St. Paul man says he’s moving character cars to another community

The property owner in St. Paul who was ordered by the town to remove all derelict vehicles, cleared the entire lot on Main Street as they had a combative exchange at a council meeting last Monday.

Kelley Prymych, who owns the property at 5135 50 Avenue, spoke to the bylaw order in a delegation discussion at council chambers.

He had posted the order on his social media, including text messages received from Trevor Kotowich, Director of Protective Services, which said that he was directed to get all vehicles removed. His petition and social media post received tremendous support, with over 3300 online signatures to keep Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater on the lot.

The order was sent by mail, which is unusual by the town, brought about by Prymych working out of town at the time of it being issued.

Previously, CAO Steven Jeffery had told Lakeland Connect that the order was meant to start a conversation where there was room for interpretation about what needed to be moved because of a safety issue.

Kotowich said the publishing of these text messages was a “cowardly act” at the council meeting. He added the condition of the property published online by Prymych was not the condition of the property when the order was issued, and never did the town order the vehicles be crushed.

A sign on the property read “Town of St. Paul forces Tow Mater and friends’ lives to be crushed,” and Prymych acknowledged at the meeting that the vehicles were not going to be crushed, but their lives within the town.

Council finished the hearing and made the motion to let the order stand as issued. A motion to say that council was satisfied with the cleanup of the property — which meant keeping the character cars on the property — was tabled, meant to allow the administration to have a conversation and site visit to come to a compromise.

 

 

Town council and staff receiving threats 

Mayor Maureen Miller talked to Lakeland Connect following the council meeting saying there could have been better communication on both sides to reach a solution. The town has bylaws and policies and they need to be discussed in the proper channels.

“All derelict could mean all unsafe [vehicles] – it didn’t mean all character cars, but I can understand a challenge within interpretation,” she said on The Morning After. “But then there wasn’t an opportunity for the municipality being with our community peace officers, as well as enforcement of that, to have that conversation before it actually got away from us.

“We need unsafe derelict vehicles removed. It isn’t zoned, minimally zoning within Main Street and the C1 district, so there was definitely miscommunication, I think on our part, and maybe we need to relay some miscommunication as to how we maneuver through social media. Because I can’t do business on social media, our decisions can only be made in a council chamber in a public meeting.

“The purpose of an order is to start a conversation. And unfortunately, we were then not able to get into a conversation, the owner didn’t allow for that interactive opportunity.”

 

 

 

 

However, since the story garnered so much attention and with an outpouring of support to keep the character cars on the property, Miller said she and her council have received threatening texts and emails that need to stop.

“I can tell you that that just spirals out of control. And our council has all received texts that are just…texts, emails that are truly not appropriate,” she said. 

“And it’s really hard for me to come into council chambers with an open mind, an opportunity at heart, when you know that people you’re now dealing with have chosen an avenue to do business in, and it is hard, and kudos to our administration and their crew out there facing this.

“I’d love to share a message that we recently received. It’s just wrong. It’s just wrong that the public feels that this avenue is the avenue to spew – talk to me, tell me what your issue is. And we’ll deal with it in an interactive, respectful way.”

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ6MQ02NyvU&t=709s

“The decision has been made already. You guys forced us [out].” 

In a follow-up conversation with Lakeland Connect, Prymych said he has had offers from surrounding communities and properties in Calgary to put his character cars.

He repeated that his goal in building these cars was to have something for the kids.

“If you guys wanted to talk to me about the issue at hand, you could’ve talked to me before. All it would’ve taken was 30 seconds for them to send me a text or a phone call, saying hey, ‘We don’t like how this part looks, but we like what you’re doing with the rest or whatever,” said Prymych, saying that once he received the order he felt the decision had already been made.

“A guy shouldn’t have to fight to stay in his hometown. The community is amazing and I’ve gotten lots of support, but the dictatorship within the town is just not worth it.”

When asked if he would’ve entertained the notion of meeting with Jeffery and Kotowich to do a site check and talk about keeping the cars there, Prymych said, “They were putting on the face saying that they wanted to support the cars, but since the beginning of this, they haven’t supported the cars.

“I’m putting my house up for sale and I’m moving away from this place.”