David Trueman, branch supervisor of Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool, speaks to a group this week at a public consultation session on the design of the temporary location of the library. Elise Johnston, accessibility and inclusion co-ordinator with the Region of Queens, is leading the sessions. (Rick Conrad)

It may not be the location that many Liverpool library users want, but they say they’re going to make the best of it.

The Region of Queens has been holding public consultations this week on the design of the temporary location for the Thomas H. Raddall Library.

Region of Queens councillors voted in February to move the library to the Liverpool Business Development Centre on White Point Road by the end of the year. 

The current lease at the Rossignol Centre in downtown Liverpool expires Dec. 31. Sherman Hines, who owns the building, also has it up for sale.

The municipality owns the business development centre. It currently houses the Global Empire call centre and Belliveau Veinotte accountants.

It’s supposed to be a temporary location, while the municipality works on a long-term plan. 

Councillors set aside $1,050,000 for renovations to the 6,500 square-foot space, though staff said it could cost as much as $1.26 million.

Municipalities look after buildings and furniture for libraries, while the provincial government provides about 70 per cent of overall funding.

Finding a new home for the library has been fraught with delays and controversy since 2022, when the region allocated $3 million from an unexpected budget surplus to its construction. 

The library steering committee twice recommended a site near Queens Place Emera Centre, with councillors ultimately nixing that plan both times.

Many residents at a December meeting told councillors they did not want the library at the call centre site, which is outside of town in an area with no sidewalks and very little lighting.

But with a deadline to vacate the current space looming, the region decided the call centre was the best option for now.

This week, about 40 people have attended public consultations so far. The last one is on Saturday at the library at 12:30.

The proposed design includes two large program rooms that can be combined into one, a teen room with soundproofing for a miniature recording studio. That room could also be used as a smaller meeting area. The new space also features an open area for kids, as well as a large kitchen and expanded washroom facilities.

That’s in addition to the large area set aside for the library’s current collection of books and other materials.

Elise Johnston, the region’s accessibility and inclusion co-ordinator, is leading the consultations with David Trueman, the library’s branch supervisor.

Cathie Pearl-Wentzell was at one of the sessions on Thursday. The Brooklyn resident says her family have been library users since she moved to the area in 1977.

“I think it was very informative, I learned a lot, it’s good to have the opportunity to have input,” she said. 

She said she’s disappointed in the location, but there are benefits to the new space.

“I’ve come to accept that, vehemently opposed (to the location), let my councillor know, let the mayor know. My question is can they tear this building down and build the library on this site? I don’t know.

“I think it’s going to have a lot of opportunities. Parking being one, it’s going to be much more accessible, much more comfortable climate-control-wise. And everybody has the best interest at heart, so you can’t go wrong with somebody with their hearts in the right places.”

Melissa Swatsenbarg of Liverpool uses the library at least once a twice a week. She said she likes being able to give her input on the design.

“It kind of culminates all the things I’ve been listening to over the past year and a half because I’ve been talking to a lot of people over the past year and a half about it.

“I like the final idea of having a fairly large kitchen and a designated teen space. I like the plans to have a more open children’s section.”

She said she likes the more modern amenities of the new space, even though the location isn’t ideal.

“None of us are really thrilled we have to go all the way through town to get back out of town to go to it,” Swatsenbarg said.

“It’s kind of out of the way. And there are no sidewalks. My kids will bike into the library here. (Out there), it’s a very busy road and it’s not a very safe road trying to get up and around there. So in that aspect, it’s going to change how many kids I allow to take themselves to the library.”

Even though councillors decided to move the library to the call centre space, they also acknowledged that a newly elected council in October could tackle the issue of a new library. But that could still take at least three to five years to happen.

In the meantime, some at the consultations suggested keeping up the pressure on council candidates for a new library in a more central location.

The last public consultation session is at the library on Old Bridge Street on Saturday from 12:30 to 1:30. People can also email accessibility@regionofqueens.com with their suggestions.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Queens regional councillors will vote Tuesday on whether the Liverpool library will move to the Liverpool Business Development Centre until a new one can be built. (Rick Conrad photo)

The library in Liverpool may be moving temporarily to the Liverpool Business Development Centre on White Point Road.

Region of Queens councillors are set to vote on a recommendation Tuesday from CAO Cody Joudry to move the library to the same building that houses the Global Empire call centre and Belliveau Veinotte accountants. It would be there until a new site can be chosen, designed, financed and built. 

The council meeting is set for 6 p.m. in council chambers on White Point Road.

The Thomas H. Raddall Library is currently in the Rossignol Centre on Old Bridge Street close to downtown Liverpool. The lease expires this December. Last year, the region spent $51,680 on rent.

The building owner Sherman Hines has been trying to sell it since at least November 2022. Joudry claims in his staff report that “staff are of the opinion the property is likely to be sold before the lease expires”.

Joudry is recommending that staff immediately begin renovations of the vacant space at the call centre building so that the library can move in by December. He estimates the renovations would cost from $1.05 to $1.26 million. 

He is also suggesting that staff work with the library board to create a public consultation plan on a new library.

Councillors decided at a December meeting not to move the library to the call centre building permanently. Residents flooded them with emails and public comments about that plan. Most were against it.

Finding a new home for the library has been fraught with delays and controversy since the spring of 2022, when the region allocated $3 million from an unexpected budget surplus to its construction. Joudry says a new library would likely cost much more than that.

“Consulting the public about (the) library matter, selecting a site (and acquiring land if needed), creating design options, costing the project out, acquiring funding, tendering then constructing and moving the library will, realistically, take several years,” he says in his report.

“If council takes the recommendation to move the library as recommended, input and feedback would be beneficial to inform decisions on designs, renovations, and furnishing of the new space. As such the CAO and library CEO would work collaboratively to ensure the community and users are consulted on these matters.”

The library steering committee twice recommended an area by Queens Place Emera Centre for the relocation. Council declined the first time but decided to accept the committee’s recommendation a second time.

But council scuttled the plan once more when it learned that connecting the site to existing road and infrastructure would cost close to a million dollars.

At the December council meeting, many residents spoke against the plan to move the library to White Point Road permanently. Some also were worried that if the library moved there temporarily, council would stop looking for a new location.

Susan DeChamp was one of three community members appointed to the region’s library steering committee in April 2022. She spoke at the council meeting in December when staff were recommending the call centre building as the permanent site for the library.

“The main issue everyone had was the location itself,” she told councillors. “The first time we recommended the sledding hill location (near Queens Place), we had councillors object that you can’t move it that far from where it currently is and it would be unreasonable to expect library users to  walk across the bridge. Now you’re asking library users to walk to the fringes of town where the street lamps are fairly far apart, it’s not brightly lit and there are no sidewalks.”

Jessica Joudrey and Tom Raddall resigned before the December meeting. Raddall told councillors that they were “frustrated and disillusioned”.

In response to public comments at the December meeting, District 6 Coun. David Brown summed up the general mood on council when he said that using the call centre only as a temporary space would give the region time to do more thorough public consultation. 

“So I think we have to do a better job of getting more engagement from the public so that we can build what the public wants and needs,” he said.

“If we can make this a temporary, it gives us a chance to take a deep breath, look at it, analyze it and do that job right in the long run. And I think the public will be much better served if we get it done right rather than if we get it done quick.”

Joudry’s other recommendations include: a high-level public engagement process begin on what people want from a new library and a new advisory committee be formed with clear direction and support from council. 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Global Empire call centre cubicles. Photo Ed Halverson

By Rick Conrad

The Global Empire call centre wants a break on its lease in the Liverpool Business Development Centre on White Point Road.

Mayor Darlene Norman says it’s because the company is using 18,000 of the 25,000 square feet it originally signed up for.

“So they wanted the lease amended to indicate that they’ll only be renting the space they are using. And that frees that space up for the Region of Queens to do with as it wishes.”

Council approved the amendments in principle. Norman said that when the new agreement is signed, it will be available to the public.

Thomas H. Raddall Library. Photo credit Ed Halverson

Municipal staff have suggested building the new library close to the Region of Queens administrative office.

In a release issued, Thursday Nov 16, staff say the Liverpool Business Development Center, on Harley Umphrey Drive, “offers an ideal space, including ample parking, access to green spaces, and more room for programming.”

Another benefit of the proposed relocation is that the Liverpool Business Development Center is owned by the Region of Queens.

The library’s lease in their current location at the Rossignol Centre in Liverpool is set to expire at the end of 2024.

Municipalities are responsible for providing space to locate regional libraries in Nova Scotia. Finding a new site to relocate the library has proved contentious for Region of Queens Council.

In the 2022/23 budget, Council voted to use part of a $3 million surplus from the federal and provincial governments to build a new library. A committee was struck shortly after to recommend a site. Their unanimous choice was that it should be located at Queens Place.

Council initially rejected that option in June of 2022 and asked the committee to come back with another recommendation.  Councillors raised concerns at the time that the location would be too remote for people coming from the Liverpool area.

In January 2023, the committee again determined the Queens Place site was best and this time Council approved their recommendation and agreed to build the new library on the Queens Place location.

However, in March, Council rescinded that approval in a recorded 5-3 vote after learning the estimated cost of extending the driveway to the proposed site would be $950,000.

If Council agrees to move the library to the Liverpool Business Development Center, it will join existing tenants Belliveau Veinotte Accountants and Global Empire Call Centre.

In July of this year, Council awarded a $2,031,273 tender to Sea Coast HVAC for the installation of a new HVAC system at the Liverpool Business Development Center.

A draft design concept for the new library will be presented to Council for its consideration. If they agree to move the library to the Liverpool Business Development Center more design work will be required before renovations begin.

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E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

Inside Global Empire Call Centre. Photo Ed Halverson

An aging heating and ventilation system has the Region of Queens looking at selling the Liverpool Development Business Centre.

The centre is home to chartered accountants Belliveau Veinotte Inc. and Global Empire Call Centre.

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman says the HVAC system was installed as part of the original 2003 construction and has reached the end of its usefulness.

“It serves the entire building. It’s been band-aided, it’s been fixed. What on Earth are we going to do with it?” asked Norman.

HVAC technicians have examined the building and presented council with two options: replace the existing unit with one large unit to again service the entire building or split the building into zones and install four units.

Norman says both options are pricy.

Installation and renovation costs are projected to range between a million and two million dollars.

Council discussed how long it will take to pay that off based on the rental guarantees in place with the existing tenants.

Norman says before deciding on which way to go council have asked staff to bring back other options.

“Rather than make a decision, staff have been asked to approach one of the tenants who has expressed public interest in purchasing that building.”

Norman says staff will report back at the next council meeting whether the building should be put up for sale.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Nova Scotia Vice President Trevor LaPlante, Queens Mayor Darlene Norman and Owner Moe Nashman officially open the Liverpool call centre, April 4, 2022. Photo Ed Halverson

One of the largest private sector employers in Queens County is asking where his employees will find a place to live.

President and owner of Global Empire Corporation Moe Nashman made the comments at an event celebrating the grand opening of their call centre on White Point Road in Liverpool, Monday.

The call centre employs 120 people and Nashman says he would love to double that number.

“There’s a lot of people that want to work and for me to bring them from out of town into town, I can offer them employment and I know Sobeys and all the other grocery stores can offer them food, we just need to know where they live,” said Nashman. “If I could offer them housing, I could fill this place in five minutes.”

Global Empire already has call centres in Orlando, Florida and Boise, Idaho.

Liverpool is the company’s first call centre in Canada.

As he provided a tour of the refurbished facility, Nashman pointed to the rows of cubicles that filled half a large, open workspace.

Global Empire call centre cubicles. Photo Ed Halverson

He says the company has already ordered the furniture and equipment to fill the rest of the space.

“I would like to start hiring by the end of the year for the second half, but I do need to figure out the accommodation/housing for employees,” said Nashman.

Most of the call centre employees live within the Region of Queens but roughly 20 commute from outside the municipality with some travelling as much as an hour and a half each way.

Nashman is hoping to speak with provincial officials to learn what can be done to make housing more available.

“In five minutes, I could load an airplane full of people that want to come to Nova Scotia. Where they [are] going to live, I have no idea and that’s the biggest problem,” said Nashman.

He says an influx of a couple of hundred people to the area would benefit the region and the province as a whole.

As the tour concluded, Nashman added the company is still looking to hire another 10 people this round and is accepting applications.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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