A local business owner who told The Eagle last year he was throwing in the towel and selling his building because he couldn’t fight town hall anymore is trying to launch a petition calling for an inspection of the Town of Cochrane by Alberta Municipal Affairs.
Todd Simmer, his company, and his family have been in a battle with the town for almost a year over zoning and land use issues at his property on Railway St. that was home to his Yokel Local Market and Big Sky Landscaping.
A public hearing on implementing a new direct control zoning for the property, which may finally resolve the lingering issues, is scheduled for Dec. 11.
Cochrane Coun. Marni Fedeyko has signed the petition, adding she believes she's not the only councillor who will be signing.
She made it clear to The Eagle that her support for the petition is completely apolitical.
“The petition doesn’t ask you to support any political agenda, it is asking Municipal Affairs to conduct an inspection which if you look at section 567 of the MGA is about making sure we are accountable in all the ways to the citizens of our community,” she said.
Fedeyko said her previous attempts to flag some of her concerns turned in to a public ambush and character bullying.
“My concerns haven’t been acknowledged, so I signed a petition in favour of an inspection. Leave the political party support chatter out of it. It is about good governance, being accountable to the people and public transparency.
“I just want someone to start taking a deep look at things. If there are no issues, no one should have a problem with an inspection.” she added.
