Kincardine's new council has reviewed the history of the Bruce Telecom Saga.
A proposed deal to sell it to Eastlink was scuttled in August after the federal Competition Bureau ruled against it. Eastlink then bowed out of the deal.
Kincardine Council held a public then private session last night , to help new councillors understand why the municipally-owned company was to be sold.
Chief Administrative Officer for the municipality Murray Clarke went through the history of the negotiations, beginning in February 2013 when the Bruce Telecom board endorsed an exercise to determine market value of the business.
On July 29, 2013, council conditionally decided to sell the company. Sale price was set at $24-million, plus $3-million cash to be retained by Kincardine.
Clarke says in 2004, the dividend to the municipality was $1.6-million. Next year, the dividend is to be $600,000, the lowest since 2006.
When the closed session started last night, Mayor Anne Eadie said she was trying to protect the value of the company.
Council was recently was told most of the closed meetings it held regarding the proposed sale should not have been private.
