Town council has agreed to release all legal and administrative costs related to meetings, investigations, and sanctions involving Councillor Marni Fedeyko — along with a summary providing context and timelines.
Council passed the motion 5–2, with Mayor Jeff Genung and Councillor Susan Flowers opposed. A related motion prompted a much deeper discussion.
Councillor Alex Reed said it was crucial to provide context around the circumstances that led to two investigations into Fedeyko’s conduct. Council debated how much information could be disclosed without creating further legal risk.
“This is not a witch hunt,” said Reed. “This is just something to try and provide a balance in terms of what I think could potentially be a narrative to the legal costs.”
That motion narrowly passed 4–3, with Councillors Morgan Nagel and Tara McFadden expressing concern about making a hasty decision.
“I think what I support tonight is a summary of publicly available information,” said Nagel. “If there’s anything else council wants to bring forward, I think it should be done behind closed doors over the next few weeks, thought through, and then brought forward at the next meeting. I feel there’s a high risk of something stupid being done here.”
Fedeyko also opposed the additional context, saying she simply wanted the costs released. She noted her personal legal expenses in the matter have reached $80,000.
She asked for her legal counsel to review the material before it's made public and requested the town cover those costs. Council had no appetite to fund that request.
Mayor Genung expressed frustration, saying he hoped council would instead leave the matter behind.
“Here we are, spending all summer going back and forth about who cost who what, and then we’re going to come back in the fall and talk about it some more, and then head into an election. This is the last thing I want to be talking about — but here we go.”
Councillor Flowers said she supports releasing the legal costs but believes the information must be accompanied by supporting details. She said it’s important the public understands what she and others have gone through over the past two years.
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The first investigation involved a code of conduct complaint. An independent investigator deemed the allegation unsubstantiated, but council imposed sanctions anyway.
Since then, the province has eliminated municipal codes of conduct.
A second investigation focused on an Occupational Health and Safety complaint. The resulting report cited a sustained pattern of inappropriate and harassing behaviour toward a town employee over a period exceeding a year.
The town issued a public disclosure and released a redacted executive summary of the findings, prepared by McLennan Ross legal counsel.
Fedeyko has also filed a privacy complaint against the town, which is currently under review by Alberta’s Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.
At the June 23 council meeting, Fedeyko gave notice of a motion requesting the town release all legal and associated staff costs tied to meetings, investigations, and sanctions against her, dating back to 2021.