The legal settlements with John Black and Hummel Properties Inc. have divided residents and councillors in Niagara-on-the-Lake, with some calling the more than $1.2 million payout (not including legal fees) hard to accept, others viewing it as necessary and many choosing not to comment at all.
Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa said there was a sense of relief when the long-running cases ended, but the outcome didn’t surprise him.
“When you get into a fairly complicated and complex set of allegations, I don’t think the timeline is that out of line with something similar,” he said after the town announced the Black settlement, referring to why it took six years to settle.
The town settled with Black for $225,000 and with Hummel Properties Inc. for $1 million for a total of $1,225,000. The lawsuits, both alleging the town acted in bad faith, were filed in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
Zalepa told The Lake Report that, given the facts and circumstances, the town could’ve ended up paying more.
Coun. Maria Mavridis agreed.
“Prolonging litigation to ‘fight’ these matters, as some have suggested, would only have resulted in significant additional costs to taxpayers with little prospect of a different outcome,” she said.
But Coun. Wendy Cheropita, who also served on the previous council, said the Hummel settlement was troubling.
“This is a million dollars,” she said. “If we converted that to an increase in taxes, it would probably be about a seven to eight per cent increase.”
She criticized what she sees as a lack of accountability in the public sector, especially compared to her background in private business.
“What bothers me is that no one was accountable for this,” she said. “I just find this frustrating, having come from the private business environment where people are held accountable for things.”
Cheropita was in senior roles in sales, marketing and relationship-building in the Niagara wine industry before entering local politics.
Coun. Sandra O’Connor took a more sympathetic view. She was appointed to council in 2020 following former councillor Stuart McCormarck’s resignation, after the incidents at the centre of the Black and Hummel lawsuits took place.
“It’s a big pill to swallow,” she said of the settlements. “I’m sure the council of the time did their best.”
Black, a resident of Niagara-on-the-Lake, alleged that in 2019, the town designated his home at 27 Prideaux St. as a heritage property without his consent and acted in bad faith, preventing him from completing planned renovations.
Hummel Properties Inc., meanwhile, alleged bad faith actions after the Ontario Superior Court ruled the town’s use of an interim control bylaw was illegal. The company claimed the bylaw, enacted in 2018, harmed its ability to develop one of its properties, costing it money.
While the financial cost has dominated discussion, others say the controversy reflects deeper community concerns.
McCormack said the Black case attracted attention because of the heritage designation aspect of that situation.
“There is certainly a high degree of concern with respect to anything involving heritage in NOTL,” he said.
McCormack did not comment on the Hummel settlement. He was named in Hummel’s statement of claim, accused of co-ordinating the passing of the interim control bylaw at the centre of the Hummel lawsuit with then-lord mayor Betty Disero.
Some residents who spoke with The Lake Report declined to comment publicly, citing concern over potential backlash. Some were unfamiliar with the cases altogether.
However, NOTL teacher Marilyn Milani said the lawsuits highlighted the need for greater municipal transparency, so people understand how the process works better.
“The town has to be more accountable and transparent with what’s going on,” she said.
Resident Peter Anthony Koutroulakis, in a message to The Lake Report, said council should bear responsibility for the decisions that led to the Black lawsuit.
“Whoever made council decisions to ultimately send this to court (that case did not go to court), in my opinion, should be responsible for the consequences,” he said.
He followed, commenting on the Hummel suit as well, that “the municipal taxpayer shouldn’t be burdened by this. The individuals named in the legal claim should be solely responsible for the monetary damages.”
Coun. Adriana Vizzari said the settlements at least offer the town a chance to move forward.
“These resolutions allow the town to move forward and focus on serving the community effectively,” she said.
Coun. Gary Burroughs, along with Cheropita and Coun. Erwin Wiens, is one of three current councillors who also served during the time of the lawsuits. Burroughs declined to comment.
Wiens, speaking only about the Black case, said “the money was secondary to the way the Blacks were treated.” He did not comment on the Hummel settlement.
Former councillor Norm Arsenault and former lord mayor Betty Disero also declined to comment. Rainer Hummel, representing Hummel Properties Inc., declined as well.
