A statement released today by the six remaining members of the Downtown Barrie Business Improvement Association (BIA) says that, despite six members having resigned in the last month, it's business as usual for the group.
On Thursday, BIA secretary-treasurer Michelle Huggins as well as board members Chad Ballantyne, Teresa Woolard, Randy Aylwin, Coun. Keenan Aylwin and Coun. Clare Riepma all signed the letter that was directed to the BIA membership.
It states, in part, that the board is “in the midst of an exciting period of growth" with new developments, the reconstruction of Dunlop Street in downtown Barrie and other opportunities.
"With this change, the BIA board of management is also changing," the statement continues. "We are working through some governance challenges, which present opportunities for us to be more accountable, more transparent and more connected to our membership, the businesses as well as property owners in the area.”
The statement also thanked outgoing members Denise Tucker (chair) and Tom Ambeau (vice-chair), as well as members Jason Ing, Paul Lynch, Tracey Baker and Wayne Hay, for their service.
"We respect the decision of some board members to take a step back from the work of the BIA," the statement says.
It also mentions the welcoming of two new board members, to be appointed by city council at a later date, and four additional directors from the BIA membership.
At last week's general committee meeting at Barrie City Hall, in addition to accepting the resignations of Hay and Baker, councillors also gave initial approval to filling the vacancies and requesting a third-party governance review of the BIA, which is an entity under the Municipal Act but doesn't report directly to council.
Riepma, who is one of two city appointees on the board, told BarrieToday he doesn’t believe the board is off track, given the recent resignations, and that council-appointed directors could be a good thing.
“The BIA board itself is limited as to who they can appoint, the city is not,” he said. “The city has a wider pool from which to choose from, though they can stull pick from the BIA membership.”
Coun. Keenan Aylwin, whose ward includes the downtown and is the other city appointee on the BIA board, said with city council filling two of the board’s vacancies, it opens up an opportunity to see different skill sets come in.
“The best practice in board governance is increasingly focusing on ensuring a range of skills among directors,” the Ward 2 councillor told BarrieToday.
“These two vacancies are an opportunity to enhance the governance experience of the board by recruiting individuals with a background that can assist the board in clarifying and augmenting key governance issues, such as policies and procedures," he added.
Any interested applicants can apply through the city's standard board and committee application process here.
