Entrance to Region of Queens council chambers. Photo Ed Halverson

A pair of public hearings to determine land-use issues in Milton led into Tuesday’s Region of Queens council meeting.

The first was an application for a development agreement to allow Samantha Corner and Robie Leigh Murphy to establish an automobile repair shop at 16 Edward Street.

Several letters supporting the application were received and no one in the gallery rose to speak against.

In session, Council voted unanimously to enter the development agreement.

The second public hearing involved a zoning change to permit the construction of a multi-unit building on the former Garika land on the corner of Highway 8 and Bridge Street in Milton.

Several people rose to speak in opposition to the project citing road safety issues, loss of a public view of the river and the need for fire departments to have access to a dry well on site to fill trucks.

Mayor Darlene Norman says council discussed the fact the road is already at the lowest speed limit permitted of 50km/h and there are no passing lanes along that stretch of highway.

Norman also indicated Milton already has several public park areas including the outdoor pool and Pine Grove Park and is well serviced in that regard.

Norman says council listened to Planning and Development Director Mike MacLeod when he said fire department and public access to the site would be guaranteed when the sale agreement is finalized.

“Ensuring that there’s access for fire departments to that dry hydrant as well as there’s a public boat launch on that site and public access to that will also remain,” said Norman.

During the session council voted to allow the zoning changes by a margin of 6-2 with Councillors Brown and Fancy voting against.

Council started their session by approving a tender for bulk salt trucking.

They accepted a submission by Van Dyk Excavation and Trucking in the amount of $49.95 plus HST per metric tonne.

Director of Engineering & Public Works Adam Grant said every municipality across the province is experiencing large increases for salt delivery and Queens is no different as the $49.95 approved by council is roughly $8.50 per tonne higher than last year.

Next council voted to send the province the results of the Municipal Electoral Boundary review.

As previously reported, the review recommends keeping council composition the same with 7 councillors and one mayor but realigning the districts so the former Town of Liverpool will now only have representation from two councillors.

Council then approved a request from the South Queens Chamber of Commerce to allow alcohol consumption on municipal property as part of the Liverpool International Theatre Festival opening night festivities.

A review of job descriptions for public works employees was the next item on the agenda followed by a funding request from the Greenfield Community Park Society.

The organization is developing a community recreation area behind the Greenfield recreation centre and school, starting with a walking trail.

Council agreed to contribute $9,400 from the community investment fund to the project.

The two public hearing items were then discussed and decided before council voted on a new deputy mayor.

Councillor Jack Fancy was elected to serve in that role for the last two years of this council’s mandate. Fancy replaces outgoing Deputy Mayor, Kevin Muise.

The Deputy Mayor receives no additional pay and fills in for the mayor when they are unavailable.

In the discussion portion of the session, council received a report from staff on the Lost at Sea Memorial being proposed for Fort Point Park.

Staff raised concerns about disturbing underground infrastructure on the site and the removal of trees from the park.

Members of the Diversity and Inclusion team also recommended that proponents of the memorial consult with local Mi’kmaq regarding their inclusion on the memorial.

Council then discussed a request from Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood asking Region of Queens to forward on to the province a letter of support for the Maine Ferry.

Finally, council added an agenda item to discuss whether traffic safety studies should be included by developers looking for permission to build in Queens.

Staff will contact other municipalities in Nova Scotia to determine what common practices are in place and bring a report back to council.

According to the Region’s Calendar, the next council meeting will be on the road in Port Medway.

The meeting will take place at the fire hall starting at 6:00pm.

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Region of Queens administration building. Photo Ed Halverson

Voters in Liverpool will likely see big changes when they go to the polls in the next municipal election.

The Region of Queens is proposing to cut the number of councillors representing the former town from three to two.

Currently Liverpool is represented by councillors from districts 2, 3 and 5.

The recommendation comes as part of a municipal boundary review mandated by the provincial government.

Every ten years municipalities across the province must review their districts and number of representatives to ensure residents in areas across the region receive equal representation.

Mayor Darlene Norman says the proposed changes won’t impact the sitting council.

“These new boundaries will not come in force until the next election,” said Norman. “So, at this point in time, who knows who will be sitting in those seats.”

The mayor says most councillors believed the public impression is that three councillors representing the town is putting too much focus on Liverpool and not enough on other areas in the Region.

Following public consultation and a staff report, council decided to submit the option of keeping one mayor and seven councillors for the provincial government’s approval.

She says council recognizes that some of the districts are still geographically quite large, but the review dictates it’s the number of voters to be represented within each district which must be considered and not necessarily the distance a councillor would have to travel.

Norman says considering the new boundaries will likely be in place for another ten years, she wants residents to be aware of the changes before they’re sent off.

“The final recommendation will come at our next council meeting. I encourage, if people have concerns or support or questions as to the breakup and the make-up of these that they contact myself or they contact their councillor,” said Norman. “The final decision will rest with the Utility and Review Board.”

Council will vote on the changes when they meet in council chambers at 9:00 am on Tuesday October 11.

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photo Ed Halverson

Region of Queens council discussed proposed electoral district boundary changes and decided to formalize their  agreement with donors to build a new outdoor pool.

The evening meeting started with a minute of silence in recognition of Truth and Reconciliation Day on Friday.

Council then passed two items that were discussed at previous meetings: a policy for tree maintenance on municipally owned land and choosing which roads would be submitted for upgrade under a provincial cost-sharing plan.

The Region will go 50/50 with the province on whichever road the province determines they will upgrade out of a list of four roads prioritized by the municipality.

In order they are College Street from Shore Road to Pleasant Avenue, Roxbury Road, Oliver Street and Fostertown Road.

The province will decide if work will be done on any or all of those ahead of the release of next year’s provincial budget.

The bulk of the meeting was taken up with a discussion around realigning the electoral districts within the municipality.

Every municipality in the province must review their districts and number of representatives every ten years to ensure the appropriate number of councillors are representing an equal number of residents.

Following public consultation and a staff report, council decided the preferred option was to keep one mayor and seven councillors but that the number of councillors representing portions of the former Town of Liverpool would be reduced from three to two.

Mayor Darlene Norman says council felt it was a matter of fairness.

“The majority of councillors believed that it’s misrepresentation, from the public’s view, when you have three councillors representing the town.”

Norman says council recognizes that some of the districts are still geographically quite large but the review dictates it’s the number of voters to be represented within each district which must be considered and not necessarily the size of the area a councillor would have to travel.

A final recommendation on the electoral boundary review will come before council at their next meeting.

Following the in-camera portion of the meeting Norman says council accepted a recommendation to enter into an agreement with Holly Murphy and Michael Murphy for the construction of an outdoor community pool.

“Part of the agreement with the very generous donors is that the terms of this agreement remain confidential as well as their gift amount,” said Norman.

The mayor says timelines and budget decisions around the construction will be made public as the project goes forward.

She’s optimistic the pool will be ready sometime in 2024.

The next council meeting will be held October 11 at 9:00am in council chambers.

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

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.