Testimony at the Collingwood Judicial Inquiry turned to a rental house on the Gulf Coast in Florida as Shirley Houghton took the witness stand.
Houghton is the wife of Ed Houghton, the former CEO and president of Collus. She worked for Paul Bonwick, the former mayor Sandra Cooper’s brother doing administrative duties for his company Compenso Communications Inc.
She testified she was making $20 per hour for her work, and would hand-deliver invoices to Bonwick around the end of the month. She does not have copies of her invoices.
On Oct. 6, 2011, Shirley Houghton received a cheque for $19,350 from Compenso, and she told the inquiry that was both her pay and the rental fee on a property she and Ed own in Naples, Florida.
“In or around Sept. 30, 2011, I went to Mr. Bonwick’s office to deliver an invoice for $1,350 for work I had completed,” states Houghton in her affidavit. “During our conversation, Mr. Bonwick asked if our property in Naples was available for rent and how much we would charge.”
Houghton told the inquiry she let Bonwick know the property was available at a rate of $4,500 per month. She said he agreed on the price and booked the rental for four months including November and December, 2011, and April and May 2012. He paid her for the rental ($18,000) and for her invoice ($1,350) with one cheque.
Documentation attached to Houghton’s affidavit shows other emails to renters with instructions and terms of rental.
Houghton told the inquiry she did not send anything to Bonwick in writing about the rental.
“I was speaking to him in person,” said Houghton during a cross-examination. “I guess, in hindsight, I should have went home and typed him a letter.”
After she received the cheque, she said she went to Florida to spend a week at the house in Naples and brought back the key for Bonwick.
Other documents show the price of the rental unit was $4,500 USD, but Houghton charged Bonwick $4,500 CAD.
“I should have said $4,500 US,” said Houghton during examination by Fred Chenoweth, the lawyer representing Ed Houghton in the inquiry.
“Forgot that little detail?” asked Chenoweth.
“Yes,” said Houghton. “New at renting.”
Bonwick testified he used the rental for a few days on two occasions during the four months he rented the property.
Houghton was hired in January, 2011. Prior to being hired, she said she received an email stating “Please read and comment” from Paul Bonwick, with his proposal to work as a consultant for PowerStream attached.
She testified she called him to let him know she received a document from him and was confused about why it came to her.
She said Bonwick told her “sorry about that,” then asked her to look it over anyway.
She said she did, and made spelling corrections.
She was hired soon after.
Other than looking over the proposal, Houghton said she can’t recall doing any further work for Bonwick regarding PowerStream. She said she didn’t know the extent of Bonwick’s involvement in the Collus PowerStream sale.
Houghton told the inquiry she learned about the proposal to sell Collus in November when the request for proposal went public, but she didn’t get any advance notice from her husband, the CEO of the utility at the time.
“We don’t discuss anything about Collus,” said Houghton. “‘Cause it’s none of my business … because that’s his work and it’s confidential.”
John Mather, counsel for the inquiry, asked why she thought it was confidential and whether or not Ed had told her it was confidential.
“He was the head of the utility and I don’t think I would want to know something before the rest of the people that he works with would know anything,” said Houghton. “From the office that he held, I just wouldn’t put him in that position.”
Mather also asked about an email chain between Shirley Houghton and Joan Muncaster (wife of the late Dean Muncaster, chairperson of the Collus board).
In an email dated Nov. 28, 2012, Joan Muncaster emails Shirley Houghton with plans about coming to visit Houghton in Florida.
At the bottom of the email marked in red, Muncaster wrote: “Oh by the way, there is a rumour going around Collingwood that Paul Bonwick received $750,000 for the Collus PowerStream Deal! I’m still laughing!! Small town. I wonder what they think I’m doing -- Haha. Hope it’s good.”
The Collus sale closed in July, 2012.
Houghton forwarded the email to her husband saying, “read the red.”
She told the inquiry, she was referring to the text about the rumour.
She said she thought her husband would want to know about the rumour.
“I believe Mr. Houghton’s thoughts were, ‘that’s crazy,’” responded Shirley Houghton.
Hearings for the judicial inquiry phase one - the investigation into the sale of 50 per cent of Collus to PowerStream in 2012 - is scheduled to conclude next week with hearings on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (June 28). Hearings take place at town hall in the council chambers at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, and 9 a.m. on Thursday and Friday.
Phase two is set to enter public hearings in September.
