An asbestos abatement crew cleans up the site at 89 Main St. in Liverpool on Wednesday. (Rick Conrad)
An abandoned property in downtown Liverpool destroyed by fire in the spring is finally being cleaned up.
The historic and unoccupied Hendry house at 89 Main St. was leveled in the May 13 blaze.
The Liverpool Fire Department referred it to the RCMP for investigation. The RCMP declared it suspicious and asked the public to come forward with any information.
An RCMP spokesman told QCCR in July that officers have closed the file for now, because there was insufficient evidence to keep the investigation open.
Fire services from around Queens County and RCMP officers responded to the fire at 4:40 a.m. on May 13. Nobody was injured.
On June 11, the Region of Queens declared the property dangerous and unsightly and ordered owner Rosemarie Jacob to clean it up, or the region would do it at her expense. Jacob didn’t appeal the order, so the region began the process to clean up the site.
Mayor Darlene Norman said Wednesday that initial testing found that there was asbestos in the siding of the house.
The region hired Asbestos Abatement Limited in Dartmouth to do the work. Norman said the company expects to have everything cleaned up by the end of the week.
“They say they’ll be finished by Friday,” Norman said. “The material is being deposited at another facility in Nova Scotia that accepts this material.
“The company indicated that they would have both the asbestos-containing materials removed, other debris on the property removed and the building foundation removed. … It is being done so that’s the important thing.”
Norman said the company has assured municipal officials there is no danger to nearby residents from the asbestos on site.
The cost of the cleanup isn’t known yet. But the mayor said it would be added as a lien to the owner’s taxes this year.
“(It) would be payable in 2025. And if at that time, the taxes are not paid in full, including the lien, then you would go to our policy regarding uncollected taxes. I believe one year of unpaid taxes and then the tax sale process would start.”
The property had been unoccupied for some time before the fire. And the owner had been difficult to reach, but Norman said the municipality was finally able to find her.
Norman said she’s happy to see the cleanup underway. And while she won’t be running for re-election, she said a future council may decide to try to do something with the property once it’s cleaned up.
“I know many people have been wanting that corner widened. There are some people who want it left historically the way it is. But there’s lots of vocies from people who work at Queens General (Hospital), from people trying to get 18-wheelers around that corner, there’s going to be a huge amount of housing development that’s going to require vehicles going that way, but that will be future decisions by a future council. But at this time, our main goal is to have that corner cleaned up so people can be free of the black tarps and the fencing and the things that are there at this point in time.”
Norman added that because the cleanup cost will be applied to the property owner’s taxes, the region likely won’t release the figure because of privacy concerns.
Shelley Walker is Queens County’s senior safety co-ordinator. (Rick Conrad)
Queens County could be getting a full-time seniors’ advocate by the end of the year.
At a recent regional council meeting, councillors voted to ask for a staff report on making the senior safety co-ordinator a full-time position with the Region of Queens.
Right now, that job is overseen by the non-profit Queens Care Society.
It is funded with a $25,000 grant from the Nova Scotia government, which is enough for three days a week. The society also receives $5,000 from the Region of Queens. The Queens District RCMP gives in-kind supports such as a cell phone and office space.
The society says it doesn’t have enough money to turn it into a full-time position. Shelley Walker is the current senior safety co-ordinator. There has been a part-time co-ordinator in the region since it was created more than 15 years ago.
The co-ordinator helps promote senior health, safety and independence, working with older residents to help them stay in their own homes. The co-ordinator helps with medical referrals, transportation, food insecurity and other concerns of seniors living on their own.
Representatives from the Queens Care Society appealed to councillors last week to make it a full-time position with the region.
Grant Webber, chairman of the society, told councillors that there’s great demand for the free service. But the current part-time position can help only about 7.5 per cent, or 250, of the 3,300 Queens County residents over 65.
He said other senior safety co-ordinators around the province are full time, supported by the province, municipalities or non-profit groups.
Webber asked that the region hire the co-ordinator on a full-time basis, covering benefits and expenses and providing office space.
“A part-time position is not enough to address the assistance and does not enable the co-ordinator to be proactive with education and check-in calls. All other co-ordinators in Nova Scotia are full time and either employed by the municipality or through foundations.
“We are hoping that the Region of Queens can also become the employer and provide the senior safety co-ordinator with the stability required to support seniors here in Queens County.”
Al Doucet, a member of the Queens Care Society, said Walker does a commendable job now for seniors in the region. He said she could do so much more as a full-time employee of the region.
“I’ve watched what Shelley does for this community,” he told councillors. “There’s all kinds of people that would do this, but I can tell you that Shelley does beyond what is needed.”
Councillors seemed receptive to the idea of bringing the position under the municipality’s umbrella.
Mayor Darlene Norman said the part-time position is funded until the end of the year, but that there is some uncertainty around whether it would continue after that.
Norman said the details would have to be worked out.
“I believe it is necessary that there be more investigation to determine who such a staffer would report to, is there a requirement to do a job posting, … salary range, things such as cars, all those things we would have to know to responsibly vote on those things.”
District 3 Coun. Maddie Charlton said she wanted to make sure that councillors got a staff report in time to make a decision about the position before the end of the year.
“I want to make sure that that position is protected and it’s not a bunch of frantic, going around trying to figure out last-minute, so I think we need some clear timing.”
Norman made a motion for staff to report by council’s first meeting in October on the municipality taking over responsibility for the senior safety program.
Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman will not be seeking another term in the October municipal election. (Rick Conrad)
Darlene Norman has made it official, announcing she won’t seek re-election as mayor of the Region of Queens.
“I have decided not to reoffer simply because these last four years have made me realize that it was one thing to be a councillor, it’s another thing to be the mayor,” she said in an interview Wednesday.
“When you are a councillor and you vote in a certain way at a meeting and the vote didn’t go your way, then it’s over and done. When you are the mayor and you vote at a council meeting for something that you feel is very important and you lose the vote, … as the mayor you still have to speak on behalf of council for the vote. And I am the type of personality that finds it very difficult to speak favorably about an issue that I think is so wrong.”
Norman’s decision to serve one term as mayor caps a 20-year career in municipal politics, which began in 2000 when she was elected councillor in District 1, which covers the area of Hunts Point, White Point, Port Mouton and Port Joli.
She served as councillor for the area until 2016 when she was defeated by current councillor Kevin Muise.
In 2020, she decided to run for mayor, beating incumbent David Dagley and two other challengers – Susan MacLeod and Brian Fralic.
Norman said she enjoyed her time as mayor.
“I really liked being the mayor, I liked helping people, I liked meeting people. But I just have a very difficult time when I have to as mayor speak on behalf of council and it’s a decision of which I disagreed. Other than that, being the mayor was wonderful.”
In a Facebook post on Tuesday announcing her decision, she said council has achieved many good things over the past four years. But she said there were other things she regrets.
One of those was not building a new library. The Thomas H. Raddall Library has to leave its leased premises in downtown Liverpool by the end of December. After many stops and starts, council couldn’t agree on a new permanent location, so they decided to put it, at least temporarily, in the Liverpool Business Development Centre on White Point Road.
“We could have built a lovely library, it would have been open by now. For one reason or another, things went sideways. Council couldn’t agree on a location.”
Another frustration for Norman over the past four years is the concentration of municipal resources in the Liverpool, Brooklyn and Milton areas. She says council needs to find a way to improve services in other areas of Queens County, such as north Queens and areas outside the so-called urban core of Liverpool.
“Our biggest assessment areas are in rural Queens. … I look around at north Queens, east and west, people are paying incredible tax dollars in those parts of the county, despite people in the town of Liverpool who think they’re paying the biggest tax dollars. I’m just finding it really difficult with the Region of Queens and trying to find a balance with specnding in rural as well as central.”
She said building new accessible washroom and change room facilities at Beach Meadows Beach was council’s way to try to spread some municipal dollars outside the Liverpool-Brooklyn-Milton core.
“Those are good things, those are really positive things for Queens. … There have been so many more benefits than disappointments.”
And even though the region still struggles with staffing shortages, she said she’s very proud of what municipal employees have been able to accomplish. She said the region has only two building inspectors and one planner, at a time when development is on the rise. And she said their bylaw enforcement division is also understaffed, while complaints increase.
“People are so quick to criticize the staff of the Region of Queens and I really wish that perhaps people like that could be the mayor for a week or a month and actually sit in my chair and get a good understanding of how much work they do, because our staff work hard.”
Norman said another reason she won’t be reoffering in October’s municipal election is the abuse she said she’s received on social media.
“The cruel, the unkind, the unjust things that are said. And all people have to do is pick up a phone and they’ll know that all those rumours aren’t true. I tend to bite my tongue and … almost cut off my fingers not to write back some things on some posts that I’ve read. But it’s just not what I was prepared for.
“And I just don’t want it anymore. I’m a really good sleeper and when I don’t sleep at night because of stuff at council or things going on, I have too many people my age dropping dead and I want to do positive things that have positive results and are not attached with any negativism.”
She says she’s not sure what she’ll do after October. But it will include spending more time with her young grandson in Shelburne. And she plans to volunteer in her community of Port Medway and work on some of her art projects.
“I’ll find something to do. … I’m interested in helping my community of Port Medway. … I’m artistic, I might just discover who I am again. But I want to get out and do something that I want to do that doesn’t have the stressors that being the mayor does.”
Regardless of some of that stress, she says she’s grateful for the opportunity to be mayor of the Region of Queens for the past four years.
“I’d just like to thank the people of Queens for poviding me this wonderful privilege to represent Queens County,” she says. “And it is a privilege. We are a wonderful county, we have some of the best people in the world. And we are very attractive to people around the world who want to live here. So let’s welcome newcomers, regardless of what country or what culture they are. Diversity is wonderful for us. It makes us stronger. Thanks to the people of Queens.
“And I’m here for a couple of more months if there’s anything anybody needs any help with.”
The municipal election is set for Oct. 19. Former teacher Terry Doucette and business consultant Scott Christian have already announced their campaigns for mayor. People have until Sept. 10 to file their nomination papers.
For the first time, voters in Queens will be able to make their choices by traditional ballot or by phone or online.
Nova Scotia Public Works Minister and Queens MLA Kim Masland announces cell service upgrades on Wednesday in Greenfield with Service Nova Scotia Minister Colton LeBlanc. (Rick Conrad)
It’s going to take a couple of years, but residents of Greenfield are finally getting cell service.
The Nova Scotia government is building 27 new telecommunication towers in unserved areas around the province at a cost of $18.6 million.
Public Works Minister and Queens MLA Kim Masland made the announcement on Wednesday at the Greenfield Fire Hall in north Queens.
She was joined by Colton LeBlanc, minister of Service Nova Scotia, municipal politicians and representatives from Build Nova Scotia and Rogers.
Masland said reliable cell service is a necessity and a matter of safety.
“We are adding to what is already the largest investment ever in cellular infrastructure by a provincial government. We are investing an additional $18.6 million to build 27 new provincially owned telecommunication towers.”
Last October, the province launched the $47.3-million Cellular for Nova Scotia Program. The province also announced $3.3 million last year to build four trunked mobile radio towers, which first responders use for emergency communication. The new funding brings the total investment to $69.2 million.
The province is also partnering with Rogers to upgrade infrastructure at 27 existing sites and connect them to the Rogers network.
“This will significantly improve connectivity for Nova Scotians over the next two years,” Masland said. “It’s what our province needs to keep pace with technology and population growth while improving safety in rural communities.”
The overall program is expected to connect more than 12,000 unserved civic addresses, which represents about 62 per cent of the more than 20,000 identified in a 2022 Cell Gap Study. It will also connect 562 kilometres of unserved primary roadways, or 56 per cent of the 1,010 kilometres of the unserved roadways.
The first four towers will be up by spring 2025, with the remaining new and upgraded sites ready between summer 2025 and spring 2027.
Some areas of the province, like Greenfield, are cellular dead zones. Residents and businesses have to rely on landlines or Wi-Fi calling.
The Greenfield work is expected to be completed by fall of 2026.
Fire Chief Moyal Conrad called it a “game changer” for rural fire departments.
“The public is going to be so much more protected with cell service in rural areas and with us being able to do our job easier and better,” he told reporters after the announcement.
Conrad said improvements to the mobile trunked radio network will also help departments like his serve their communities better.
“That trunk radio that’s what we do all our communications on. … All vital information goes across that. The Nova Scotia government is giving us (volunteer fire departments) all new radios this year, that’s another $100 million they’re sticking out there for us.
“This is very, very, very good news.”
Conrad said the lack of reliable cell service also affects recruitment efforts, at a time when it’s tough enough for rural departments to find volunteers.
“If you signed up today to be a fireman and you never got to a call, you’re not going to be very interested in coming. So the cell service, we’ll be able to put out more information. People will be able to know when there’s a call and they’re going to be able to respond.”
Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman said the municipality had been putting money aside in a special reserve fund to build their own tower for Greenfield, or to try to partner with the neighbouring Municipality of the District of Lunenburg.
“This is absolutely amazing, not only for Queens but for all rural counties, all rural places that do not have cell coverage which is so very, very vital.”
Masland told reporters that it’s taken a while to address lack of cell service in some areas because of the difficulty in doing the work in many rural areas of the province. She likened it to climbing Mount Everest.
“This is just the beginning. We’re working concurrently, not waiting to make sure that we can keep climbing. This is going to take time. We are finally a government that has put its teeth into this problem and we’re going to solve it.
“We’ll get these 27 up and like I said, we’re not stopping, we’re going to continue to climb to the top and we’re going to make sure that Nova Scotians have the cellular service they deserve.”
The 27 new towers will be added to the more than 60 the province already owns. Under its agreement with Rogers, the government is pitching in 80 per cent of the cost, while Rogers will pick up the remaining 20 per cent or about $3.7 million.
The ultimate goal is to have 99 per cent coverage for basic voice call service and up to 85 per cent coverage for high-definition service for things like high-quality audio or video, internet browsing, email and streaming.
Masland said the province will also be applying to the federal government for help with some of the cost.
Region of Queens councillors Jack Fancy, David Brown and Vicki Amirault have declared their intentions for October’s municipal election. (Rick Conrad)
With less than three months to go before October’s municipal election, incumbents and former councillors in Queens County are declaring their intentions.
So far, three of the seven sitting councillors have said they won’t run again. Three others have declared they will run again.
District 1 Coun. Kevin Muise could not be reached. And Mayor Darlene Norman hasn’t yet announced her plans.
District 6 Coun. David Brown is one of the councillors who won’t be reoffering. District 2 Coun. Ralph Gidney and District 7 Coun. Carl Hawkes are the others. Gidney’s area will be changed to District 3. Former councillor Susan MacLeod, who placed second in the 2020 mayor’s race, will be running to replace Gidney.
Brown told QCCR that he feels he’s done what he can for his constituents. He represents the areas around Port Medway, Mill Village, Greenfield and Labelle. A newcomer to municipal politics in the 2020 election, he beat Jason Croft by about 130 votes.
“I feel like I’ve accomplished as much as I can accomplish in council and I’m not really happy with the process, so I’m looking at different avenues for moving on,” he said. “I just feel like we’re a municipal council, but we don’t govern like a municipal council. We still govern like a town council.
“It seems like everything we do is centred around Brooklyn, Liverpool and Milton and any time we try to get anything done outside of that core, it’s a struggle.”
He said he wasn’t criticizing his fellow councillors or municipal staff. And he didn’t want to provide examples of some of the struggles he’s had.
But he said he feels the Liverpool area is over-represented on council, with five councillors who have some part of their district in Liverpool, Milton or Brooklyn. With the redrawn boundaries, that’s down to four.
“Whoever goes into council from rural areas is just going to have to fight harder to try to get their areas recognized. Maybe if councilors coming in from Liverpool, Brooklyn, Milton, realize that they’re not funding 100 per cent of the cost of what happens in Queens County, but they’re expecting 100 per cent of the expenditures that are happening in Queens County, it’s not a fair and equitable solution for anybody.”
Brown said he was also frustrated with some of the criticism he’s received online and in person since he became councillor. He said he welcomes feedback from constituents, but he said sometimes it goes too far.
“There’s a lot of anger with people, in the public. They seem to think that because you’re a public figure they can say whatever they want to you. And council is not a high-paid position to put up with the amount of hours and the abuse that we’ve been taking from some people. So I’m just not interested in doing another four years of that.”
“I’m happy with what I did. I think council has done the best job that they could for the most people. It’s just most of the work is done in the centre of town and that frustrates me.”
District 3 Coun. Maddie Charlton will be trying for a second term. She joins District 4 Coun. Vicki Amirault and District 5 Coun. Jack Fancy, who have announced they will seek re-election.
Because of the boundary changes, Charlton will be running in District 2 this time. But it’s essentially the same area as she represents now in District 3, with the addition of part of White Point Road.
Amirault will still run in District 4, but her area now includes Danesville and East Port Medway. It also has less of Brooklyn.
And Fancy, who represents the Milton area, has said he plans to run in District 7, which is where he grew up. That area includes much of north Queens, including Caledonia and Kejimkujik National Park.
In 2020, Charlton made history at age 29 as the youngest person elected to Region of Queens council.
She told QCCR that she’s enjoyed her past four years in municipal politics.
“Although it has certainly come with challenges,” she said.
“I have certainly learned a lot over these last four years and I really think that younger representation at the council table is important.”
Along with bringing a more youthful perspective, she says she’s proud she’s been able to advocate for better access to council meetings for the public. She pushed for a regular evening meeting to make it easier for people to attend, as well as the upgrades necessary to livestream meetings.
Charlton says she believes that council’s communication with the public has improved.
“That was one of things that as a resident before I ran was something that was really obvious there was a bit of a disconnect there. There certainly have been improvements. And those are some that I’m really proud of as well. Besides the standing evening council meetings, I championed audio and video upgrades because people couldn’t hear when they tuned into the meetings. And I think it’s really important that residents can do that and access those meetings and listen to those meetings if they can’t be in the room. So I would say that’s still not perfect. But I think it has gotten better.”
Charlton said that communication breakdowns were partially responsible for the controversies over a new library.
“I would say that we need to slow down before we speed up. … We hit the gas too fast and different information was evolving over cost and I think if we would have just slowed down, we could have pieced things together in a more sensible way to then confidently make a plan that we could endorse going forward.”
David Brown says he regrets that council didn’t commit to a new library. They decided instead to move the library, at least temporarily, to the business development centre on White Point Road.
“I would have liked to have seen a library built. Having an actual brick and mortar standalone library built and not having that happen and the way the process worked out was one of my biggest frustrations in the last term.”
Charlton says that if she’s re-elected, she’d like to advocate for more youth programming and recreational opportunities. And she says she hopes other young women take a crack at council this time around.
Brown says he’s not sure what he’ll do next, but he’s going to enjoy his free time. His advice for people who want to run for council? Do your homework and be prepared to stick up for your district.
“Just to be prepared it’s not going to be the happy smiley place that you think it’s going to be,” he says.
“You’re in for a fight every day. If you want to get your area recognized and you want an equitable amount of expenditures for all areas of the county, it’s not going to go smoothly. There’s a fight involved with it. There’s a lot of argument. You have to do your research, know the policies, know what you want going in and know what your consittunts want going in because you’re representing those constituents, you’re not representing your own personal interests. … You have to know what all those constituents want so you can make the best decision for the most people.”
The municipal election is Oct. 19. This year, for the first time, Queens County voters will be able to vote in person or online.
The Falls in Milton under construction on the banks of the Mersey River. (Rick Conrad photo)
The Region of Queens is going to pay the builder of an apartment building on the Mersey River in Milton to connect to the municipal sewer system.
Councillors voted at their meeting last week to compensate Eric and Dawn Fry, the owners of The Falls in Milton at 314 Highway 8 for the costs of running a sewer line from their new 15-unit apartment complex.
That would be for a lateral connection, the section of pipe that connects a private property to the municipal collection system. Ownership and maintenance of the lateral on private property are the owner’s responsibility.
The municipality’s sewer system bylaw states that “all costs associated with the installation, connection, maintenance or repair” of a building connection to the sewer system are the responsibility of the owner.
But because the connection for this property is across the road, the municipality would be on the hook for the work of at least $50,000, according to a staff report.
Adam Grant, director of engineering and public works, says past practice has been for the municipality to pay for the portion of the lateral that would have to cross a road.
Mayor Darlene Norman said the bylaw isn’t as cut and dried as it seems.
“The bylaw is grey,” she said in a recent interview.
“And when we look at what we’ve been doing up until now, the homeowner or developer or anyone is simply told to put their pipe out to the road. And then the region connects to our lateral that’s running. And that’s what that developer was told. When he did his site plan and his permits, he was told and approved to run his pipe directly out to the No. 8 highway which is what he did.
“Now it’s been determined by staff that … the cost to connect him to our lateral because it’s on the other side of the road which was never discussed with them, it’s $50,000-plus because it’s provincial highway, it’s permits, it’s all those items.”
So, municipal staff have been working with the owners to run a pipe on the property parallel to Highway 8 into a manhole at the edge of the property. That would connect the building to the municipal system.
That option would cost up to $27,500, according to the staff report. The developer would do the work and be compensated by the municipality.
“To suddenly say to a person that you have all their approvals in place, they’ve done what they’re told and then to say, ‘Oh, by the way, there’s another $50,000 price tag that you have to pick up,’ that’s a little unfair,” Norman said.
“You can’t tell someone to do something and then a year or two later, say, ‘Oh, maybe we shouldn’t have told you that.’ So the region will pick up the cost of running it to the manhole cover.”
Councillors voted in August 2022 to sell the former Garika Park to the Frys. And in October of that year, councillors also rezoned the land to allow the Frys to go ahead with their development.
Geared toward seniors, the three-storey building is slated for an October opening.
Bob Chouinard, Valerie Wilcox, Carolyn Campbell, Janet Perry, Tony Flint and Roger Wilcox, all residents of Bristol Avenue in Liverpool, were among a group of people who told Region of Queens councillors on Tuesday that they oppose a 24-unit apartment building proposed for their street. (Rick Conrad photo)
Residents on a busy street in Liverpool are concerned it will only get more hectic if a 24-unit apartment building is built in their neighbourhood.
About a dozen people presented a petition to regional council on Tuesday and spoke against the development planned for 48 Bristol Ave., during the meeting’s regular time for public comments or questions.
They say they have 35 signatures of residents upset that the proposed four-storey building is too big for the area. They are worried about increased traffic, motorist and pedestrian safety and increased noise.
They say the design doesn’t fit with the character of the many historical homes in the area. And they’re also concerned that existing water and sewer services can’t handle up to 100 new residents.
Tony Flint, who lives right across from the proposed development, organized the petition. He told councillors on Tuesday that it would be a mistake to allow the development to go ahead.
“I think a 24-unit, four-storey building with the potential of housing as many as 100 people and 50 vehicles is way too much for the footprint of the real estate,” Flint said in an interview after the meeting. “It’s just an inadequate property to handle a building of this nature.”
Bristol Avenue is a busy thoroughfare into and out of Liverpool. The two-lane road is the main access to and from downtown Liverpool. If you live in downtown Liverpool, Western Head or Mersey Point, it’s the most direct route to get to many services like the town’s two grocery stores, Queens Place Emera Centre and gas stations, or to get onto Highway 103.
There is no sidewalk on the side of the road where the development is proposed. It’s currently undeveloped green space with mature chestnut trees. The 6,720 square-foot building would be set back 10 feet from the street, with 24 parking spots behind and on the side of the building. The lot is about 36,000 square feet.
As part of the site plan approval process, residents within 100 feet of the development were notified by the municipality in a letter dated June 19. According to a letter from development officer Mike MacLeod, they had 14 days to appeal.
Mayor Darlene Norman said Wednesday that councillors found out about the development last week when they received their meeting package.
“There’s a process for appealing. They write a letter to the planner stating that they wish to appeal and then they give their reasons of which they’re appealing. And it has to be based on the criteria that the site plan was approved on.
“Unless there are appellants, unless people within the 100 feet of the subject property make application to be an appellant and to appeal the site plan approval then there is nothing council can do at this time.”
Norman said the proposed building meets the zoning requirements. She added that staff take a serious look at new developments to ensure they follow the municipality’s land use bylaws.
“People don’t understand that council do not have the ability to simply shut down stuff just because people don’t like it. We have to live within the rules that we’ve established.”
Flint said he wrote a letter to MacLeod objecting to the proposal. He said that he and his neighbours believed they were getting their appeal on Tuesday, with the petition and speaking to council.
“But we presented the petition and what they do about it, yeah, I would consider that’s a written appeal,” Flint said Wednesday.
“We would like to proceed and continue further if necessary. Whether we’re beating our head against a brick wall, we don’t know. We all feel like we accomplished something by bringing it to the council’s attention. And there were several people that were completely unaware of it.”
Carolyn Campbell is another Bristol Avenue resident who also expressed her opposition Tuesday about the new building.
“I’m concerned that it could possibly be a death trap. As far as I know, there’s only one entrance off of Bristol and they all have to come out the same way. … If there’s a fire or if there’s an emergency vehicle needing to get in there, it could be bad.”
She and others worry about increased congestion caused by this development and a 45-unit building under construction behind Bristol Avenue on Mersey Avenue.
Janet Perry said residents agree with the need for more housing in Liverpool, just not in that location.
“We all live in close proximity to each other and we’re all going to be facing that building. The traffic is horrendous on that street, the noise is horrendous. There’ll be so many other things happening. … Garbage pickup in the mornings, can you imagine how long there are going to be trucks parked on the street? It’s just going to be a nightmare. I’m sure there’s another site (where) it can be built. We’re not opposed to housing, we’re just opposed to that location.”
Norman said that if the development goes ahead, a new council may decide to address any traffic issues that arise.
“It always has been and it always will be a busy street. If these apartments are built and it’s deemed that there’s a need to put a crosswalk, there’s a need to put streetlights to improve traffic flow … then I’m certain that council at the time will do those things. But at this point in time, we are going through the process as it is.”
Canadian shot put thrower Sarah Mitton throws during the group A qualification round during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in July 2021. (Photo by Mark Blinch/COC)
With the Summer Olympics just over a month away, anticipation is building for fans of Queens County Olympian and world champion Sarah Mitton.
And to show support for Brooklyn’s best-known athlete, the Region of Queens is organizing a video tribute to send to Mitton to cheer her on as she goes for shotput gold in Paris.
The municipality is calling on people to record a video that’s 10 seconds or less. They’ll edit all the videos into one and send it to Mitton as she prepares for the Olympics.
The region’s mayor Darlene Norman is organizing her own video tribute on Saturday morning near her home in Port Medway.
“I’m hopeful that many people will show up from Port, neighbouring communities and perhaps some other places,” Norman said Thursday.
Norman’s video will be recorded at the village’s lighthouse park near the wharf at 9 a.m..
“I’d encourage people if they have any of the Sarah signs left from the last Olympics to bring them along. If they want to bring a big poster, if they want to wear bright clothing, just bring your happy spirit to send Sarah some great words.”
She won Canada’s first-ever world medal in women’s shot put with her silver at the Budapest games in 2023. And she is a Commonwealth Games champion and Pan American Games champion.
She recently won gold at the USATF New York City Grand Prix.
Mitton, who turned 28 on Thursday, is getting ready for the Canadian track and field trials coming up at the end of June in Montreal.
“I’ve had my eye on Paris for two years at least,” Mitton said. “And everything we’ve been doing in the last two years is a part of our preparation.”
Norman says Mitton is an inspiration to many people.
“I’ve always admired her. She’s so well spoken and she’s such a good representative for Queens County and Nova Scotia and Canada. And she’s from Brooklyn. Think about it. We had no fancy track facilities, we just had volunteer teachers who coached, and Sarah stood out and shone, found what she loves and pursued it. And I think that’s such an excellent role model for anyone in any walk of life.”
Even if they can’t make it to Port Medway on Saturday morning, Norman encourages people to make their own videos.
“Get together in your own community, get together with your family, your friends, send a solo video. Just take part and send Sarah Mitton a cheer, a hello, a good luck, a ‘we’re so proud of you’, whatever message people like to make.”
The region is accepting videos by email until July 2. You can send them to cheersfromhome@regionofqueens.com. All videos must be no longer than 10 seconds.
Kids play this week at the splash pad at Etli Milita’mk, the universally designed play park in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)
UPDATED JULY 20 at 10:30 a.m.
Region of Queens councillors will vote next week on whether to write off almost $51,000 in cost overruns and funding shortfalls at the universally designed play park in Liverpool.
Councillors voted last week to move the issue forward to their June 25 meeting for a final vote. Most of them appeared to support absorbing the cost.
District 2 Coun. Ralph Gidney was the only one against the motion to vote on the matter at their next meeting.
The provincial organization recently asked the municipality to cover $50,962 in unpaid bills on the $630,000 playground. Some $5,988.79 of that is interest on the overdue account.
Joanne Veinotte, director of corporate services, told councillors last week that Autism Nova Scotia told the municipality they believed that the region would cover any shortfalls.
“Fundraising was less than forecasted. The ACOA contribution was less than budgeted and there were cost overruns such as short-term security for surfacing materials, rescheduling of a rubber surface contract and extension of a rubber surface area. This all contributed to the overage.”
Beyond that, however, details about the overdue account were sparse. It was unclear what the outstanding bill is for or to whom, or when Autism Nova Scotia realized that there wasn’t enough money on hand to cover all the expenses of the project.
The playground is named Etli Milita’mk (pronounced ed-a-lee milly-dumk), which is Mi’kmaw for “we are playing here”. It opened last October, after years of community fundraising led by Queens County resident Debbie Wamboldt and others. It’s designed to be inclusive and accessible for everybody, regardless of ability or age.
The community group raised about $100,000 on their own, with the region donating the land near Queens Place Emera Centre and committing $111,773 from its community investment fund. ACOA and the provincial government also contributed to the project.
Autism Nova Scotia issued charitable tax receipts and held the money in trust to pay the region for construction as invoices were submitted. The region also agreed to own, operate and maintain the playground.
QCCR tried numerous times for an interview with officials from Autism Nova Scotia. Last week, a spokeswoman said in an email that they were “unable to provide an interview at this time”.
QCCR asked the municipality this week for clarification on the account. In an email, Heather Cook, the region’s communications and engagement co-ordinator, explained that the municipality has paid all bills related to the park and no suppliers are owed money.
Because of cost overruns and funding shortfalls, she said, Autism Nova Scotia contacted the region in April to say that it would not be paying the full amount of the final invoice, which the municipality issued in January. The group did not pay any interest on overdue invoices during the term of the project, resulting in interest charges which contributed to the shortfall.
Councillors will vote on June 25 “to fund the outstanding interest charges and project overrun that (are) owed to the municipality due to the funding shortfall.”
The money would come from the municipality’s accumulated budget surplus.
District 1 Coun. Kevin Muise said last week that councillors had voted to donate the land and approve funding from the community investment fund. But he said they didn’t vote to cover any overruns.
District 3 Coun. Maddie Charlton asked if there was any additional information that staff could share with councillors before their next meeting.
CAO Cody Joudry, who took over in November, said there wasn’t.
“I don’t believe there is any other documentation to provide council. … From Autism Nova Scotia’s perspective, they’re like, ‘Well, it’s not really fair to make us cover the difference because we were just the pass-through and really the region was the one who was managing the project.’
“I think if we were doing this over again, we would have brought this to council a lot sooner, like in the construction phase and talked about these issues. But I can’t do anything about that now. So, unfortunately, Coun. Charlton, I do not believe there is any more information I can bring you.”
Councillors did not want to ask Autism Nova Scotia or the local fundraising group to cover the extra costs.
Mayor Darlene Norman said that it was nobody’s fault. Construction delays and weather last summer contributed to the extra expenses.
She said in an interview Monday that it didn’t help that the region was without a full-time CAO for much of last year. Former CAO Chris McNeill left the job in May.
“Remember, this was a time when we had no CAO last year, directors were shifting and taking those roles. And then we had the boil water situation happening, we had no permanent CAO. I’m not saying that’s any reason why this may have occurred, but obviously there was lack of communication between Autism Nova Scotia and Region of Queens staff.”
Norman said that in future, the region would likely approach projects like this differently.
“It was a lesson that if a project like this should ever be undertaken again there needs to be very firm rules respecting who manages what and conversations and communication between the two partners.”
The June 25 council meeting will be held at the Westfield Community Hall in North Queens.
This is all that’s left of the historic Hendry House at 89 Main St. in Liverpool after a fire in May. (Rick Conrad)
The owner of an abandoned house on Main Street in Liverpool that burned down in May has seven days to clean up the site.
If she doesn’t clean it up or appeal the order within seven days, the Region of Queens will do it for her and charge her for the cost of the cleanup.
Councillors voted on Tuesday to declare the property dangerous and unsightly and to clean it up.
According to Nova Scotia property records, 89 Main St. is owned by Rosemarie Jacob, who owns 13 other properties in Liverpool, Brooklyn, Italy Cross, Lunenburg Co., and East Baccaro, Shelburne Co.
Only two addresses are listed for Jacob in property records. One is a post office box in Brooklyn. The other is a PO box in Liverpool.
Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman said Tuesday the owner is hard to find.
“Staff have used every avenue they have to contact the owner. However, unfortunately, that owner leaves very little contact information. We have simply been unable to contact the owner.”
The house at 89 Main St. caught fire overnight on May 13. The Liverpool Fire Department eventually got it under control, but the structure had to be torn down.
It was unoccupied at the time of the fire.
Since then, the municipality has fenced off the property. But none of the debris from the fire has been cleaned up.
There’s still a slight acrid, charred smell around the property from the fire.
A screenshot from Google Streetview from 2014 of 89 Main St. in Liverpool.
According to local historian Tim MacDonald, the historic house was built in 1893 and was once owned by former Liverpool mayor, ship owner and businessman A.W. Hendry.
Liverpool Fire Chief Trevor Munroe told QCCR on Tuesday that they’ve finished their initial investigation and passed it on to Queens District RCMP.
He said there was no power at the property, so it’s unclear how the fire started. That’s why the RCMP are investigating.
“It could be suspicious, it could not be suspicious,” he said in an interview. “But it could be something as simple as a cigarette if someone was moving the grass or something like that.”
An RCMP spokesman said Tuesday the investigation is still ongoing.
Mike MacLeod, the director of planning and development for the region, told councillors on Tuesday that the municipality has received a number of complaints about cleaning up the site.
QCCR is trying to find the owner for comment. If we are able to reach her, we will update this story.
According to property records, Rosemarie Jacob bought the house in 2002 from Erwin Keller of A & I Keller Investments Limited.
Before that, it was owned by the McConnell family from 1973 to 1999.
Council voted on Tuesday to give Jacob seven days to clean it up. Unless she appeals the order by June 18, the municipality will do it and charge the cost as a lien against the property.
Norman says it’s an issue of public safety.
“In the absence of an owner, we are moving ahead with the motion made today. Seven days to file an appeal and if we do not hear from the owner by June 18, then we will be moving ahead and cleaning up the property.”
Another property owned by Jacob that appears to have been abandoned is on Court Street. That’s just off Main Street and behind the former Mersey Hotel, which is itself in bad shape but is currently occupied by various residential tenants.
Jacob also bought the Court Street house in 2002 from A & I Keller Investments.
Norman said she couldn’t comment on the Court Street property or any other Queens County properties owned by Jacob.
“Our bylaw officer has many files that she is presently working on. I cannot comment on the one you’ve made, however, there are various properties that are going to be coming forward to council.”
If Jacob appeals the order, the municipality will schedule a public hearing.
