Beamish offered a formal response Tuesday to comments by chief administrative officer Emanuel Machado at the June 4 council meeting.
Machado spoke out about staff frustration with “ongoing bullying and harassment” and singled out the Gibsons Alliance of Business and Community (GABC), the O’Shea Oceanmount Community Association and former mayor Barry Janyk, who have since characterized those comments as “exaggerated half-truths,” falsehoods and “vitriolic slurs.”
Reading from a five-page written statement, Beamish said he wanted to apologize to staff “for not recognizing the extent of personal stress and injury caused to you by events in recent years and for allowing attacks against staff to continue unchallenged and unresolved.”
Beamish also said an apology was due to the community “for not addressing the loss of trust, confidence and respect that exists for some towards our council and government.”
Beamish thanked Machado for having “the courage to bring this issue out into the open” and talked about the “overwhelming public response and support for Mr. Machado and our staff.”
Beamish went on to say, “Civil democracy and discourse is almost non-existent, having been replaced by personal attacks on staff, false or misleading statements and suggestions of corruption or criminal activity.
“As much as this kind of constant and repetitive behaviour impacts members of council who are here by choice, it also affects the morale, mental health and stress levels of staff who are constantly challenged, personally and professionally attacked and blamed for council decisions over which they have no control.”
Beamish said a copy of his statement was being forwarded to all of the agencies that received copies of a recent letter, drafted by Janyk, GABC’s Suzanne Senger, former councillor Lee Ann Johnson, and others opposing a loan to finance the upgrades to the Prowse Road sewer lift station.
“It was inferred that council and staff have been involved in activity that warrants criminal investigation,” Beamish said. “We have contacted each of these organizations and offered to fully cooperate with them, if necessary.”
Beamish concluded by calling for “a new way forward” and said council has committed to taking action in four areas, including a zero tolerance approach to bullying and harassment.
“We will not engage with any person who uses bullying or harassment techniques to intimidate, threaten or malign staff or council,” Beamish said.
Council is also pledging to respond to staff concerns and bring in a consultant who specializes in conflict resolution.
The third and fourth points in Beamish’s new way forward are a commitment to “continue to be open and transparent in our actions and decision making” and reaching out with “opportunities to dialogue and exchange views about how we can respectfully interact with each other.”
Beamish said he will resume the community dialogue program, with the first session scheduled for July 30.
“I’d like to thank the entire community in advance for their renewed commitment to more respectful engagement and civil discourse, as well as staff for working with us on this important issue,” Beamish said. “I am confident that, together, we can move beyond current tensions to a more accepting place.”
There were no comments from council after Beamish’s statement, and only one question from the public.
Gibsons resident Joan Beck, saying she was speaking for several others who’d approached her, asked if the Town could provide a detailed breakdown of the cost of recent legal challenges and whether the Town has been awarded any damages.
The question was a reference to the “more than $300,000 paid in legal bills” mentioned by Beamish in his statement and Machado’s earlier claim that more than 40 legal and quasi-legal actions related to the George Hotel and Residences approval have been filed, and subsequently dismissed, since 2013.
Beamish said those details have been discussed in camera and could only be released through a motion of council, but he would “take notice of the question.”
