Mr. Bossell, with respect to your letter (page 22, April 6 St. Albert Gazette) attacking myself, Bill Tuchuk and Mr. Stone, attempting to shoot the messenger simply because you dislike the message is petty and a tactic which will fool no one. The information you presented about us was totally inaccurate – one should never rely on one questionable source, we didn't. This report has always been about ensuring that the best decisions are made for the people of St. Albert and that we are adhering to transparent and responsible government practices.
I stand by the validity and accuracy of the report we created detailing Mr. Prefontaine’s hire 100 per cent. I will happily provide it to anyone who wishes to evaluate the information for themselves including all the footnotes and source documents tracking the facts. The “optics” of the situation were not the problem, the true problem is the reality.
You note Mr. Prefontaine has a 96 per cent rate passing motions, this is not a measure of success. I look at how decisions, management and projects within the department have directly impacted the citizens of St. Albert.
It is an indisputable fact that senior engineers or planners reporting directly to Mr. Prefontaine, and almost 20 per cent of the department staff has left since his hire.
It is a fact that Mr. Prefontaine has no degree and his MBA is from Scotland, because it is one of the few schools that will accept a candidate with no undergraduate degree.
It is a fact that Mr. Prefontaine broke his covenant to the citizens of St. Albert and cost us over $140,000.
It is a fact that Mr. Prefontaine and city manager Patrick Draper were in a potential conflict of interest position from the time he handed in his resume until he quit.
It is also a fact that Mr. Prefontaine heads the department which decided to spend $100,000 painting sidewalks in front of St Albert Place, the pink splotches on the medians and what look like invisible fake bricks on the pedestrian bridge.
I do not note these examples as “success” in the past year since Mr. Prefontaine's hire
Kristin Toms, St. Albert
