Dear editor:

I understand from his recent Facebook post our lord mayor is still contemplating running for a second term in Niagara-on-the-Lake congratulating himself for the wonderful job he has done in the past four years; bragging about successfully reshaping the culture within council and the town’s corporation.

If this new culture is the one in which he unilaterally signs a letter with the other mayors acceding to the wishes of Minister Rob Flack and Premier Doug Ford to restructure municipal governance in Niagara without even consulting our own town council, it is certainly no improvement to crow about — and the lame excuse of it was the working group’s decision is simply misleading: Coun. Sandra O’Connor was on the working group and had no advance knowledge.

The culture you are so proud of includes much less citizen participation on committees and fewer public consultation bodies with a much expanded administrative staffing cost.

Furthermore, to continue and champion having settled and closed lawsuits drawing down the town’s coffers because of the town’s “weak” legal positioning is hogwash.

The Black 27 Prideaux settlement was simply a gift to the appellant of $225,000 on top of the profit they had made from the sale of the property. And the Hummel Properties settlement was just as unwarranted: paying-off a developer because he was presumably delayed in his plans to build across from the Old Winery, which, to this day, sits vacant with a “for sale” sign on it?

And then there is the matter of the major (upwards of 90 per cent) legal cost to the town of Mr. Marotta’s companies and the Randwood estate since 2018.

But wait, every single action and appeal that Mr. Marotta and his companies have made has been either withdrawn or lost, including at Superior Court and the Ontario Land Tribunal, so I guess we were right as a town to defend our heritage and what is right for the town — and a least, in some circumstances, he has had to pay court costs.

If you decide to run again, my one wish for my fellow voters will be to remember who it was that approved the Parliament Oak hotel and then championed rebating almost $1 million in development fees to Mr. Marotta’s company for his Parliament Oak dig both at town council and at regional council: it was you, Lord Mayor Zalepa, and your deputy lord mayor, leading the charge to give away our tax money.

Our taxes are up and our town’s heritage and services are down under your watch — nothing to crow about, Mr. Zalepa.

Bob Bader
NOTL