Photo: City of Vernon Design rendering of Vernon's Active Living Centre. Christopher Sheel alleges he was wrongfully terminated from working on this project. The City of Vernon has filed its counterclaim to a lawsuit from a former employee who alleged he was wrongfully terminated. Earlier this year, City of Vernon former employee Christopher Sheel filed a notice of claim against the city after being removed from overseeing Vernon's $135.9-million Active Living Centre (ALC) project. Sheel’s claims centre around what he described as a “drastically altered” reporting structure which was to be explained to him by city worker Doug Ross. Sheel said he was informed of the change in a meeting with city CAO Peter Weeber on Dec. 12, 2024, and the next day, Ross put off an explanation until the following week but then immediately sent a message to contractors about the change. Sheel claimed Ross informed him in January he could no longer speak to Weeber, which limited his ability to do his job and rendered him “constructively dismissed." Court documents recently filed by the city said Sheel was causing morale issues on the project through his poor work behaviour, including undermining other contributors, usurping authority and acting disrespectfully. In a meeting on Dec. 13, 2024, the city asked contractors to raise any project concerns to the ALC’s new project manager, Doug Ross, going forward. Then, on Dec. 16, 2024, Ross asked Sheel to work collaboratively and communicate thoughtfully with teammates and business partners. His title and role were unchanged. The city has alleged that Sheel approved of the changes being implemented. Court documents detailed a breakdown of the working relationship through the month of January, starting on Jan. 14 when Sheel allegedly refused to share information with the city’s infrastructure team and disparaged its engineers and third-party contractors. The court filing said Sheel emailed ALC project contacts himself on Jan. 16 telling them to speak with Ross going forward, and on Jan. 17, a lawyer told the city that Sheel was ending his work with them effectively immediately. By mid-January, Sheel stopped communicating with other ALC personnel, returned his work equipment and removed his personal belongings from his office. While Sheel sought relief in general damages, interest and costs, and the city says it opposes all of Sheel’s relief sought. None of the allegations have been proven in court.