition to call an alternative meeting by four members of council, in my opinion, is done so with the illusion of urgency and the suggestion of necessity and yet again reactive, first to the office of the elected mayor and secondly, fuelled by the City of Barrie.”
Coughlin said she would “reluctantly resolve into closed” session, but not without first acknowledging the many staff members who gave up a portion of their holiday break to facilitate the meeting.
“It is my opinion that this meeting is untimely and unfounded,” she said. “Abruptly altering the course of this meeting out of spite, whether towards me, CAO Schmidt or the City of Barrie, is unwarranted.”
Deputy Mayor George Cabral disagreed.
“To suggest this is out of spite in any way shape or form, I don’t think that’s an appropriate comment to make and I'm just saying I’m disappointed in that,” Cabral countered after the mayor finished speaking.
“Given the nature of this matter and given the timing of this matter, and yes, it's unfortunate, but it's also urgent to deal with it, in my opinion,” Cabral added.
He was not alone.
Councillors Anita Moore, Danielle Alexander and Phil Fisher were on the same page.
“Given the sensitive nature of the current annexation situation with the City of Barrie, I fully supported the expedited special session of council,” Alexander said in an email to BarrieToday. “It is imperative that the manner of Mr. Schmidt's departure from the township be dealt with swiftly and professionally.”
Fisher thought a meeting was required out of a sense of urgency and necessity.
“When a CAO or any senior member leaves an organization, it is imperative to have that position filled and a contingency plan in place.” Fisher wrote in an email to BarrieToday. “Letting time pass by and not dealing with this situation urgently is poor leadership and understanding of the situation at hand.
“Having our CAO depart and go to the City of Barrie, given the situation, we are finding ourselves in with our land boundary discussions is also of some major concern," he added.
Moore said the mitigating circumstances around Schmidt’s resignation required the special meeting.
“I agree that (the) timing was complicated, but the situation is also complicated with mitigating circumstances not normally part of an average resignation,” Moore said in an email to BarrieToday. “Had the CAO not been part of intimate conversations with the City of Barrie and the provincial facilitator, this may have played out differently.
“In order to protect all parties and the process, whether real or perceived, the move to call an urgent special meeting Dec 27, 2024 was warranted,” she added.
Moore said it was "critically important" to put a plan in place quickly to ease staff and resident concerns, ensure business continuity and have as little distraction and disruption as possible while recruiting a new CAO.
Forbidden to discuss the details of the closed session meeting, Moore characterized it as "productive."
“This meeting was extremely productive with many important discussions and decisions made, which provided a positive way forward for all involved,” Moore said.
Coun. Brad Thompson didn’t share Moore’s view. He said the meeting didn’t accomplish anything.
“Nothing was accomplished today that could not have been looked after on Jan. 2,” he said in an email to BarrieToday on Friday evening. “The drama that four members of council caused today was unnecessary.”
Coun. Matt Garwood agreed with Thompson.
“While I fully support the importance of convening to determine the best course forward for Springwater, I expressed concerns regarding the timing of the meeting,” Garwood said in an email to BarrieToday. “Our residents benefit most when our team has had the chance to recharge and spend quality time with their families.
“I still believe that scheduling the meeting once business resumes on Jan. 2, 2025, would have been appropriate and allow us to achieve our objectives effectively,” he added.
Coming out of the closed session, it was resolved that the mayor and staff proceed as directed in closed and staff report back at the Jan. 2 special meeting of council on next steps.
