Chatham-Kent Councillor Rhonda Jubenville. (Photo by Jaryn Vecchio)
Chatham

CK council votes against motion to look at referendum for community hub project

Talks on a potential referendum for the proposed Chatham-Kent community hub have stopped just as fast as they started.

CK council met on Monday where they voted against a motion from Councillor Rhonda Jubenville to have the municipality's administration bring back a report on the best way to hold a community vote on the project.

Mayor Darrin Canniff along with Councillors Michael Bondy, Morena McDonald, and John Wright were the only ones to vote alongside Jubenville. Councillor Amy Finn was not in attendance.

Jubenville told CK News Today she was quite surprised with the outcome.

"It was just asking for information, so I'm disappointed council's decision was not to even consider having the information come back," she said.

While this was not a vote on whether to hold a referendum, it did stop any future debate stemming from this specific motion.

At an October CK council meeting, several residents spoke in favour of the referendum. The biggest concerns they brought forward were cost of the community hub and the potential impact it would have on rural communities.

"I feel bad for a lot of residents of Chatham-Kent who were hoping this would go to the next step," added Jubenville.

Meanwhile, the final designs for the community hub are being completed.

CK council did approve moving forward with the project last month after the municipality's administration and the hub's architect answered questions about the concerns being raised.

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