Despite months of internal squabbling and city intervention, a trio of new directors recently joined the embattled Hyack Festival Association.
The three “upstanding” residents are Don Swindells, Brenda Adam and David MacGrotty, according to a press release. (Ken McIntosh, who was appointed a director just last month, resigned to avoid any conceivable conflict of interest for his wife, Coun. Betty McIntosh.)
“We now have a board of loyal, respected and dedicated professionals whose collective mandate is to stabilize and energize the Hyack Festival Association. Having survived an attempted hostile takeover by dissident board members with suspect agendas, we opted for a blended board of persons with significant past experience and those who offer fresh ideas,” besieged Hyack president Gavin Palmer said in the release.
The new appointments are “critical to have a board capable of retaining Hyack’s importance in the City of New Westminster and charting a new vibrant future,” he said.
The ongoing dust-up at Hyack started in July, when four Hyack executive members fired executive director Douglas Smith without getting approval from the board of directors. The board of directors rehired Smith, who later left and received a wrongful dismissal settlement.
The two factions of the board of directors submitted motions to be considered at a special general meeting on Oct. 22, with each side calling for the removal of members on the other side of the debate. After five Hyack board directors resigned on the morning of the Oct. 22 meeting, the Hyack executive cancelled the special general meeting and held a board meeting, where they filled in vacancies with new board members. Although Hyack's president canceled the Oct. 22 special general meeting, about 25 people attended the venue and voted to remove three executives – including Palmer – from the board.
The most recent meeting to fill these three seats was held on Nov. 5, according to the press release.
In response to the ongoing drama, city council approved four recommendations concerning the embattled organization: to request all financial records and procedures from the organization so it can conduct an independent audit; to contact the registrar of B.C. Societies to investigate the conduct of the Hyack Festival Association; to administer this year's Santa Claus Parade and other events remaining in the association's 2013 granting process; and to suspend any future funding to the association until these governance matters are resolved to the satisfaction of the city.
Jan Gibson, the city’s acting director of legislative services, told The Record the city has sent a letter to the registrar of societies, but has not yet received a response. The city is actively planning the Santa Claus Parade.
– with files from Theresa McManus
