LAURIE WEIR
Rideau Lakes Mayor Arie Hoogenboom dropped a last-minute bombshell during his update at Monday’s Municipal Services Committee meeting, announcing that he had formally vetoed a bylaw that would have advanced the retrofit of the township’s Chantry municipal offices.
The veto, filed earlier on May 26, halts the implementation of a May 12 confirmatory bylaw that authorized staff to issue a tender for additional renovation work. It was the final note in an otherwise routine update — and it instantly reignited debate around one of the township’s most divisive capital projects.
Hoogenboom said his decision was based on alignment with provincial priorities and concerns about long-term debt and fiscal responsibility.
“This is the largest single capital expenditure we’ve made in 25 years,” the mayor said at a previous meeting. “There has been no formal public consultation, financing is not yet secured, and the township risks taking on long-term debt at a time when interest rates and construction costs remain uncertain.”
While staff clarified that council has 21 days to override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote, Hoogenboom said the matter would be debated at the next regular council meeting on June 3. Until then, he refused to entertain further discussion, stating it was not the appropriate time.
Several councillors disagreed.
Coun. Jeff Banks pushed to address the issue immediately, while Coun. Paula Banks questioned whether discussion could wait, given that most councillors had not yet reviewed the mayor’s written rationale. She also asked whether Hoogenboom had consulted legal counsel prior to filing the veto. He declined to comment.
Deputy Mayor Deborah Anne Hutchings expressed frustration over the sudden announcement and warned that the veto could derail the project entirely. She pointed to a commercial building for sale on Highway 15 in Crosby as a possible alternative site for the township’s administrative offices.
“You’re killing the whole thing,” Hutchings said. “We’ve been talking about this for decades.”
The Chantry office project has been a flashpoint in Rideau Lakes politics. A previous council shelved plans for a new municipal hub in favour of upgrading the existing facility, but the scale and cost of the retrofit have continued to generate debate.
The veto also comes just four days after a May 22 special meeting, where a majority of council passed a resolution to formally oppose Ontario’s strong mayor legislation and commit financial support to a provincewide legal and advocacy campaign. That motion, moved by Paula Banks and seconded by Coun. Sue Dunfield, passed in the absence of Hoogenboom and councillors Marcia Maxwell and Ron Pollard.
To override the mayor’s veto, six of eight councillors must vote in favour. So far, five councillors have supported moving the Chantry project forward, while Pollard and Maxwell have publicly opposed it.
The next regular council meeting is scheduled for June 3, when debate on the veto is expected to take place.
Update: Read the mayor’s full rationale behind the veto, including housing and fiscal concerns: Mayor cites housing priorities in formal veto of Chantry retrofit bylaw
