Newmarket Councillor Joe Sponga resigns from Main Street BIA board
Politician embroiled in public battle with other board members

yorkregion.com
Feb. 26, 2016
By Chris Simon

Newmarket Councillor Joe Sponga has resigned from the Main Street District Business Improvement Area's board of directors.

The Ward 5 councillor, who has been involved in the revitalization of Main in various capacities over the past two decades, is embedded in a nasty battle with several members of the board and it appears the fight has just gone public.

Sponga, who was given a seat on the board as a representative of council, resigned last week. He says many of the other board members have created an environment of distrust - specifically referencing a December motion regarding the Main Street clock tower proposal.

The BIA, which acts as a sub-committee of council, did not provide advance notice of the motion to Sponga, town staff and another board member, Jackie Playter. Sponga says it was done for politically motivated reasons.

"The previous boards or committees have always embraced every resource they could get their hands on; the discussion was always very inclusive," he said. "It became a divisive environment by purposely excluding...potentially opposing views. We were excluded from the discussion up until the vote. I was told this was only a select group of members who felt this was necessary to come forth."

But BIA chair Glenn Wilson, owner of CanadaT.com, disputes the claim.

"He's taking exception to the motion the board passed in December," he said. "I guess that's in direct opposition to what he believes. He didn't actually attend that meeting. When it passed, I guess he felt he couldn't work with us anymore. Being a new chair, I mischaracterized the way the motion was presented. The membership prepared the motion; there's no need to circulate or ask for input (ahead of time). (Sitting on the board is) really about who wants to stand up and do the job. It's not a paid position; this is completely volunteer. We've got a term of four years to do what we see is best. The dynamic of the street has changed, but Joe is claiming we're not representative of the makeup of the street. By that logic, we've got enough hairstylists to choke a cat; we should have seven hairstylists and a restaurateur."

In the December motion, the BIA notes it only supports "responsible development" that respects the three-storey height limitation permitted in the Downtown Newmarket Heritage Business District under the Heritage Act. It also formally "objects to and opposes" a proposed transfer or swap of town-owned heritage land - specifically, the land on or below the Market Square parking block - for the construction of an underground parking lot.

The BIA charges the construction of an underground parking lot would cause the loss of public parking spaces in the downtown for a lengthy period, with "catastrophic effects" on member businesses.

"I know there are many residents and seniors within Ward 5 who support some sort of redevelopment of the clock tower," Sponga said. "Main is one segment of the commercial sector of Ward 5. Main is a very special place because it's our heritage district, but the BIA needs to embrace innovation. It can't be isolated to our overall business strategy."

Conflict between Sponga and the BIA has been brewing for a while, apparently. The board became highly politicized after the last municipal election, when people who didn’t support his campaign for re-election took seats around the table, he said.

Then Sponga introduced a motion to review the terms of reference and composition of the board during the BIA's last meeting. The motion was meant to "allow for a more diverse representation" that includes restaurateurs, but it was not approved.

"The present board has lost the engagement of some key businesses and individuals that provide the buzz," he said. "Having (a) bunch of landlords around the table talking about their individual parking needs is short changing the future sustainability of Main."

Again, Wilson disagrees and says Sponga has over-reacted and even called a board member "crooked".

"It's unfortunate," Wilson said. "By him choosing to leave, it's probably the right thing to do. I'd like to see someone come on to the board who is willing to participate, have ideas and engage in the whole process."

One or two new members will be given positions on the board through the town's appointment committee. The appointees do not necessarily have to be council members - they could be residents or representatives from the business community.

Town staff will also meet with the BIA chair and vice-chair to provide tips on chairing meetings and ensuring members are widely consulted on important issues, says town clerk Andrew Brouwer.