The former acting chief administrative officer of Collingwood was asked to explain seemingly incomplete answers he provided to public questions on the recreation facility deals that led to the construction of a new arena and pool building.
Ed Houghton, former acting CAO of the town, CEO of Collus, and director of public works, was on the witness stand for three days ending Tuesday at the Collingwood Judicial Inquiry.
While on the stand, he was cross-examined by Kate McGrann, counsel for the inquiry commissioner, who asked him questions about why he didn’t disclose what he knew about Paul Bonwick’s (former Mayor Sandra Cooper’s brother) involvement in the recreation facility deals.
Houghton testified he did not tell any members of council what he knew about Bonwick lobbying for the construction company proposing to build two Sprung fabric membrane structures for a town arena and pool building.
Email records collected by the inquiry show when Houghton was asked by members of the public if Bonwick benefitted from the deal, Houghton provided a technically correct answer, but did not disclose what he knew about Bonwick's lobbyist efforts and payment.
This phase of the inquiry is looking into the allocation of Collus share sale proceeds to build the fabric membrane rec facilities at Central Park (Central Park Arena) and Heritage Park (Centennial Aquatic Centre).
Inquiry documents and witness testimonies show Bonwick’s company Green Leaf was hired by BLT Construction to ‘open doors’ at the town and help them get the contract to build the arena and pool buildings with a Sprung fabric membrane structure. Green Leaf received approximately $675,000 (not including tax) from BLT for its work. The town selected BLT Construction for a sole-sourced contract, without putting the arena and pool project out to a competitive tender process.
Inquiry documents and Houghton’s testimony confirm Houghton knew as early as July, 2012, that Bonwick, through Green Leaf, was working for BLT Construction to help lobby on their behalf.
Both Bonwick and Houghton have confirmed they have been friends for several years.
Council voted to build fabric membrane structures at a council meeting on Aug. 27, and the town hired BLT soon after.
Houghton did not disclose to council or other town staff what he knew about Bonwick or his company Green Leaf lobbying for BLT Construction.
When asked during the inquiry why he didn’t disclose that information, Houghton said he didn’t see it was his obligation.
“I didn’t think it was for me to tell anybody,” said Houghton on the stand. “He was working for somebody else, and Mr. Bonwick works for many, many other people in the Town of Collingwood.”
Houghton argued Bonwick was paid by a private company and not the town.
Houghton also referenced information that had come out in part one of the inquiry when evidence was presented on conflicts of interest related to Bonwick’s work with PowerStream as a lobbyist in the 2012 share sale of Collus. PowerStream was the successful bidder in that deal.
At that time, information provided to Mayor Sandra Cooper stated the Municipal Conflict of Interest laws did not require her to declare a conflict of interest related to a sibling. She, therefore, did not declare Bonwick’s involvement with PowerStream during the sale process.
“If there’s no obligation for others, then why is the obligation there for me, and if there was no concern less than a year earlier that Mr. Bonwick was working and getting paid to do things, why is this now something different?” asked Houghton during his testimony.
He said he was not “choosing to withhold” information from council or town staff.
“I didn’t perceive there was an issue,” he said. “I’ve thought of this a thousand times since then. If I had an obligation to do so, I would have done so. I didn’t do it for any other reason than it didn’t appear there was any issue or an obligation or a conflict, because they had already just done that less than a year previously.”
Documents collected by the inquiry show Bonwick’s company Green Leaf was paid a percentage (6.5 per cent) of the total contract awarded to BLT Construction. According to emails between Green Leaf and BLT Construction, the 6.5 per cent was added to the total amount before the pricing was sent to the town.
Houghton confirmed he knew Green Leaf’s consulting fee would be a percentage of the total contract before the contract was selected by the town.
McGrann asked if Houghton understood the percentage-based fee meant the more the town paid BLT, the more money Green Leaf would receive.
“I certainly didn’t take that into consideration,” said Houghton.
“Can you see how an outsider looking at this may be concerned that the decisions you made were made to ensure that Mr. Bonwick got paid and were made to ensure that he got paid as much as possible?” asked McGrann of Houghton.
“I can tell you that is totally, categorically incorrect,” he responded. “Decisions I made were always in the best interests of the community . . . I was here for 39 years, and it had nothing to do with the benefit of Mr. Bonwick, and it certainly had nothing to do with the benefit of me. I was doing what I felt council was asking us to do.”
Houghton has testified he was not paid for his work as acting CAO of the town of Collingwood, and his only salary came from Collus for his role as CEO. He considered his work as Acting CAO an in-kind or volunteer service.
Later, members of the public did raise questions. On Sept. 14, 2012, Steve Berman emailed then-Deputy Mayor Rick Lloyd to ask questions about the recreation facility deal.
Berman asked for a copy of the contract with Sprung, and asked about connections between council, staff, and Sprung including anyone who lobbied for Sprung.
“This way, you can get rid of all the conspiracy theorists that think people are profiting from this, yourself, Sandra [Cooper], Paul Bonwick, et cetera,” wrote Berman to Lloyd.
Email records show Lloyd forwards the email to Houghton, and Houghton responds saying there is “no relationship with Sprung.”
McGrann reminded Houghton he knew, at the time of the email, about Bonwick’s company working for BLT, and the payment given to Green Leaf by BLT for that work.
She asked why he wrote there was no relationship.
“Because I’d been told that there was no relationship with Sprung, he’s working with BLT,” said Houghton. “That was an accurate statement.”
McGrann told Houghton the evidence gathered by the inquiry shows – at this point – the public had only been told council was entering into a contract with the manufacturer, who is Sprung. It was Sprung who made a presentation to council on Aug. 27 when council decided to build fabric membrane structures.
McGrann said it didn’t appear there was any public mention of BLT prior to this September 2012 email from Berman.
The inquiry continues this week with Paul Bonwick, the final witness listed in the second phase of the inquiry, on the stand today. Hearings will take place today, and tomorrow, and possibly Friday if required, usually beginning at 9 a.m. at town hall.
You can watch the hearings live on Rogers TV, or online here. You can also watch the hearings in person at the town hall council chambers.
