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Ousted Guelph building official pondered charging city with building code violations
http://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/6084870-ousted-guelph-building-official-pondered-charging-city-with-building-code-violations/
GUELPH — The city's former chief building official raised concerns with senior administrators at city hall a year ago that he might have to lay charges against the municipality for not meeting its own building bylaws, newly released civic documents suggest.
On July 10, 2014, Bruce Poole sent an email to Janet Laird, who at that time was the executive director of planning, building, engineering and environment at the City of Guelph. Poole was at that time the municipality's chief building official. The email also went to an executive team email group at City Hall. The message expressed Poole's concerns that some 50 city projects had open permits "and ongoing issues with construction being carried out without the required building permits."
"As you have heard me say many times — it's easy to enforce the rules — however how do we issue a charge against the City? . . . I have cc'd the executive team so they are kept in the loop and are aware of the potential risks and public embarrassment that the city can be exposed to," Poole wrote, in an email obtained by the Mercury through a Freedom of Information request.
Poole found himself suddenly unemployed in August this year after more than 30 years with the city — 20 of those as the chief building official, a position that every municipality must have by order of the province.
No public explanation for his ouster has ever been provided by the municipality.
The Freedom of Information request by the Mercury, initiated after Poole's dismissal, yielded a series of emails that present what appears to be evidence of a fractious relationship between city departments, and one Poole felt compelled to raise with more senior administrators.
"There is a serious issue surrounding an unprofessional and unaccountable culture several individuals believe they can live and operate under," Poole writes in the July 10, 2014 email.
Poole called for immediate action in that 2014 email including ordering one city staffer not to enter job sites.
On the advice of his lawyer, Poole declined to comment for this story.
Guelph Chief Administrative Officer Ann Pappert was designated spokesperson for the municipality regarding this story and provided emailed statements in connection with questions posed by the Mercury.
Via email, Pappert asserted that while the City of Guelph had several projects with open permits underway at the time of the July 10, 2014 email, it was not in violation of its own building bylaws.
"On this I will be unequivocally clear: The City of Guelph holds its own facilities to the same rigorous standards as every other building in the city, and continually ensures its facilities are safe and compliant. It would be a serious ethical breach for anyone to expect exemption from the (Ontario Building Code). Likewise, it would be a serious ethical breach for any Chief Building Official (CBO) to proffer exemption. Every one of the projects referenced had building permits, and each of those have been closed following a final inspection to the satisfaction of the building department," Pappert stated.
Pappert also asserted that the municipality acted quickly and decisively to Poole's email.
"The executive team responded to the CBO's email on July 11 — fewer than 24 hours after it received Mr. Poole's email, resulting in a second email from the CBO in which he clearly states that his questions were satisfactorily answered," Pappert stated.
The FOI documents received by the Mercury included a subsequent email from Poole to the executive team on July 11 where he outlines details of a positive meeting with executive staff that morning and an action plan agreed upon by people at the meeting.
The plan includes measures for better communication between the building department and other city departments on capital projects; regular updates on the status of projects; and lunch-and-learn sessions so other city departments understand what projects need building permits.
Among the 50 projects Poole was concerned about on July 10, 2014 was work related to demolition of the Willowdale Municipal Daycare Centre, at 95 Willow Rd.; construction of a washroom building including plumbing and HVAC unit at the Southend Community Park, at 25 Poppy Dr., and similar construction of a washroom with plumbing and HVAC in St. George's Park.
Pappert said all 50 projects referenced in Poole's 2014 email are now complete "to the full satisfaction of the chief building official."
Poole's July 10, 2014 email received a variety of responses, including one from Derek McCaughan, the former executive director of Operations, Transit and Emergency Services, that seems to suggest a long-standing rift between city departments.
"Good morning Bruce. You have my support on this matter. Ghosts of days past (or so I thought). We should be setting the example, not short cutting it. I will follow up next week," McCaughan wrote.
McCaughan and Laird both retired last fall and a major reorganization of city departments has occurred since, aligning under three corporate streams instead of five.
Mario Petricevic, general manager of planning and facilities management, and Kealy Dedman, the city's chief engineer, were also included in the July 2014 email exchanges. After receipt of the July 10, 2014 email from Poole, Petricevic wrote to Dedman: "I believe the building department is over-reacting in this case. Not the first time. We can chat in the morning if you wish."
In her responses for this story, Pappert wrote that comments in the email thread do not reflect the culture at city hall.
"I won't speculate about personal feelings between employees. I acknowledge that, from time to time, employees differ in their professional opinions. That, in my view, is healthy, and is conducive to new or better ways to do things," she writes.
Pappert would not comment about how Poole came to lose his job, but she did state it had "no connection whatsoever" to the July 10, 2014 email in question.
The chief building official has the authority to issue orders to comply with building code and can issue charges that are subject to fines through the Provincial Offences Court.
Pappert said Poole had not exercised that authority at the time of his July 10, 2014 email to the executive team.
Pappert did state, however, that Poole issued an order against the city in the summer of 2015 for two outstanding items in connection with construction of the city hall administration building. Caulking at the south wall of 1 Carden St. was still incomplete and a card reader on an interior door of the building had to be removed, she stated.
Poole was released from his job Aug. 26. At the time, David Godwaldt, the municipality's general manager of human resources, said he could not comment on the circumstances of Poole's break from the city but asserted that Poole would be offered a severance package under the terms of the city's non-union employee framework.
The city subsequently posted a statement on its website thanking Poole for his contributions and his years of service.
Rob Reynan has been named interim chief building official while the city seeks to fill the position permanently.
"Please note the City is involved in an ongoing employment-related issue with Mr. Poole and to the extent that your questions pertain to his employment, the City will not be able to respond," Tara Sprigg, manager of communications, stated in an email.
jshuttleworth@guelphmercury.com
http://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/6084870-ousted-guelph-building-official-pondered-charging-city-with-building-code-violations/
GUELPH — The city's former chief building official raised concerns with senior administrators at city hall a year ago that he might have to lay charges against the municipality for not meeting its own building bylaws, newly released civic documents suggest.
On July 10, 2014, Bruce Poole sent an email to Janet Laird, who at that time was the executive director of planning, building, engineering and environment at the City of Guelph. Poole was at that time the municipality's chief building official. The email also went to an executive team email group at City Hall. The message expressed Poole's concerns that some 50 city projects had open permits "and ongoing issues with construction being carried out without the required building permits."
"As you have heard me say many times — it's easy to enforce the rules — however how do we issue a charge against the City? . . . I have cc'd the executive team so they are kept in the loop and are aware of the potential risks and public embarrassment that the city can be exposed to," Poole wrote, in an email obtained by the Mercury through a Freedom of Information request.
Poole found himself suddenly unemployed in August this year after more than 30 years with the city — 20 of those as the chief building official, a position that every municipality must have by order of the province.
No public explanation for his ouster has ever been provided by the municipality.
The Freedom of Information request by the Mercury, initiated after Poole's dismissal, yielded a series of emails that present what appears to be evidence of a fractious relationship between city departments, and one Poole felt compelled to raise with more senior administrators.
"There is a serious issue surrounding an unprofessional and unaccountable culture several individuals believe they can live and operate under," Poole writes in the July 10, 2014 email.
Poole called for immediate action in that 2014 email including ordering one city staffer not to enter job sites.
On the advice of his lawyer, Poole declined to comment for this story.
Guelph Chief Administrative Officer Ann Pappert was designated spokesperson for the municipality regarding this story and provided emailed statements in connection with questions posed by the Mercury.
Via email, Pappert asserted that while the City of Guelph had several projects with open permits underway at the time of the July 10, 2014 email, it was not in violation of its own building bylaws.
"On this I will be unequivocally clear: The City of Guelph holds its own facilities to the same rigorous standards as every other building in the city, and continually ensures its facilities are safe and compliant. It would be a serious ethical breach for anyone to expect exemption from the (Ontario Building Code). Likewise, it would be a serious ethical breach for any Chief Building Official (CBO) to proffer exemption. Every one of the projects referenced had building permits, and each of those have been closed following a final inspection to the satisfaction of the building department," Pappert stated.
Pappert also asserted that the municipality acted quickly and decisively to Poole's email.
"The executive team responded to the CBO's email on July 11 — fewer than 24 hours after it received Mr. Poole's email, resulting in a second email from the CBO in which he clearly states that his questions were satisfactorily answered," Pappert stated.
The FOI documents received by the Mercury included a subsequent email from Poole to the executive team on July 11 where he outlines details of a positive meeting with executive staff that morning and an action plan agreed upon by people at the meeting.
The plan includes measures for better communication between the building department and other city departments on capital projects; regular updates on the status of projects; and lunch-and-learn sessions so other city departments understand what projects need building permits.
Among the 50 projects Poole was concerned about on July 10, 2014 was work related to demolition of the Willowdale Municipal Daycare Centre, at 95 Willow Rd.; construction of a washroom building including plumbing and HVAC unit at the Southend Community Park, at 25 Poppy Dr., and similar construction of a washroom with plumbing and HVAC in St. George's Park.
Pappert said all 50 projects referenced in Poole's 2014 email are now complete "to the full satisfaction of the chief building official."
Poole's July 10, 2014 email received a variety of responses, including one from Derek McCaughan, the former executive director of Operations, Transit and Emergency Services, that seems to suggest a long-standing rift between city departments.
"Good morning Bruce. You have my support on this matter. Ghosts of days past (or so I thought). We should be setting the example, not short cutting it. I will follow up next week," McCaughan wrote.
McCaughan and Laird both retired last fall and a major reorganization of city departments has occurred since, aligning under three corporate streams instead of five.
Mario Petricevic, general manager of planning and facilities management, and Kealy Dedman, the city's chief engineer, were also included in the July 2014 email exchanges. After receipt of the July 10, 2014 email from Poole, Petricevic wrote to Dedman: "I believe the building department is over-reacting in this case. Not the first time. We can chat in the morning if you wish."
In her responses for this story, Pappert wrote that comments in the email thread do not reflect the culture at city hall.
"I won't speculate about personal feelings between employees. I acknowledge that, from time to time, employees differ in their professional opinions. That, in my view, is healthy, and is conducive to new or better ways to do things," she writes.
Pappert would not comment about how Poole came to lose his job, but she did state it had "no connection whatsoever" to the July 10, 2014 email in question.
The chief building official has the authority to issue orders to comply with building code and can issue charges that are subject to fines through the Provincial Offences Court.
Pappert said Poole had not exercised that authority at the time of his July 10, 2014 email to the executive team.
Pappert did state, however, that Poole issued an order against the city in the summer of 2015 for two outstanding items in connection with construction of the city hall administration building. Caulking at the south wall of 1 Carden St. was still incomplete and a card reader on an interior door of the building had to be removed, she stated.
Poole was released from his job Aug. 26. At the time, David Godwaldt, the municipality's general manager of human resources, said he could not comment on the circumstances of Poole's break from the city but asserted that Poole would be offered a severance package under the terms of the city's non-union employee framework.
The city subsequently posted a statement on its website thanking Poole for his contributions and his years of service.
Rob Reynan has been named interim chief building official while the city seeks to fill the position permanently.
"Please note the City is involved in an ongoing employment-related issue with Mr. Poole and to the extent that your questions pertain to his employment, the City will not be able to respond," Tara Sprigg, manager of communications, stated in an email.
jshuttleworth@guelphmercury.com