The second phase of the judicial inquiry is underway and the inquiry counsel has turned its gaze on the events leading up to the town building two recreation facilities on a sole-sourced contract.
The contract led to a company owned by Paul Bonwick receiving $750,000 in consulting fees from the contractor though his name was left off the documents.
In 2012, the Town of Collingwood hired Sprung and BLT Construction through a sole-source procurement process to build two fabric-membrane structures - one for the Centennial Aquatic Centre and one for Central Park Arena. The pool opened Aug. 27, 2013 and the arena had a "soft opening" on Oct. 14, 2013.
The town used proceeds from the 2012 share sale of Collus shares to PowerStream. According to the Foundation Document, the town used $10,081,989 from the proceeds to pay for the arena and the pool. The town paid BLT a total of $13.9 million for the two recreational facilities, both constructed from a fabric membrane building supplied by Sprung.
Documents show BLT paid a company called Green Leaf Distribution for work done to liaise with the town and create a proposal for the two recreational facilities.
Abby Stec was on the witness stand on Sept. 11. She was the managing director of Green Leaf and signed contracts with BLT as the "president" of Green Leaf.
Great Leaf Distribution Inc. was owned by Paul Bonwick. Stec started working as an independent contractor consultant for Bonwick through Compenso Communications after Thanksgiving in 2011.
Stec previously worked at Pretty River Academy (PRA), where she did research for a project to cover the soccer pitch with a fabric membrane or dome structure. The school did not complete the project until after Stec left.
During her work there, she testified she came across Sprung and was impressed by the company.
The relationship she built with Sprung while at PRA came up again while she worked for Green Leaf and Sprung was building a proposal for the Town of Collingwood for recreation facilities. The result of the proposal was the town choosing Sprung and BLT to provide the recreation facilities and Green Leaf to receive a payout as a result of the contract.
Stec said she - through Bonwick’s company Green Leaf - agreed to become a local representative for Sprung, and said she understood Sprung and BLT were a team when it came to installing the fabric membrane structures.
Stec testified that as a representative for Sprung, Green Leaf was entitled to a 10 per cent commission on the Sprung portion of the project. Documents show Green Leaf also negotiated a 6.5 per cent consulting fee from BLT on the total cost of the project. Stec testified Bonwick negotiated that fee with BLT, using the Green Leaf business for the agreements.
Invoices sent to BLT from Stec and Bonwick set out the following fees for the project: $199,226.76 for the pool, $470,455.03 for the arena, and $87,053 in HST for a total of $756,740.42.
Records show BLT requisitioned a wire transfer of $756,740.42 to Compenso Communications - Paul Bonwick, and it was sent to an account owned by Green Leaf. The transfer was made within days of BLT signing the contract with the town and receiving the first payment from the town.
"Quite frankly, I was quite blown away how fast it happened," said Stec.
Stec was a shareholder in Green Leaf, having paid $69,000 for 20 per cent shares in the company. She said she did not take a portion of the consulting fee, as she associated the amount with lobbyist work, she said was not part of Green Leaf’s mandate.
"I viewed that as a fee for providing the sole source, which I didn't feel that should have gone through Green Leaf," said Stec during cross-examination.
The Foundation Document includes emails to show Green Leaf was working with Sprung and BLT to bring a proposal to the town for a fabric membrane structure.
Documents show Green Leaf entered into a non-disclosure agreement with BLT in July, 2012, and Green Leaf sent a document on the “scope of work” for a fabric-membrane structure for both an arena and a pool.
It’s Stec’s signature on an intermediary contract between BLT and Green Leaf for the Collingwood recreation facilities project. On the contract, she signed as the President of Green Leaf.
Stec said she thought, at the time, the work with BLT on the Collingwood recreation facilities project should have been done through Compenso Communications.
“I had concern the project should have been under Compenso and not Green Leaf,” said Stec during testimony. “Because Green Leaf is not a lobbyist company and I’m not a lobbyist. The way the agreement read was more in line with a Compenso project rather than a Green Leaf project.”
She said she did raise her concern with Bonwick, but was told the reason the project was going through Green Leaf was to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest due to his status as the mayor’s (Sandra Cooper) brother.
Stec said the agreement was not accurate when she considered the work she was doing through Green Leaf.
But she signed the contract.
Justice Frank Marrocco asked Stec who she thought would sign the agreements between Green Leaf and BLT.
“I’m not sure whether I thought on that. I definitely didn’t think it would be me,” she said, adding Bonwick later told her it was going to be her signature on contracts. “If I’d had a little bit more knowledge and a clear voice of what I wanted to represent myself as, I would have stood up at that time and not signed it.”
In the email including the intermediary contract between Green Leaf and BLT, sent to BLT and Paul Bonwick, she writes “everything is moving forward as planned in Collingwood.”
She also referred to the co-chair of the town’s parks, recreation and culture advisory committee “attempting to spark up a lobbying group to convince council to go ahead with the $35 million option in Central Park.”
While work was being done to propose a fabric membrane structure by BLT and Sprung, the town’s Central Park Steering Committee had also brought foward options for a multi-use recreation facility utilizing government grants and/or a partnership with the YMCA to cover the cost of construction.
Stec’s email states “we are managing the situation” and “the said gentleman will be asked to step down from his position on Monday,” in reference to the co-chair.
Stec claimed Bonwick told her what to write in that email.
The judicial inquiry hearings continue today with Collingwood Clerk Sara Almas on the witness stand. The hearings are live on RogersTV and can be live-streamed here. You can also view the hearings in-person at the town hall council chambers today.
