Redwood Meadows in midst of fight for control of local government

It got bad enough that on Dec. 20, two councils – both claiming to represent the community of Redwood Meadows – were meeting simultaneously.

The scrap started after cost overruns on two community capital projects raised flags for several former mayors.

"The overages are potentially a quarter-million dollars because of rugby fields and skate shacks," said John Welsh, who was the townsite's mayor during the 2013 flood.

"The math's pretty simple, from that standpoint."

"We don't have that much money and it has to be managed thoughtfully."

Welsh is a supporter of a group calling on the current council to step down.

The group mustered the required signatures to hold a special meeting and pass a new bylaw claiming 98 per cent support that would remove the current elected mayor and council.

That vote was held at the end of November and later recognized in a letter from the province.

"A group of us got together four former mayors, four former deputy mayors, a couple of treasurers and some high-profile volunteers (and) signed a letter addressed to the three councillors present at that time, urging them to resign," said Paul Sawler, a former mayor and leader of the rival council.

The move is made possible by Redwood Meadow's unique legal status.

The townsite is leased from the Tsuut'ina Nation and its government is, legally, a society.

But embattled Redwood Mayor George Allen says the attempted ouster is filled with problems.

Allen was elected as a councillor during the October 2021 municipal elections and acclaimed mayor last month after his predecessor resigned.

"They are not following the proper procedures. For example, with the petition, they actually represented themselves as townsite when they distributed it. There are a number of flaws," Allen said, pointing to a legal opinion prepared by a Calgary law firm.

There are accusations of bullying and locks being changed and Allen says the group calling for his removal is trying to distract from bigger water treatment infrastructure issues caused by the previous council.

Despite a brewing legal squabble over governance, Allen says he's ready to welcome his opponents' help in guiding the community into the future.

"We would love to see them come in and help solve some of these problems – that would be the ultimate win," Allen said.

He also says new spending caps have been put in place requiring staff to come back to council for approval for additional expenses or cost overruns.

And he says the townsite has hired a financial manager to assist with transparency.

For residents concerned about spending priorities, it's too little, too late.

"If we just went along and let this council ride through until the next election was due, I don't think we can afford that," said Mike Norman, who also serves as Redwood Meadows' deputy fire chief.

"I don't think we can afford that with the level of project management that we've seen in the past one and a half years."

A special general meeting has been called for the end of January to discuss community concerns.