DISSENTION has erupted in the ranks of the new Busselton Water board over who should be the new board chairperson.
Three of the six members turned up to a meeting on Monday night, to find there was not a quorum.
However, pressure has been applied to those members who did not attend to enable a meeting to be held this week to appoint a new chairperson.
Those in attendance at Monday’s meeting were Helen Shervington, one of the newer members, new member Chris Boulton and Paul Carter.
Those who didn’t attend were Merryl Peet, the “acting” chair, who those in attendance were told was in Perth and too ill to make the trip to Busselton, Yvonne Robinson who is away on holidays and new member David McDonald who sent his apologies.
“We had to adjourn the meeting as we didn’t have a quorum. We have called another on Wednesday (today),” Ms Shervington said.
“Two days is the minimum amount of time between meetings and if we still don’t have a quorum then we intend to call another on Friday.
“If we still don’t get a quorum we will have no option but to go the Minister for a resolution.”
The Mail understands that if board members miss three consecutive meetings then they may be forced to step down.
Ms Shervington said she was disappointed that some of the other members did not attend the first meeting of the new board.
“It was scheduled six months ago and was an important one. It’s the first meeting following the resignation of the previous chairperson and the first item on the agenda was to appoint a new chair,” Ms Shervington said.
“We got an email from Merryl, who we have been told is the acting chair, to say that there were no agenda items and that the meeting should be cancelled for June.
“You’ve got to question the commitment of some members if they can’t attend one meeting a month, particularly at this time.
“We not only need to appoint a new chair, it is a critical period as there is widespread dismay in the community at the chlorination and the way it was handled.”
Ms Shervington believed there needed to be a serious community explanation program undertaken regarding the chlorination of Busselton Water’s supply.
“We all need to be clear on what’s happening. While safety is of prime importance, we need to know if we are treating the water supply the best way we can.”