Region of Queens Coun. David Brown says he’s not seeking re-election in October partly because he’s frustrated by some of the abusive comments he’s received in the past four years. This photo was taken when he launched his first election campaign in 2020. (David Brown councillor Facebook page)

When David Brown ran for Region of Queens council for the first time in 2020, he wanted to try to make things better for the people in his district.

Brown represents District 6, the areas around Port Medway, Mill Village, Greenfield and Labelle.

He was ready to work hard and bring his constituents’ issues to the council table. What he wasn’t prepared for, though, were some of the abusive comments he would receive after he was elected. 

“It’s online, it’s in person, it’s all the way across the spectrum in dealings with people,” Brown told QCCR.

“It just seems like after Covid, everybody was angry and they found people that thought the same way as them online and it became an echo chamber, that they feel they can say whatever they want because you’re a public figure. And really, that’s not the way to treat your friends, your family, your neighbours, people in your community that have just put their name out and step up and try to do the best for people.”

Brown has had enough and has decided not to reoffer in October’s municipal election. Some other council members have said privately that they’re also frustrated by some of the online abuse.

“I think people have legitimate concerns and they should absolutely voice those concerns. But when people start voicing those concerns is that politicans are corrupt because they didn’t decide the way they wanted to or they’re lining their pockets or we’re criminals and we should be thrown in jail. That’s not voicing your opinion, that’s anger and those are attacks. If somebody disagrees, I’m wholeheartedly in favour of people voicing their disagreements. It’s the tone of the disagreements and the way they voice them now, I’m just not interested in putting up with for another four years.”

It’s a familiar story for politicians around the province and at all levels of government. Amanda McDougall-Merrill, the mayor of Cape Breton Regional Municipality, has said that she won’t seek re-election partly because of threats she received as mayor.

And RCMP announced this week charges against two Alberta men for posting threats on YouTube and X or Twitter about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.

Brown says he hasn’t been threatened. But he’s still frustrated by the tone of some of the disparaging feedback he’s received.

“Maybe others don’t find the same thing but I found that it seems the harder you try to work, it seems like you’re upsetting people. As councillors we have to try to do the most good for the most people. But that means that some people are going to be unhappy but those people are very vocal and will attack now just because they didn’t get their way. And that’s really just not the way it should be.”

Robert Huish, an associate professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, has studied civic and political engagement.

He says abusive and threatening comments rose exponentially after Donald Trump was elected U.S. president in 2016. And because the U.S. has such an influence on political and popular culture, Huish says that flavour of political vitriol has bled to other countries.

But he says toxicity has been a fixture in political discourse dating back to the 19th century.

“It’s something that is like a crescendo that we’re seeing right now,” Huish says.

“It’s coming to this big climax of political culture that seems to be producing and reproducing hatred through discourse and engagement rather than try to find something about a rules-based order and listening and those compromises that are so important in governance.

“The more that we’ve normalized the ability to describe and caricature people through derogatory or offensive names and stereotypes and the more that becomes common, the more it’s ultimately reproduced.”

He said social media is a great tool for politicians to engage with voters. But it’s also made it easier for people to attack politicians personally.

“Any sort of politics, especially municipal, it’s about engagement. And engagement is fostered on the ability to listen, respond, debate, discuss. And if we’re seeing the only feedback that’s getting the attention of politicians at the municipal level is this really heated vitriol then it really puts any politician in a position to not respond effectively to the issue at hand but try to deflect from whatever character attack is coming in.

“And now it begins to unfold into what can be called a democracy deficit, because it’s as if those who are holding the seeds o governance are just going to be attacked for being there, rather being pressured for change or to hear community concerns.”

Huish said putting pressure on politicians is a good thing. But personal attacks actually work against making our politics better. And he says they may be losing their effectiveness as people get tired of the lashing out.

“You can’t make people do something, but you can certainly put certain behaviour out of fashion quickly. And this might be getting to be too tired because it’s ineffective to try to have political engagement along these terms.”

For now, though, it’s pushing people like David Brown out of politics.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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.

The region’s electoral boundaries have also been redrawn since the last election. So some people will be running in areas that look different than they did in 2020. (You can see the descriptions and maps of the new electoral boundaries on the Region of Queens website.)

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.”

But Brown is still proud of the work he’s done as councillor, especially helping to save the South Shore Regional Airport in Greenfield and finding more money to support the region’s volunteer fire departments.

“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. 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Garbage piled up at one of the ‘greybox’ sites in Queens County. (Submitted)

Region of Queens officials plan to take action to curb the ongoing garbage problem in the county’s increasingly popular cottage country.

Councillors will vote on several recommendations at their June 25 meeting that they hope will mitigate chronic trash pileups and overflows at so-called “greybox” sites in areas such as Labelle and Molega.

There are about 40 greybox sites on or near private roads throughout the municipality. They consume half of the region’s garbage collection budget. 

The private roads do not have the regular garbage pickup service of most property owners who live on public roads. So the municipality has dropoff sites throughout the region where residents can deposit their waste, recyclables and compostables.

The region picks up the garbage once a week in spring, fall and winter and either two or three times a week in summer months.

District 6 Coun. David Brown has a lot of recreational or cottage properties in his area. In January, he asked the region’s staff to come up with possible solutions to the refuse abuse.

Brown said that especially in the busier summer months, people regularly just toss their trash on the ground around the greyboxes, instead of putting it inside. They’ll also leave big household items like furniture at the sites, even though the municipal landfill is nearby.

Even non-residents regularly leave their garbage, compounding the problem. Some bring their trash in on Fridays and dump them at the sites when they visit their properties on the weekends.

“The bylaw says that those grey bins are for the residents of private roads only for bagged garbage, created on site,” Brown said. “And people who are spending the weekend and dumping everything on Sunday night as they leave, a lot of that stuff can be taken to the landfill.” 

Region of Queens officials want to crack down on how people on private roads use greyboxes for their garbage. (Rick Conrad)

CAO Cody Joudry said he and other staff members have had many discussions about why the problem persists and how to fix it.

“At some of our worst sites, it starts to reach a threshold … at which it seems to overflow,” Joudry said. “And once one person does something, then all of a sudden everyone does it, sort of disrespect the whole thing.”

Joudry said staff suggest trying a few different things to see what works. He made five recommendations:

• install cameras to record when and how often the sites begin to overflow
• capture license plates of offenders and send notices to vehicle owners warning that further offences will result in fines
• add more greyboxes to see if it reduces the amount or frequency of overflows
• look for other locations where the boxes are less visible to non-residents
• increase the collection frequency at some locations from Dec. 1 to March 31.

Joudry said the region tried to install surveillance cameras at some sites years ago, but people stole them. He said staff have ideas about how to limit or prevent that from happening again.

Joudry said staff would report to council in mid-winter 2025 on the effectiveness of their efforts.

District 5 Coun. Jack Fancy said the areas have unreliable internet and cell service, so real-time surveillance may be difficult.

He said he’d also like to see an area for people to leave large items so they don’t get in the way of the greyboxes. He suggested a semi-annual “dump day” for people to drop large items, and to hold a roadside giveaway once a year.

“If we don’t get that big stuff moved out from in front of the bins, people are … going to throw their garbage down there and then somebody else throws the garbage there and then you’ve got the bins that aren’t even full, you can’t get at them becasue of the big items in front of them,” Fancy said.

Brown said that he hopes the situation will improve with some education and enforcement. 

“We as a region allow people to take four loads to the landfill every month without charge. … So if somebody has taken the effort to load a chesterfield on the back of a truck and drive it out to the grey bin and throw it on the ground in front of the bins, it’s an extra 15 minutes to go to the landfill and dispose of it properly.  … We need education and a little bit of enforcement and I think the problem will go away on its own.

“And I really applaud staff for coming through and trying an approach because for the past 10 years we have suffered from analysis paralysis. … This starts us on the approach to getting something done. And I think as word gets around that there’s some enforcment happening, people will not want to pay that $682.50 fine.”

The municipality says the extra measures could cost up to $40,000, with the majority of that going to increased weekly garbage collection in winter.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Thomas H. Raddall Library. Photo Ed Halverson

The public will soon have a chance to give their feedback on the design of the temporary library location in Liverpool.

Region of Queens councillors voted in February to move the Thomas H. Raddall 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 at the end of December.

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 for the library. 

Councillors set aside $1,050,000 for renovations to the 9,200 square-foot space, though staff said it could cost as much as $1.26 million.

Elise Johnston, accessibility and inclusion co-ordinator, told councillors this week that she proposes full public input on the design for the temporary space. 

‘We’re not talking about all the options. We’re not talking about the location, we’re talking about balancing the programmatic needs and the sizes of the room. 

“Does the public want to see two bigger program rooms together that can join as one making sure one has a kitchen, or do we want to see more of a teen space or more of a theatre space?”

Johnston is recommending at least one morning and one evening in-person “working design” session, where options can be discussed and manipulated in real time using 3D modelling. She also suggested livestreaming the sessions on Facebook.

The meetings would be held at the current library’s location at 145 Old Bridge St., in Liverpool, so that people can get a sense of the space at the new place, Johnston said.

“We’re reusing a lot of the shelving and I think that’s a good way for people to visualize,” Johnston said. 

Staff would continue to gather feedback for two weeks, she said, with a final layout being confirmed by mid-July.

Mayor Darlene Norman emphasized that everybody is welcome to attend the sessions and give their input.

District 6 Coun. David Brown said he liked the approach that Johnston proposed.

“I think having it interactive in the library space, it gives people a better chance of scale so they know what they’re getting.”

Councillors will vote on the motion at their June 11 meeting. The region would schedule the sessions as soon as they’re approved by council, promoting them with printed flyers and on social media, by email and announcements on QCCR.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen below for the May 30 news update

Region of Queens councillors want a staff report on installing traffic lights at the three-way stop at Main and Market Streets in downtown Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

Queens County pedestrians and motorists won’t see orange crosswalk flags at a busy intersection in downtown Liverpool, but they could see a return of traffic lights.

Region of Queens councillors on Tuesday voted against installing the flags at the three-way stop at Main and Market streets. But they did support getting a staff report on having full traffic lights at that intersection.

The area did have traffic lights decades ago, until they were damaged by a transport truck, and taken down.

Safety concerns have long been an issue at Main and Market streets. In 2015, regional councillors commissioned a study by Insight Traffic Engineering that found traffic control wasn’t an issue and recommended minor changes.

In 2019, councillors rejected installing pedestrian-controlled crosswalk lights at a cost of $27,000.

But a collision in January which sent a 79-year-old woman to hospital rekindled concern in the community about safety at that intersection.

Councillors asked staff to come back with options about how to make that intersection safer. Adam Grant, the region’s director of engineering and public works, said in April that there is no evidence crosswalk flags would help. And he said pedestrian-controlled lights at that intersection could interrupt traffic flow and create more problems. He said it’s unusual to have the lights at a three-way stop.

The Town of Mahone Bay installed an all-way stop in 2021 near Saltbox Brewery on its Main Street. It also has flashing red lights and orange crosswalk flags for pedestrian use.

The all-way stop in Mahone Bay by Saltbox Brewery. (Google Streetview)

Even though councillors on Tuesday rejected the flags, they said action needs to be taken to make Main and Market intersection safer.

District 2 Coun. Maddie Charlton said that it will only get busier with the new Queens Manor, the apartment building planned off Bristol Avenue and the planned Mount Pleasant development expected to house up to 1,200 people.

Charlton asked staff for the traffic light report.

“When I look around at other communities that have these three-way intersections, they have lights. And so I think it’s important that we understand what the criteria (are) for those lights. If another option has presented itself that we can consider, I think that would be helpful to have. We need something that tells us how we could get those traffic lights, what the criteria is, so if we’re not there yet, when can we pull the trigger on them.”

District 4 Coun. Vicki Amirault said it’s time for the region to address the problem.

“One person getting hit there is too many, and it’s been many over the years. So I think we really need to look into this and go forward on this and not stall so much on this problem. I know it’s been years and years, but I think we need to find a way forward.”

District 5 Coun. Jack Fancy said the flags would have been better than nothing. And he said he also supports pedestrian-controlled lights.

“There’s always going to be issues with each thing, but I believe the good outweighs the bad with this. Especially, what we’re aiming for right now is doing nothing. And I don’t think doing nothing is the answer.”

District 6 Coun. David Brown said enforcement and education would resolve a lot of safety issues.

“The lights won’t stop cars, the lines on the pavement won’t stop cars. You have to look for yourself and guard your safety. We’ve got a lot of development coming and I’d like to know what would trigger a need for (traffic) lights at that intereseciton because I think the stop control works well now if we enforce it.”

Mayor Darlene Norman said that when the traffic lights were operating at that intersection years ago, it seemed to help.

On Tuesday, councillors also approved $1,000 to study the feasibility of reducing the speed limit on Main Street from School Street to Riverside Drive, near Fort Point Lighthouse Park.

Residents submitted a petition to council in November, asking them to improve traffic safety in the area by lowering the speed limit and installing an all-way stop at Main and School streets. 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

District 3 Coun. Maddie Charlton asked for a way on Tuesday to boost funding for the South Shore Transition House Association. (Region of Queens YouTube channel)

Thirty-four community groups in Queens County will be getting almost $150,000 in funding from the municipality, but one councillor worried on Tuesday that one organization wasn’t getting enough.

The Region of Queens approves funding requests each year from non-profit groups for operational, capital or event funding through its community investment fund.

Groups have to meet various criteria to be approved for funding. Eighteen groups applied for funding of more than $1,000. Another 16 applied for help under $1,000. Council must approve all requests over $1,000. Staff alone can assess and approve those requests under $1,000.

The South Shore Transition House Association asked for $5,000 so that the Bridgewater-based Harbour House can help clients in Queens County from a more secure location in Liverpool. 

Stephanie Sereda, the region’s community development co-ordinator, explained the association’s request to councillors.

“They currently have been in the Liverpool area serving clients for two years from a location that is just not secure. They have requested that they can find a safe and secure space, this would cover rent, transportation to and from for their clients.

“This would be for Queens County residents who are experiencing domestic violence to go and receive counselling and support and they’re brought in from all corners of Queens to the Liverpool area to this particular location. … But the space is very public and it’s a very private matter. They’re just hoping to continue to support in a better location.”

But because the organization’s cash assets made up more than half of their operating budget, they were eligible for only $1,250 under the community investment fund. The amount that can be awarded to an organization is reduced if its bank balance or assets are above a certain threshold.

Some other organizations were also not awarded all the funding they requested.

District 3 Coun. Maddie Charlton asked if there was any way to make an exception to the policy to ensure the transition house association got its full funding request.

“I want to see this request considered to be supported in the full amount because I think it’s important that women in Queens County have access to a resource like this in Queens County and they don’t have to go elsewhere.”

Charlton wanted to see the motion amended. 

Other councillors, however, said that while they support more funding for the organization, they couldn’t support going against the policy.

District 6 Coun. David Brown said he would support a standalone request, but he wouldn’t support changing the policy in this case.

“This is a very worthwhile cause but we have to have some consistency in how we deal with things. We can’t decide that one area or group is not as deserving as another area or group. I think that’s a slippery slope we go down.

“But if we decide we want to give more to this organization, it’s a very good organization, we have that option at a later time and in my mind, that’s the best way to go today.”

Mayor Darlene Norman said that she couldn’t amend the motion, because it would be a substantive change and it would be out of order. Norman suggested that Charlton make a motion at a future meeting that council fund the remaining $3,750 requested.

“This council does highly support South Shore Transition House and the outreach they provide for the women in Queens but this council wishes to keep in check with the policy that we’ve developed.”

In the end, councillors voted to support the recommendation to give the South Shore Transition House Association $1,250. 

Councillors approved all funding requests recommended by staff, for a total of $147,858.64.

Here are the organizations awarded more than $1,000 in funding through the Region of Queens community investment fund.

Operating investment funds (for eligible operating expenses up to the amount stated)

• CJQC Radio Society (QCCR) – $5,000
• Queens County Museum – $10,000
• South Queens Chamber of Commerce – $5,000
• Queens County Fair Association – $10,000
• North Queens Heritage Society – $1,125
• South Shore Transition House Association – $1,250
• Mersey Point Community Association – $10,000
• The Friends of Carroll Baker Society – $4,847.50
• Coastal Queens Place – $5,000
• Queens County Blades – $5,000
• Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute – $5,900
• Friends of Hank Snow Society – $10,000
• North Queens Board of Trade – $10,000

Capital investment funds

• Seaside Recreation and Community Centre Association – $33,723.64
• Liverpool Baseball Club – $1,025
• Westfield Community Center Society – $23,197.50

Event investment funds

• Native Council of Nova Scotia – $2,300
• Privateer Days Commission – $3,400

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Region of Queens councillors plan to ask RCMP to step up enforcement efforts at the three-way stop at Main and Market streets in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

Queens County councillors grappled with traffic safety in downtown Liverpool at their meeting on Tuesday evening.

The intersection at Main and Market streets has been the scene of some close calls between motorists and pedestrians. And in January, a 79-year-old woman was hit in the crosswalk and taken to hospital in Bridgewater. A driver was charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk.

The incident reignited concern in the community about that intersection and others in town. Councillors heard from their constituents that they needed to address safety in that area.

Some residents want the municipality to install pedestrian-controlled crosswalk lights.

At their Jan. 23 meeting, councillors asked staff to review previous reports and studies about that intersection and come back with recommendations. They also asked staff to investigate adding fluorescent orange flags at that intersection for pedestrians to use while they cross.

On Tuesday evening, some councillors were in favour of trying the flags, while others were opposed. It would cost $1,050 to put the flags at each of the three corners of the intersection. The idea has been used in the Halifax region at many crosswalks, but not at those controlled by stop signs. 

Adam Grant, the region’s director of engineering and public works, said he spoke with the community group in Halifax behind those flags. 

The citizens’ group Crosswalk Safety Society of Nova Scotia began putting the orange flags at intersections in 2008 after a teenager was killed in a Dartmouth crosswalk. According to the group’s website, it got approval from the province in 2011 to allow crosswalk flags on provincial roads. They are now found in Hubbards, Hantsport, Aylesford, Berwick, New Ross, Bridgewater, Chester and Windsor.

Grant said the reception to them in the Halifax region is mixed. And he told councillors there is no evidence that installing the flags at Main and Market would improve pedestrian safety.

“I don’t feel comfortable consenting to the installation, quite frankly, as the traffic authority.

“Any time we introduce anything to a situation which doesn’t have a clear and direct guideline with substantiated evidence determined by professionals, we’re introducing liability. For me to suggest putting these in place will improve safety when I don’t know they will would be contradictory to my intent.”

Councillors decided to defer the flag discussion to a later date.

Grant said that pedestrian-controlled lights at the intersection could interrupt traffic flow and create more problems. He said it’s unusual to install the lights at a three-way stop.

A 2015 study by Insight Traffic Engineering did not recommend installing lights at the intersection. Instead, it suggested changing some signage, remove any trees or greenery obstructing visibility and moving the stop sign and crosswalk from the western approach on Main Street.

The study found that existing traffic control wasn’t an issue, though it did recommend council at the time ask Queens District RCMP to step up enforcement.

Grant told councillors Tuesday that conditions at the intersection haven’t changed since that 2015 report, and that there was no increase in the rate of collisions over the past 10 years, according to the RCMP.

Mayor Darlene Norman suggested leaving the issue for the next council to tackle after municipal elections in October.

District 6 Coun. David Brown said he’d like the region’s police advisory board to discuss increased enforcement with the RCMP at their next meeting, likely in late May.

“It sounds more like a compliance issue,” Brown said.

“Once you make an example of a few peole and word gets out that there are potential fines for jaywalking or entering the intersection illegally when you’re driving, word will get around and pepole will take the extra time and look at what they’re doing.” 

Norman said she believes that’s a good idea, and that police need to keep up the enforcement efforts for many days, and at all times of the day.

“And fines. Not warnings, but fines for rolling stops, for all of those things, because it might be the pedestrian once in a while who darts out, but it’s often the vehicle driver.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Region of Queens councillors Jack Fancy, David Brown and Vicki Amirault in a file photo. (Rick Conrad)

The Region of Queens plans to increase the income threshold for people eligible for the low-income property tax exemption.

As part of budget discussions on Tuesday, District 6 Coun. David Brown asked council to consider increasing the income brackets for those eligible for the tax break.

“We know there’s been a lot of inflation this year and the consumer price index went up 3.4 per cent,” Brown said.

“We end up with bracket creep. I know some people are getting small raises in their pensions, small raises in the EI rate, and minimum wage that could price them out of that benefit. So we could be clawing back what little benefit they gained out of inflation.”

Property owners with a household income of $20,000 a year or less are eligible for a maximum $400 tax exemption. Those who make between $20,000 and $25,000 get up to $350, and those making between $25,000 and $30,000 get as much as a $300 break.

The revised income amounts would add $5,000 to each of those brackets. So the lowest income bracket would now be up to $25,000, and then $25,001 to $30,000 and $30,001 to $35,000. The tax exemption amounts would not change.

Brown originally wanted council to increase the income brackets by the same rate as inflation. That would have added about $680 to the lowest income group and about $1,000 to the highest.

But District 3 Coun. Maddie Charlton said council should increase the top bracket by $5,000. She said the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg recently changed its low-income tax exemption to give people a 14 per cent boost in savings on their property taxes.

“I think upping that to the $35,000 is more than reasonable and helps those who need it the most,” Charlton said.

Council decided to increase each income category by $5,000.

“We’re talking about the lowest (paid) and the poorest in our society who need the most help from us,” Brown said. “And it’s a small amount of money to be able to help those who need it the most. I think it’s something we should do.”

The region originally set aside $125,000 for the low-income tax exemption in their 2024/25 budget. CAO Cody Joudry said staff would add another $10,000 for it in the budget. 

The increase will be funded from the municipality’s accumulated surplus special operating reserve fund, which sits at just over $10 million.

Council is holding a special meeting on Monday at 9 a.m. at the region’s offices to vote on the final budget.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Region of Queens CAO Cody Joudry and Mayor Darlene Norman before Tuesday’s council meeting. (Rick Conrad photo)

Library users in Liverpool will be checking out books in a new location by the end of the year.

Region of Queens councillors voted Tuesday night to move the Thomas H. Raddall library to the Liverpool Business Development Centre until a permanent site can be found and built.

The Global Empire call centre and Belliveau Veinotte accountants are the current tenants at the building, just off the White Point Road. The municipality owns the building.

The call centre currently uses about 18,000 square feet of the space, while Belliveau Veinotte leases 4,800. That leaves about 9,200 square feet for the library’s temporary location.

First, though, regional staff have to renovate to add washrooms and program rooms and to accommodate the library’s collection. The plan is to move the library there before the end of the current lease in December. It’s currently in the Rossignol Centre in downtown Liverpool, which is for sale.

Susan DeChamp, who was one of three members of the region’s library steering committee, was at the council meeting Tuesday evening. She said it’s probably the best option for now. 

“So for what we have to work with, it’s not a bad blank slate,” she said in an interview after the meeting. “There is still the issue of some of our walking people getting to it. … There is some concern that library usage could suffer a bit for that. We need a library and this is our best option at this point.”

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. CAO Cody Joudry says a new library would likely cost much more than that.

The library steering committee twice recommended a site near Queens Place Emera Centre. Council rejected it the first time but decided to accept the recommendation a second time.

But councillors nixed that plan once more when they learned that connecting the site to existing road and infrastructure would cost close to a million dollars.

And then at a December meeting, after hearing from residents, councillors rejected a staff recommendation to move the library to the call centre building permanently. 

District 4 Coun. Vicki Amirault, who chaired the library committee but voted against its recommendations, said Tuesday it’s a good solution to ensure library services continue. 

“This has been a long process to say the least,” Amirault said. “It’s been quite a process but I just think we need to overhaul a little bit and move on.”

The vote on the temporary location was not unanimous. Mayor Darlene Norman voted against it. She said the region could have bought the building where the library is now, and keep it there until a developer could be found to put housing in that location.

“However, it was not a wish of council to do that,” she said. 

“One would hope that during that refit that the CEO of the library and the library staff are consulted very closely and that we’re simply not creating office space, because it’s my feeling that once the library is there, the library will stay there. It would be very difficult for a future council to justify a million plus on renovation and then flip around to build a new library.”

CAO Cody Joudry estimates the work on the call centre will cost from $1.05 to $1.26 million. He says that he’ll work with the library’s CEO to ensure users and the rest of the community are consulted on the design and renovation of the space. 

He said that with this council’s term ending in October, it would be difficult to complete consultation, site selection, design and tendering before then. Joudry suggests letting a newly elected council develop a long-term plan for the library.

But some councillors want the process to begin before a new council is elected in October. 

District 6 Coun. David Brown said he wants public consultation to “start sooner rather than later” so that the incoming council will have something to work with.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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

Listen to Monday’s news update below