Milne motion fails to end County cost bid, will revisit after judge decides

New Tecumseth Free Press Online 

Simcoe County councillors this morning rejected a bid by New Tecumseth mayor Rick Milne to abandoned the upper tier’s quest to recoup some or all of its approximate $20,000 legal bill from AWARE Simcoe.

The County, along with Tecumseth Estates, have filed separate submissions seeking approximately $53,000 in combined court-ordered cost reimbursements for their legal bills racked up opposing a temporary injunction motion heard in Divisional Court Barrie, on August 19, which sought to suspend a tree clearing special permit issued last winter to Tecumseth Estates in Beeton, pending the outcome of a judicial review application expected to be heard in 2016.

Mayor Milne’s only support came from Bradford West Gwillimbury, including its mayor Rob Keefer, who seconded the motion.

Instead, County councillors, including New Tecumseth deputy mayor Jamie Smith, voted in favour of revisiting the matter after the Judge rules on the cost submissions.

Tecumseth Estates lawyer Ian Rowe told Free Press Online this morning via email, that he didn’t expect the County’s decision to have any bearing on their pursuit for costs.

“We have already made our submissions,” wrote Mr. Rowe. “I have no reason to believe we would not pursue the issue.”

At this post, AWARE Simcoe lawyer on this file, Michael Fleischmann was still in the process of finalizing their reply to the County and Tecumseth Estate’s cost submissions.

Rizzardo, County seek upwards of $53,000 in costs from AWARE Simcoe

New Tecumseth Free Press Online October 5, 2015

Tecumseth Estates and the County of Simcoe filed separate submissions this morning seeking an award of costs from AWARE Simcoe in relation to the August 19 motion hearing for a temporary injunction of a special permit granted to clear approximately 30 acres of woodlot on the 9th Line in Beeton, that combined totals $53,526 at the full rate.

Tecumseth Estates (Rizzardo Bros) is asking for upwards of $29,827. The developer’s lawyer, Ian Rowe billed 64.1 hours at a rate of $420 per hour ($26,922).

“The applicant (Aware-Simcoe) proceeded relying on technical but not substantive issues attacking a permit, the application … prepared with the assistance of appropriate experts, have been reviewed by appropriate Ministry and Conservation Authority experts … approved by County Council after an appeal in which the applicant and its members had every opportunity to participate and had participated,” according to the Tecumseth Estates submission for costs. “The applicant had no expertise with which to dispute the conclusions of the appropriate authorities, retained no expert consultants and offered no expert evidence to contradict the evidence of Tecumseth’s consultants nor the approvals of the appropriate agencies.”

Simcoe County is seeking reimbursements of $23,699 to HGR Graham Partners LLP including County solicitor Marshall Green at $325 per hour.

In its submission, Mr. Green argues that as “steward of public monies” they have “an obligation to recover taxpayer dollars spent on an action that a Court has found was ill-conceived.”

“In our respectful submission, it was unfair and in fact inappropriate for this group to challenge the County in this situation based on irregularities that it knew or should have known had no discernible effect on the outcome. Simple mathematics was the answer to one of the complaints, being that of the vote by two councillors who did not attend part one of the hearing. With respect to the other complaint- not being allowed a “reply to Mr. Rowe’s reply” at the hearing- it seems disingenuous at best for AWARE to have complained about not being able to repeat its hearing position, when the alternative (the Council’s refusal to hear from Mr. Rowe before day 2) would have had Mr. Rowe unable to answer questions he was learning of for the first time at the hearing.”

At this post, Free Press Online had not received a copy of AWARE Simcoe’s reply to the cost claims.