Faced with a gaping hole at the top of its executive food chain, Springwater Township council took less than a minute to rectify the situation Thursday afternoon.
During a special session of council that started at 4:30 p.m. and wrapped up one minute later, Springwater council appointed Doug Herron, currently the township’s director of planning and development services, as interim chief administrative officer and Greg Bedard, currently the director of finance, as the township’s interim deputy chief administrative officer. Both positions take effect immediately.
The appointment bylaws will be presented at the Jan.15 meeting of council.
Herron and Bedard were appointed to their temporary roles following the departure of Springwater Township’s chief administrative officer Jeff Schmidt, who resigned his position to take on the role of general manager of community and corporate services with the City of Barrie.
“I provided my resignation to Springwater on Dec. 19, which included six weeks of notice,” Schmidt said in an unsolicited email to BarrieToday on Thursday evening. “My last day was scheduled to be Jan. 31.”
According to Schmidt, his contract with Springwater required a minimum four-week notice if he was planning to vacate his role.
Schmidt’s decision to join the City of Barrie while Springwater Township and Oro-Medonte Township were in the middle of a dispute with the city regarding its boundary expansion plans caused serious consternation among some township councillors.
A meeting to discuss Schmidt’s resignation was originally scheduled for yesterday (Jan. 2), but four township councillors felt it necessary to deal with the resignation earlier and called for a special closed-session meeting on Dec. 27.
“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 at the Dec. 27 meeting, prior to council moving 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.
Coughlin said she felt the special closed-session meeting was called with “the illusion of urgency and the suggestion of necessity.”
Not everyone on council agreed.
“We have been in discussions surrounding the land-boundary adjustment for some time and our CAO (Schmidt) has been at the forefront of these discussions,” Coun. Phil Fisher said in an email to BarrieToday. “I will not speculate on how this could negatively impact our municipality, however it is something that we as a council should be very cognizant of.”
Coun. Anita Moore also had concerns.
“Had the CAO not been part of intimate conversations with the City of Barrie and the provincial facilitator, this may have played out differently,” she said in an email. “In order to protect all parties and the process, whether real or perceived, the move to call an urgent special meeting Dec. 27 was warranted.”
According to Schmidt, when he tendered his resignation on Dec. 19, he also advised township officials that he was removing himself from all City of Barrie discussions moving forward.
“There was a meeting with the provincial facilitator on or about Dec. 23 that I did not attend,” Schmidt said.
He noted that after the Dec. 27 closed-session meeting, which he did not attend, he was asked if he would allow the township to waive his working notice period, which he agreed to, provided the township honour and provide his full compensation.
“I didn’t leave Springwater ‘high and dry,’ as suggested by some,” Schmidt said. “Nor should they have been caught ‘off-guard’.
“I provided ample notice for them to transition,” he added.
Schmidt said he was planning on staying with the township until the end of January to assist them through this transition.
“I acted in a professional and ethical way,” he said. “To suggest otherwise is 100 per cent incorrect.”
Schmidt’s interim replacements are both relatively new to the township. Herron was named director of planning and development services on Feb. 5, 2024, while Bedard was named director of finance on May 7, 2024.
Herron has more than 20 years of experience, primarily with the Town of Wasaga Beach, including five years as the director of planning and economic initiatives. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from Western University and is a member of the Canadian Institute of Public Planners and Ontario Professional Planners Institute.
Bedard has more than 10 years of experience in municipal finance, including his last role, director of finance at the Township of Minden Hills. He holds a bachelor of commerce degree with a specialization in accounting and public management. Additionally, he is accredited as a Certified Municipal Revenue Professional (CMRP) and is currently pursuing certification as a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).
