By Leah Murray

City Council throws new transit system under the bus

Sep 18, 2017 | 10:34 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — In a surprise move Medicine Hat’s City Council voted six to three to revert the transit system back to the way it was.

The motion was put forward by Councillor Julie Friesen and also notes city staff will continue to look for other ways to make improvements and cost savings to transit.

The motion required two-thirds of a majority to pass.

Councillors Julie Friesen, Celina Symmonds, Jim Turner, Brian Varga, Les Pearson and Robert Dumanowski all supported it.

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Many of them admitted the changes to the system were a mistake.

“This is costing people income, it’s costing them hours, it’s costing them great stress,” said Councillor Jim Turner. “I just don’t think that as a Councillor I can support that.”

“My experience showed me that it really wasn’t working in the way that it needed to,” said Symmonds after taking a trip with a resident affected by the transit changes.

“I believe that we all had the best intentions, but sometimes the best intentions don’t have the best outcomes, and right now I think that we need to change,” she said.

“My intent was not to just put it back and forget about it,” Friesen explained. “It was, put it back to what it was so people an access public transportation, while you’re searching for a solution that is going to work better.”

Councillors Jamie McIntosh and Bill Cocks, and Mayor Ted Clugston voted against the motion.

They admit mistakes were made and changes need to happen to the new system, but say they didn’t agree with reverting it back.

The members who voted down the motion said it’s only been a couple of weeks since the new system came online.

They argued that more time was needed to work out the kinks and see how well, or not, the system really worked.

“When you try something you give it a little time before you give up, life is full of challenges and sometimes when you run into difficulty you have to stay the course,” Mayor Ted Clugston explained. “[But], I get what was said tonight about it [being] a mistake.”

The move is expected to eliminate the $600,000-$650,000 savings the new system provided, increasing next year’s budget by around one per cent.

The switch back is also expected to add some additional cost.

“That savings has already been factored into 2018, as you all know, that money was supposed to be saved, so that will have to be an amendment,” Clugston stated.

The Chief Administrative Officer got upset with the proposal during the meeting Monday night, and offered up her job to Council if they felt she was no longer being effective.

“I think she saw it as a vote of non-confidence in her and her administration,” said Clugston.

Friesen urges this change was not a personal attack on city staff, but rather a response to the public outcry.

“It’s okay to say something didn’t work. We all have that in our lives, in decisions at work, this is one of them and it’s been very hard on staff,” said Friesen. “[But,] I have to do what I think is right for the most folks.”

The system won’t revert back overnight, it will take time.

The CAO said making the changes back to the old system will likely take at least three months. It will require hiring back drivers, changes to signage and budget amendments, among other things.