Councillors here have decided there is no conflict of interest in hiring a new town manager/CAO who was formerly employed by the firm now proposing a 300-acre development that could nearly double the size of Erin village.
On Sept. 4, after a 90-minute closed session, council agreed to hire Frank Miele, of Vaughan.
But just three days later, councillors held another in-camera meeting to review that decision – this time including Miele and township solicitor Doug Hodgson – presumably because of the Solmar connection.
After the second meeting, Mayor Lou Maieron confirmed the hiring of Miele.
“Frank worked briefly with the development industry for two months in 2007.
He was vice-president of Solmar Developments,” Maieron said.
“This was disclosed to council, and council is satisfied there has been no continuing [or current] relationship with Solmar.”
The development firm has proposed a large, mixed-use subdivision on the north side of Erin village that town officials have estimated could include 1,000 new housing units.
Maieron made no further mention of the Solmar connection and did not disclose the nature of the discussion during the Sept. 7 closed door meeting.
The mayor, who previously explained the town had “about 40 people apply for the job” after what he called “a national search,” then highlighted Miele’s qualifications for the job.
Maieron said Miele has more than 32 years of experience as a public servant in areas such as Niagara Falls, Scarborough, Vaughan, Meaford and Gravenhurst.
The Town of Erin is Miele’s third employer this year.
He resigned in January as CAO of Meaford to become CAO of the Town of Gravenhurst.
Miele is married, has four grown children and currently lives in Vaughan.
Maieron said council believes Miele’s experience in the development industry is an additional resource and another reason Miele will be a strong and confident CAO for the town.
Maieron then officially introduced Miele to staff.
Miele said, “I am looking forward to being part of the Town of Erin and working with staff.
“I’ve heard many good things about the staff, and I’ve heard just as many good things about council working together with staff.
“It is the team that is important to me. Together we can achieve a lot of goals and objectives established by council.”
Miele considers bringing teams together his forté.
“I believe that council has good vision,” he said. “We will work very closely with them to ensure we get know exactly where we are going in the next two to five years.
“I look forward to coming here and I look forward to working with council and all staff.”
Miele will take over as CAO on Oct. 29.
In a later discussion, Miele said he was attracted to Erin “because it is a great community” with a lot of potential for future growth.
He believes his expertise in planning and economic development will benefit the community.
“It was a good time to move,” Miele said.
While working in Gravenhurst, Miele lived in that community during the week and returned to Vaughan on the weekends.
“It was a 90-minute drive,” he said. He explained his wife and family need him a bit closer to home.
“This opportunity came up and I’ve always liked this area – the Hills of the Headwaters,” he said.
He noted he also teaches economic development at both York and Ryerson Universities.
“I’ve been doing that for many years,” said Miele.
“I know it inside out and have been doing this for 30 years now. One of the things will be defining exactly what development the community wants to attract.
“We need industries and jobs … but which ones?”
That is the strategy the town needs to work on, he said.
Miele plans to have discussions with staff over the first month of his employment and prepare a report for council outlining any gaps and how to budget for any solutions in the coming year.
“I look forward to that,” he said.
