The Continuing Story Unfolds

The town solicitor left in 2008. Whitby was setting up a legal department and our solicitor was the candidate chosen for the job. It was good fortune. Whitby was practically within her neighbourhood. It wasn't unusual to have to stay over at the Howard Johnston when Council meetings continued until past midnight and the only thing going on was the Mayor's relentless chatter.

Leo Groellette , chief building official.had left in 2007. One reason was the Town of Vaughan had daytime meetings.Then Councillor Morris was in the habit of extending Council hours with endless "new business" items of her own.The Mayor gave her free rein. Much good it did him.

But the solicitor had other problems to deal with in Aurora.

The Mormac Twins had trouble dealing with a Councillor inclined to expound an opposite view to their own, beyond the perimeters of the Town Hall. Even after a majority decision had been made by Council.

How outrageous!!!

The solicitor was frequently solicited to take a legal position.

Eventually, she put her position in writing. I had an opportunity to read it.

"Councillor Buck has every right to state her views. She goes right to the line but she never crosses the line"

Well the ladies were not pleased. They took to adding e-mails of mine to the agenda and bringing up my Letters to the Editor to debate.

They were informed they had no authority to do that either. But as long as the soon-to- retire Municipal Clerk was willing to follow orders. they did it anyway.

I opted to leave the Chamber rather than engage in personal dispute. Councillor MacEachern took it to signify, I was without courage.

On the eve of the 2007 election, a very angry resident of the Mosaic Town House Complex came to Council.

Canadian Tire had decided to conserve power and turn off parking lot lights at ten-thirty P.M. A rear right of way, required by the town for emergency purpose, was subsequently in darkness at that hour.

The resident raged that Canadian Tire had no right. The residents needed to use the right of way. It was closest to the bus stop.

Following, and no doubt during, the election, the issue became of prime importance to the newly elected Mayor.Months of "discussion" went into solving "the problem"

Meetings were held. Hours of title and contract searching were undertaken by staff. Contracts involving three separate property owners were discovered and forty seven pages of problem-solving instruments were registered on title.

The Town of Aurora was party to none of them.

Ultimately, " the problem" was solved by concrete being broken out and three Canadian Tire parking lot lights being hooked up to Town of Aurora street lights.

Once again, the Mormac Twins had ridden, like Zorro, to the rescue.

It may have been the last time the Town's solicitor expended significant effort to advise Council on the Town's legal responsibilities.

The CAO had also urgently advised, the legal department had spent many hours and town resources researching documents to discover the issue was entirely private.

The Town had no role.

No matter.

Months later, Executive Board Members of the Mosaic Complex came to Council as a delegation to express profound appreciation for the assistance of the Mayor and Council in resolving "the problem".

All's well that ends well.

The CAO and Town Solicitor had departed for better climes long since.