The Region of Queens has appointed Dan McDougall as interim CAO. (Rick Conrad)
The Region of Queens has hired an interim chief administrative officer while it looks for a permanent replacement for Cody Joudry.
Dan McDougall will take over CAO duties from acting CAO Pam Lovelace, who will return to her job as municipal clerk. Lovelace, a one-term Halifax councillor and unsuccessful mayoral candidate, was hired in December.
McDougall has done the top job before at Queens. He was the interim CAO in 2023 after Chris McNeill resigned.
McDougall will fill in as CAO until the region finds a replacement for Cody Joudry, whom the newly elected council fired on Dec. 16, saying he wasn’t the right “fit”.
McDougall is a former CAO of the Municipality of Chester and for the Municipality of Colchester County. He has also worked for the province, as CEO of Housing Nova Scotia, and deputy minister of the Department of Municipal Affairs.
“Dan is a very accomplished executive manager with a proven track record supporting municipalities,” Mayor Scott Christian said in a news release.
“Council felt that it was very important to install an interim CAO who comes with a wealth of experience as a CAO, a strong reputation in the local government sector, and who does not want the permanent job, assuring that they can objectively support the organization through a robust recruitment process to identify the best candidate for the role.”
Council had hired Joudry in September 2023. The region had been without a full-time CAO since that May, when McNeill resigned.
Region of Queens administration building. Photo Ed Halverson
The Region of Queens Municipality’s Council has hired a new Chief Administrative Officer (CAO).
During the September 26 regular council meeting, councillors voted unanimously to appoint Cody Joudry.
Joudry has over 16 years of municipal experience with previous leadership positions in Development and Tourism and Economic Development in Ontario, and management experience in Annapolis County. His diverse expertise spans community engagement, strategic planning, economic development, and customer relations.
Joudry’s family originates in Caledonia and he is a proud member of the L’sitkuk First Nation.
In a statement released by the municipality Joudry is quoted as saying, “I am honored to serve Region of Queens Municipality and look forward to leveraging my experience and passion in the service and for the prosperity of the residents.”
The Region of Queens has been without a full time CAO since Chris McNeill resigned in May.
Interim CAO Dan MacDougall, who held the position since May 2023, will work alongside Joudry during a brief overlap period to ensure a smooth transition. Mayor Darlene Norman expressed her gratitude to MacDougall, who came out of retirement to assist the municipality, as well as the Department Directors who served as acting CAOs during the summer months.
Cody Joudry becomes the fifth CAO for the Region of Queens Municipality since amalgamation in 1996 and promises to build positive and collaborative relationships with staff, Council, community members, and stakeholders in his new leadership role.
Joudry will start his tenure as CAO in mid-November.
To hear the broadcast of this story click play below.
The creation of a new police oversight board and rezoning for affordable housing topped the items at the recent Region of Queens Council meeting.
Council was on the road this Tuesday, June 27 at the Greenfield Fire Hall with a relatively light agenda.
Three recommendations came forward.
The first was a $5260 grant to the Privateer Days Commission from the Community Investment Fund. The money will help the Commission offset the $42,080 operational costs for this year’s event.
Next council put forth three names to be considered for the Provincial Volunteer Awards. Each year the Region selects two people for recognition.
In recent years the Region would select names from the Ripple Effect program, a municipal program for the public to recognize the volunteer efforts of others. Despite many requests, no nominations were received this year, so council had to submit names.
Beach Meadows resident Amy MacGowan will receive the award for her work to independently raise money for several community organizations. Notably, in the past year she has raised $35,000. Of that, $27,000 went to assist two local families dealing with cancer diagnoses and another $6,000 was raised to assist those impacted by the recent wildfires in Shelburne County.
The second recipient is Sylvia Hurley from Liverpool. Hurley is active in numerous groups throughout Liverpool including the Victorian Order of Nurses, the K-ettes, Ladies Auxiliary Milton Baptist Church, Hank Snow Tribute, and the Queens County PC Association.
Both women will be recognized at a provincial ceremony planned for September 25.
The final recommendation was to rezone a parcel of land in Liverpool from Lower Density Residential to Multiple Unit Residential. The rezoning is needed to allow the construction of the two proposed buildings along Lawrence Street.
In November 2022, Council sold four parcels of land for a dollar to the Queens Neighbourhood Cooperative Housing Ltd to build 26 units of affordable housing.
The Planning Advisory Committee approved the rezoning at their June 19 meeting.
Now that council has given their blessing, residents will have their say at a public meeting ahead of the August 8 Region of Queens Council meeting. Provided there are no objections, the rezoning will go into effect Aug 31.
Three items were up for discussion.
The first was a Council Implementation report from staff to indicate how several council initiatives are proceeding.
The second was a request to waive tipping fees for a family who recently lost their home in a fire and don’t have the means to pay for disposal of the burnt materials.
Interim CAO Dan McDougall said other municipalities have a compassionate fund to assist people in this situation and suggested Queens could do the same. After discussing the matter, council requested staff come back with a report on how the compassionate fund could work in Queens.
The final item up for discussion was the creation of a Police Advisory Board.
By law, each municipality must have Police Advisory Board.
According to the staff presentation, “…Council has been the governance body acting as the Police Advisory Board with the understanding that this approach had received approval from the Minister of Justice at the time when this practice started. However, written approval from the Minister of Justice (pursuant to section 57(8) of the Police Act) for this governance model has not been located.”
One of the recommendations that came out of the Mass Casualty Commission Report in March was that “Municipalities and the Province of Nova Scotia should ensure that police boards and police advisory boards are fully staffed and performing their governance function.”
The Region of Queens was notified by the Department of Justice in May that they will need to establish a stand-alone Police Advisory Board. Staff are now working to get a board in place by September.
The next Region of Queens Council meeting will be held July 11, beginning at 9:00am in council chambers.
The fitness room side of Queens Place is a potential site for a new outdoor pool. Photo Ed Halverson
Following several months of deliberation, the Region of Queens looks to be closing in on a design for a new outdoor pool.
At their last meeting, council decided to recommend the project manager and engineer develop concept drawings based on criteria established by the Region’s pool committee.
The Region wants to see plans for a six-lane, 25 metre outdoor pool with a zero-entry access located adjacent to Queens Place Emera Centre.
Consideration is also being given to including heat recovery from the ice plant at Queens Place, installing deck lights to extend swim times and inclusive, male, and female dressing rooms.
The pool committee would also like a therapy hot tub, but some councillors were concerned that could put the project over budget.
Councillor Kevin Muise says he wants to have a better understanding of the costs before moving ahead with any additions.
“I have some problems with it because we have no idea of the price. You know if you’re going to raise the money and put that in separately then I don’t have a problem with it,” said Muise. ”But to just sit here and vote on something to say yes I’m in favor of a hot tub and we have no idea price and what it’s going to cost the taxpayers I have a little problem.”
Councillor David Brown shared Councillor Muise’s concern but said he’d rather learn the price and cut it later if needs be.
“I’m in favour of moving ahead with taking it to the next step because I think it’s a lot easier for us, when we get the numbers, to strike a line through it, to cut something out than it is to decide down the road that we want to add something into the design,” said Brown. “You know, then we will be basing our decisions on the knowledge that we’ve got a certain budget, this is the cost, and do the two match up.”
In the end council decided to go ahead with getting designs and pricing including the hot tub.
Interim CAO Dan McDougall says ideally the project manager and engineer will bring designs forward for council to approve over the winter so construction can begin next spring.
Rumclo Developments Ltd proposed Birchwood Gardens and The Curve communities. Photo from Rumclo Developments Ltd, Region of Queens Agenda package
A new affordable housing development in Liverpool hinges on whether the municipality is ready to extend water and sewer services along Shore Rd.
Rumclo Development Ltd is proposing to build 92 units of affordable housing between Shore Rd and College St in a community they’re calling Birchwood Gardens.
The apartments will be a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms ranging from 650ft2 to 1,000ft2.
Rent is projected to range between $696 and $1,200/month, depending on construction costs.
During their presentation at the most recent Region of Queens Council meeting on June 13, Rumclo officials expressed frustration that they have yet to see a study that will determine if municipal water and sewer can be extended.
Rumclo has requested the service extension for another development they’re proposing further along Shore Rd called “The Point”.
The presentation also included a development called “The Curve” which would sit adjacent to Birchwood Gardens affordable housing project.
The Curve will see 22 two and three bedroom 1,500ft2 townhouses built that would sell between $400,000 and $500,000 and rent at approximately $2,000/month.
They developers argue the new proposed developments can piggyback off the same lines that will service “The Point”.
Rumclo developer Chad Clothier says they’ve already lost this building season and are eager to learn if they will have the water and sewer extensions so they can plan to build in 2024.
“Ask the Region why the study isn’t coming back or what the hold up to the study is and it really makes it hard as a company to feel like we can get this project done if a simple study is taking this long to come back,” said Clothier. “So, we’d really like to get some insight on the study.”
Region of Queens Interim CAO Dan McDougall was sympathetic to the developer’s time pressures but explained determining if the municipality can extend those services is not a simple matter.
“It’s actually far more complex than just extensions,” said McDougall. “Extensions are one element of what we’ll likely receive back from the consultants. They’ll also provide insight on how the system needs to be improved in order to accept volumes, both water and wastewater.”
McDougall says the existing wastewater treatment plant has the capacity to handle the increased number of users but getting the flow to the plant will require significant upgrades to the underground infrastructure.
The CAO says the study is also looking at how providing municipal water to the developments will affect the existing system.
“You can get water to the lands that you’re proposing to develop but what are the implications on the rest of the system?” asked McDougall. “Will it result in negative water pressure in other areas of the municipality where improvements are required in order for the extensions to work for your project, but to work for the rest of the community as well. So, it’s not a simple study.”
McDougall expects the final engineering report to come to staff and council for review in the next few weeks.
It will then be a month or two before it will be presented to council for a decision whether the project will go ahead.
A temporary replacement has been found to step in as the Region of Queens looks for a new Chief Administrative Officer.
The former CAO of the Municipality of the District of Chester Dan McDougall will assume the role until a permanent replacement is found for the outgoing CAO of Queens, Chris McNeill.
McNeill gave notice in March that he would be resigning to take up the same position for Annapolis County.
McNeill has been the CAO for Queens since January 9, 2019.
Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman is excited to land an interim CAO with McDougall’s experience to fill in while the Region continues their search.
“When a CAO is needed, it’s often CAOs who have retired because they can slip in the role and they have a sense of understanding of the Municipal Government Act, etc,” said Norman.
In addition to his time in Chester, MacDougall also served as CAO for Colchester, the CEO of Housing Nova Scotia and was Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs.
The Chief Administrative Officer oversees all employees in the Region and is the only employee a municipal council can directly hire or fire.
At the latest meeting, Region of Queens Council decided the search for a permanent CAO will be conducted by Gerald Walsh Associates.
Interim CAO McDougall will start May 8 and McNeill’s last day is May 12.
