Tony Flint, a resident of Bristol Avenue in Liverpool, speaks to Region of Queens councillors on Tuesday about a proposed 24-unit apartment building on his street. (Region of Queens YouTube channel)

Residents of Bristol Avenue in Liverpool say they’ve lost faith in Region of Queens councillors after a bungled vote on a controversial proposed development.

A 24-unit apartment building is planned for the area, which is the main thoroughfare into and out of downtown Liverpool.

Residents say the development is too big for the neighbourhood. They say the population could triple in an area with only a two-lane street, one sidewalk, and already hectic traffic.

When the development was approved by staff last July, residents submitted a petition and filed an appeal.

Councillors heard the appeal on Tuesday during their regular council meeting. As part of that process, the appellant and the developer can make their cases to council.

Developer Larry Cochrane was at the meeting, but left before the appeal was heard.

Resident Tony Flint told councillors that congestion and noise will only get worse if the apartments are built. He and other residents are also concerned about pedestrian safety and the ability for emergency vehicles to get to the new building.

“So all of a sudden you have a massive influx of people in an already very busy street,” he said. “I think that looking at the drawing, the developer probably tries to do as much as he can with the available space, but it’s really, really cramped.”

Mike MacLeod, the region’s director of land use, said no traffic studies were completed or required as part of the process. He said Cochrane met the requirements of the Land Use Bylaw.

Councillors debated a motion to deny the appeal and allow the development to go ahead.

At first, a majority of councillors voted 4-3 not to reject the residents’ appeal. But then, council took a break. After discussion among the mayor, councillors and the interim CAO, they returned.

Mayor Scott Christian said that a councillor was confused by the motion.

“At least one member of the council didn’t understand the way that they were voting with respect to that motion,” Christian told the meeting as Bristol Avenue residents watched.

“I’ll ask for your forgiveness. I’ll just try to be transparent here. We have four of the seven of us are new. I myself am a new chair here. I want to circle back on that motion to make sure that it’s 100 per cent clear for the council with respect to what they’re voting for or against.”

So they voted again. Three councillors — Jack Fancy, Wanda Carver and Stewart Jenkins — changed their vote to deny the appeal after all.

Coun. Courtney Wentzell was the only vote against rejecting the appeal.

After the meeting, Bristol Avenue resident Janet Perry was visibly upset.

“I’m disappointed and I don’t understand the two separate (votes). We had the motion, it was defeated. They go out and change their minds. I think it’s totally unfair.

“I’ve lost faith in council and the process that we went through.”

Resident Roger Wilcox said the process to approve new developments is flawed.

“The town has a problem because of this development procedure that’s inadequate. (They’re) scared of being sued. … That’s why they changed their vote.”

Flint said he’s worried about someone being injured or killed because of the increased traffic. And he worries that council doesn’t care.

“It means that regardless of the possible dangers to the public, they’re just pushing it ahead anyway. Certain people are friends with certain people and that’s the way it works.”

Developer Cochrane is the treasurer of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce. His wife is the vice-president. The chamber’s president is Ashley Christian, who is married to Mayor Scott Christian.

The mayor told QCCR after the meeting that he wasn’t in a conflict.

“From my perspective, I don’t feel there’s a conflict of interest. Certainly if residents feel that there is, I’d be happy to speak to that or think about it. To be honest, … my wife’s involvement with the chamber of commerce or Larry’s involvement with the chamber of commerce would have no bearing on my decision-making process or procedural approach to handling that situation.”

During the appeal, some councillors appeared to sympathize with residents’ concerns, especially about traffic and safety. But Christian said they were handcuffed by provisions in the municipality’s land use bylaw.

“The challenge is that legally we really are bound to the municipal planning strategy and land use bylaws.”

Barring another council reversal, the way is now clear for the four-story apartment building to go ahead.

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A few final touches and the Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool will be ready to open at its new interim location. (Rick Conrad)

UPDATED THURSDAY, 9:55 A.M.

The library in Liverpool is close to reopening, but a few things have to be ironed out first.

Ashley Nunn-Smith, CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries, told QCCR on Wednesday that a final fire inspection has to be done, and internet issues have to be addressed. 

“The construction work itself is finished. Books are on the shelves. We are waiting on a few very key things. … Once those are resolved, any day now I hope to be able to open.”

The Thomas H. Raddall branch has been closed since Dec. 15, when staff packed up the library’s collection to prepare for the move from downtown Liverpool to a building about 1.5 kilometres away. 

The lease at the former location was due to expire at the end of December. So the Region of Queens decided to put the library, on an interim basis, in the municipally owned Liverpool Business Development Centre off White Point Road.

The region budgeted up to $1.26 million for renovations to the space. 

Many residents were concerned that it’s not easy to walk to, with no sidewalks and limited lighting.

Queens County Transit and the South Shore Public Libraries have teamed up to offer free transportation from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Thursday from downtown Liverpool to the new location.

“If it’s really successful, I’m sure we can talk about expanding it,” Nunn-Smith said. “We could potentially look at adding other times or other days of the week.”

Nunn-Smith says she empathizes with library patrons who can’t wait for the branch to reopen.

“I know everyone’s really excited to get inside and to have a library in their own community again. We had hoped to be open by now. … We’re really excited to welcome the patrons back in too.”

Nunn-Smith said the new location will keep the Thomas H. Raddall name, after Raddall’s family were assured that regional council is committed to finding a more central, permanent location. 

The municipality’s library steering committee had recommended that a new library be built near Queens Place Emera Centre, close to downtown Liverpool. Raddall’s grandson Tom was the honorary chairman of that committee, but resigned after councillors twice rejected the committee’s recommendations.

Councillors decided last February to move the library to the new interim location instead. 

“With the new council, I feel the attitude has changed,” Nunn-Smith says.

“I’ve met with the mayor and Coun. (Courtney) Wentzell who is on the library board. And they too agree that a true community hub should be at the centre of the community where the people are. And so with that in mind and all of us being aligned, the library board, the Raddall family and the council on the direction of the library, it seems like a positive turn.

“So because of that, Tom Raddall … has agreed to retain the Thomas H. Raddall Library name for another five years.”

Nunn-Smith said she believes “the best case scenario” would be five to seven years before a brand new library could be built.

Despite the delays in reopening in the interim location, she says she believes patrons will enjoy the new space.

It’s bigger and brighter, with a large expandable program room as well as a community kitchen. It’s also fully accessible. 

And it will feature raised garden beds outside, thanks to funding from the Nova Scotia government.

“I love the inside of the space. It’s wonderful. And even the green space directly outside of the library is going to be great too.

“The programming spaces are outstanding. I would love to have such programming spaces in our other locations. … It’s going to be our first branch with a community kitchen, so we can run cooking programs and other types of baking and cooking demonstrations. It’s just going to be wonderful.”

Nunn-Smith said she hopes the Thomas H. Raddall Library is back in business in a few days. 

But regardless, a grand reopening is planned for Sat., April 5.

“So a ribbon cutting and story times and music and some cake, that type of big celebration day, so that everyone who hasn’t checked it out yet can come and celebrate the new space with us.”

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Region of Queens councillors want to try to find a way to resurrect the Coastal Protection Act. (File photo by Talla Corkum)

Region of Queens councillors want to work with other neighbouring municipalities to pressure the province to resurrect the Coastal Protection Act and possibly to come up with their own version.

The Nova Scotia government under Tim Houston killed the long-dormant Coastal Protection Act in February. Supporters of that legislation said it would beef up safeguards for coastal areas around Nova Scotia.

Instead, the province said it would pass that responsibility onto municipalities to come up with their own bylaws to protect the coast from development, climate change and other threats. It offered to create sample bylaws that municipalities could adapt.

But many municipalities say they don’t have the resources to enforce such wide-ranging rules.

District 3 Coun. Courtney Wentzell said he heard from a lot of residents during the municipal election campaign who were concerned about coastal protection. And he said it was clear from the recent provincial election that the province has no interest in taking it on.

He said he wants the Region of Queens to discuss banding together with other regions like the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg to come up with a common set of rules.

“Some of you might have witnessed the leadership debates where the government is not backing down on coastal protection, they’re leaving it to municipalities,” Wentzell said.

“The answers that I heard was that there is going to be assistance in the form of money or manpower to help municipalities create their own (bylaws). I think that’s the reality we’re dealing with. And I do think coastal protection is a big, big item with us. We all heard it on the campaign trail.”

The issue came up at a recent meeting of the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities.

NSFM President Pam Mood, who is also the mayor of Yarmouth, called on the re-elected Houston government to institute provincewide rules and enforcement.

Mayor Scott Christian said working with the federation to pressure the province is a good first step.

“The NSFM is an augmented voice, so it’s a lot stronger. If we join forces with the NSFM and say we need resources and support to enact an effective approach to the Coastal Protection Act. It’s an avenue we can explore to be supported throughout it. It’s not the entirety of the picture, but it’s an important first step.”

Queens councillors decided to write a letter of support to the federation, and to meet with other municipal politicians to come up with ways to enhance coastal protections.

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The library in Liverpool will be reopening in the new year in the Liverpool Business Development Centre off White Point Road. (Rick Conrad photo)

As the Liverpool library gets ready to move to its new location by the end of the year, the Region of Queens is beginning work to restart a library committee.

It will be chaired by Mayor Scott Christian and include District 3 Coun. Courtney Wentzell.

Establishing council’s various committees will be overseen by the region’s new municipal clerk. Pam Lovelace was hired a week ago to do that job.

Christian said she will be coming up with terms of reference for various committees, including the library committee.

“I think the initial work of that will be determining what the current need and purpose and mandate of a public committee associated with the library would look like and then constructing a terms of reference and populating a committee from there.”

Once that happens, the region would likely ask for members of the public to sit on the committee.

Regional councillors voted in February to move the Thomas H. Raddall Library to the Liverpool Business Development Centre off the White Point Road. Commonly known as the call centre building, it wasn’t the first choice for a new library site.

The previous council voted twice against the library steering committee’s recommendation to build a new library near Queens Place Emera Centre.

Many residents told councillors at a meeting last December that 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.

The library’s lease at its current location downtown is up at the end of this year. So with time running out, councillors decided to move the library to the call centre building.

It’s supposed to be a short-term home while the newly elected council works on a longer-term solution. 

The region is spending up to $1.26 million on renovations for the new library space. They had set aside $3 million in 2022 for a new library.

Library staff will close the current location on Dec. 15, and begin packing up their collections for the move.

No date has been set yet for the library’s reopening. But it’s on track to be early in the new year.

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Queens regional councillors are looking for ways to help prevent more water crises in the region. (Henryk Niestroj via Pixabay)

While residents and businesses in the Liverpool area are being asked to cut back on water, Region of Queens councillors want to find ways to improve communication and deal with any future water shortages.

Last week, councillors asked for a comprehensive staff report on the region’s water and wastewater systems. They also want staff to develop a communication system to inform customers quickly when problems arise.

Municipal water users in Liverpool and parts of Brooklyn have been asked since Nov. 1 to restrict their water usage. 

Water levels in the Town Lake Reservoir are too low to support the town’s usual consumption. 

The region has warned people that without significant amounts of rain, more drastic measures may have to be taken.

Mayor Scott Christian said it’s important to investigate longer-term solutions.

“It has appropriately alarmed a lot of our residents and a number of members of council as well,” Christian said.

“So I think it’s appropriate that we ask those questions in terms of how are we going to avoid situations like this in the future. What’s our Plan B? How can we make sure that we do all we can to protect against known or foreseeable risks to the stability or the dependence of our water supply?” 

Other councillors said they were also worried how the water supply could be affected if the Liverpool Fire Department needs to respond to a fire.

Liverpool fire chief Trevor Munroe could not be reached for comment Monday.

District 3 Coun. Courtney Wentzell said the region needs to address problems with its existing infrastructure.

“I think we’ve got an infrastructure problem on the west side of Liverpool from the town well to Union Street. This is very, very serious. We need to know what Plan B is, we need to look ahead and we need to look after people that already hooked up before we start hooking up new.”

The region has been criticized in the past for its efforts at spreading the word about water problems.

In summer 2023, the region imposed a boil-water order on municipal users. 

But some businesses and residents complained that they didn’t know about it until days after the order was issued. 

People were also upset at what they saw as a lack of transparency about the reasons for the order.

Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton said residents and businesses need to be informed more quickly and more directly.

“I’m also running into a lot of residents who are unaware that they’re supposed to decrease their water usage right now, so I think that this is critical that this happen so that residents can be alerted when needed in a very quick manner.”

CAO Cody Joudry could not give councillors a timeline for when staff will complete their report.

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Work is underway on the $8.1-million outdoor pool at Queens Place Emera Centre. (Rick Conrad)

The dream of an indoor pool for Queens County was likely sunk on Monday night.

Two weeks ago, Region of Queens councillors asked CAO Cody Joudry to investigate the feasibility of turning the outdoor pool now under construction at Queens Place Emera Centre into an indoor facility.

At their meeting on Monday night, councillors heard that it’s not so straightforward, or cheap.

Joudry said the $8.1-million outdoor project would likely balloon to at least $30 million if councillors decided to change it. He said the cost to taxpayers of the current project is less than one cent on $100 of assessment over 20 years. For an outdoor pool, that could go up to five cents.

“Council needs to either pick an indoor pool or an outdoor pool, but you can’t really convert an outdoor to an indoor pool,” he told councillors.

The region secured $3 million from an anonymous donor and $2.2 million from the province for the current project. It’s picking up the remaining $2.9-million tab.

Joudry said if the region changes or stops the project now, it could be on the hook for “sunk costs” of up to $2 million — in penalties or work that’s already done. And the municipality may also have to look for new funding, which would further delay the project.

The region would also have to come up with a whole new design.

Adam Grant, the region’s director of engineering and public works, said the current design is not easily adapted. He said some of the work already done could be salvaged, but much of it would have to be abandoned.

“When you start adding heating systems and take a facility that was deisgned to operate three months of the year conducive to the climate and turn it on its flip side and tell it it’s got to operate nine more months of the year, heating, air conditioning, ventilation, as well as condensation control. You start adding structural steel known to support a roof or with roof loads or snow loads. It’s not a simple matter of just putting a roof over it.”

District 3 Coun. Courtney Wentzell said he wants the region to consult with community members. He said it was a big issue during the recent election campaign, and most people who were in favour of a pool wanted an indoor one.

Mayor Scott Christian campaigned on getting an indoor pool. But on Monday, he told QCCR that changing it up would be a big burden to taxpayers.

“The total bill for the residents is about 3 million bucks with that project completion. 
And so incurring $2 million in sunk costs without any assurances about the extent to which we’ll actually be able to repurpose any of what has already been done, I think we can’t go there right now.”

Christian said he’d like to get the Queens Community Aquatic Society involved again and re-form the region’s pool committee.

Councillors decided to stick with the status quo and allow the outdoor pool project to continue. The heated, 25-metre pool is expected to open by 2026.

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Construction has begun on the $8-million outdoor pool at Queens Place Emera Centre in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

Region of Queens councillors want to test the waters on the idea of switching lanes and building an indoor pool after all.

Construction on the $8.08-million heated outdoor pool next to Queens Place Emera Centre has already begun. But councillors said Tuesday they heard from many residents during the recent election campaign who want an indoor facility.

Coun. Courtney Wentzell said many of his constituents prefer an indoor pool, while some were against a new pool altogether.

“So when we’re voting on this and we’re thinking about this, we need to think about our constituents and what we heard in each district,” he told council. “And I will say from my experience and my constituents, they definitely prefer an indoor pool.”

Coun. Jack Fancy said he also heard from many people on both ends of the pool debate. He added that council’s initial pool discussions were always geared toward building an indoor pool.

Council voted in June 2023 to go with the less expensive outdoor option — a heated, 25-metre, six-lane pool. But many residents have long advocated for an indoor pool that can be used year-round.

“As Coun. Wentzell has said, it was a hot topic. Every house asked me,” Fancy said. “I think most people didn’t even realize that we were getting donations or monies from the government.”

Fancy said voters were also concerned about how spending more money on a pool would affect the region’s tax rate.

The region secured $3 million from an anonymous private donor and $2.2 million from the province. The region is picking up the rest of the tab.

Councillors on Tuesday asked the region’s CAO to prepare a report on how feasible it would be to change the current project so that Queens has a year-round pool.

Mayor Scott Christian campaigned in favour of an indoor pool. He said regardless of what councillors find out, it won’t stop the current project.

“This motion wouldn’t in any way impact currently what’s taking place with the preparation of the site,” Christian said.

“It also would not reverse course in terms of no pool at all. That’s not what’s on the table. It’s very much about providing the assembled council with all of the information required to understand what would be required and what the foreseeable impacts would be of entertaining and exploring and shifting the construction project to an indoor pool.”

Coun. Vicki Amirault said it’s important for councillors to understand the conditions under which the region secured funding for the indoor pool and how a change might affect that.

CAO Cody Joudry said he hopes to report back to council at their next meeting on Nov. 25. He said that report may not be made available to the public, if it includes information about contracts or negotiations.

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Region of Queens councillors chose District 2 Coun. Maddie Charlton on Tuesday as the region’s deputy mayor. (Rick Conrad photo)

District 2 Coun. Maddie Charlton is the new deputy mayor for the Region of Queens.

Councillors voted for Charlton, who was the only nominee, at Tuesday’s meeting, the first since the Oct. 19 municipal election.

Charlton’s term as deputy mayor is for two years. She won’t get a raise, though she will be compensated at the mayor’s rate of pay while she acts as mayor.

Scott Christian presided over his first council meeting as the region’s new mayor. Charlton was re-elected to council, as were Jack Fancy and Vicki Amirault. New councillors are Courtney Wentzell, Stewart Jenkins, Wanda Carver and Roberta Roy.

Region of Queens councillors make $20,865 annually, while the mayor makes $41,730.

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Scott Christian, mayor of the Region of Queens, is preparing for the newly elected council’s first meeting. (Rick Conrad photo)

Queens County residents can expect more than just new faces around the table as regional council meets Tuesday, for the first time since the October election.

Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian says people will also notice changes in how meetings are run. He says they’ll be a little less formal, and give councillors more opportunity to address residents’ concerns.

“Where we can, making it feel more approachable and trying to generate good, fulsome conversation,” Christian told QCCR in an interview.

“So a little less formal, a little more conversational with the hope of making it more engaging for the public and to really foster good conversation around the table.”

One of the first issues they’ll tackle on Tuesday is the new outdoor pool at Queens Place Emera Centre. In his campaign for mayor, Christian said he wants the pool to be a year-round, indoor facility. 

The region broke ground on the new pool on Oct. 4. The $8-million structure is slated to be open by 2026.

Christian says he and the rest of council will discuss the region’s options if councillors eventually decide to upgrade the project. 

“We haven’t had an apportuity as a council to debate this and I look forward to hearing what my fellow members of council, what their perspectives are on it,” he said.

“But at this stage, the motion will just be related to having better information. From my perspecitve, that’s the first appropriate step, is to have a complete understanding about if we go down that path what are we getting ourselves into, but also what opportunites are there, what willingness is there on part of the various funders at the table and the construction company who’s been engaged to pursue a shift in scope?”

Before becoming mayor, Christian was a private and public sector consultant. He was elected in a tight race in the Oct. 19 election with former Queens County educator Terry Doucette. 

The other new faces on council are Roberta Roy, Courtney Wentzell, Wanda Carver and Stewart Jenkins. They’ll be joining re-elected councillors Maddie Charlton, Jack Fancy and Vicki Amirault.

Christian says he’ll be working as mayor full time. And he admits he has a lot to learn.

But he says he and the rest of council have had a good start, thanks to guidance from CAO Cody Joudry and a productive two-day training and orientation session in Halifax last week. 

“What I heard loud and clear throughout the campaign was a desire to see our council working effectively together. I think that we’ve already made some really great strides. I’ve had conversations with each and every member of the council and sought to hear them out. … I think we made some really positive strides as a group in terms of coming together while we were in Halifax. … And another thing too is working effectively with other members of the community, with other organizations, and other orders of government, and what I hear is a real comitment across the team to start to do those things.”

Christian says there’s a lot of work to be done. But he also says that with a staffing crunch at the region, he and the rest of council need to be patient.

“We as a council need to be realistic in terms of the capacity of the staff right now to execute on some of the work that is important. The whole team has a real commitment to addressing the priority concerns in the community, but we need to do it in a way that makes sense.”

Ultimately, Christian says he hopes he and the rest of council can get the public more involved and engaged in the region’s business.

“We are accountable to the pepole of Queens and we need to make sure that they are well informed and that they have access to the decisions that we’ve made and the conversations we’ve had in reaching those deicsions.”

The new Region of Queens council meets Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. at council chambers on White Point Road. You can see the agenda here.

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