The fitness room side of Queens Place is a potential site for a new outdoor pool. Photo Ed Halverson

Support for an indoor pool in Queens is growing.

At the Jan 24 Region of Queens Council meeting held in Brooklyn several people stood to say they would like to tie the construction of an indoor pool to the build of a new library.

The Region has received an anonymous donation, alleged to be worth $3 million to be used for the construction of an outdoor pool.

One of the proponents of an indoor pool, Kristopher Snarby says pooling that with the $3 million council has set aside for the new library would give the municipality around $6 million which they could use to leverage matching contributions from provincial and federal levels of government for a total of up to $18 million.

“But maybe they would each cough up $6 million, which does happen for certain projects where they cost share a third, a third, a third. So, part of it was like, why haven’t we even asked those questions?” wonders Snarby. “Why aren’t we rallying to try to get other levels of government to help support these projects?”

Mayor Darlene Norman says she is a huge fan of indoor pools as she put herself through university working at one.

She understands the health benefits and the community’s desire to have such a facility but questions the long-term affordability of operating an indoor pool.

It’s a discussion she had recently with the mayor of the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg about their own pool, the Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre (LCLC) which they operate in partnership with the Town of Bridgewater.

Mayor Norman says as Nova Scotia looks to double its population over the next 40 years the move will be to regionalize services and with the LCLC, Queens has access to a pool 35 minutes up the road.

“We should be helping support the LCLC,” said Norman. “And I believe that as a regional government what we could do is we could talk with Queens County Transit, we could talk with the LCLC, we could see if we could offer subsidized to say swimming lessons and transportation throughout the winter months.”

Snarby says he understands the Region has a couple of million dollars set aside to assist in the development of the outdoor pool and that money could be the start of an ongoing fund to mitigate long-term operational losses.

“And my point was like, if we can fund the building through the federal and provincial government, take that two and a half million dollars to start an operating nest egg and then start building this fund in the next four to five years, which is probably how long it would take to build the facility,” said Snarby.

He is aware assessed home values are going up over the next couple of years which will mean increased revenue for the municipality.

Snarby suggests shifting some of that excess to the operating fund then combing the community to try and raise another $4-5 million while construction takes place over the next few years.

But it’s talk like that that raises concerns for Norman around how long it could take to see a combined indoor pool/library built.

It’s widely acknowledged the existing Milton pool is on its last legs and the Rossignol Centre which houses the Thomas Raddall Library is up for sale, putting the library’s future in jeopardy as well.

Norman is concerned any delay in the construction of either a new library or outdoor pool could leave the area without either service.

“It is my viewpoint that the longer we drag on this the longer we will be without pool facilities and the people in this county, the 10,000 people in this county cannot afford to own and operate a large indoor year-round pool,” said Norman.

Snarby says while the area could be without a pool for a short time, it could be worth it if the community gets the indoor pool they’ve been talking about for the last 40 years.

“Do you rush and say afterwards, oh shoot, we should have done it differently or do you wait and do it right and I don’t know the answer to that,” said Snarby. “It’s a question the community has to decide.”

Norman says the Region will speak with the provincial and federal governments to find out if they’re interested in funding an indoor pool.

In the meantime, council will be voting on motions suggested by the outdoor pool committee at upcoming meeting.

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

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MP Bernadette Jordan. Photo Ed Halverson

The Government of Canada continues to support Kejimkujik through a series of announcements.

This week, the MP for South Shore-St. Margaret’s and Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Bernadette Jordan announced 2,000 trees will be planted in Keji as part of government’s initiative to plant 2 billion trees across the nation.

Kejimkujik National Park and Historic Site is surrounded by Acadian forest and Jordan says the species of trees to be planted are chosen based on what is appropriate for the location.

“It’s important that when we’re planting trees were doing it in collaboration with the communities to make sure that we’re planting the right trees. It’s not just about planting a tree, it’s about making sure that you’re putting the right ones for the environment that you live in and that you work in and play in so that they match what we need to see,” said Jordan.

Keji will see several species like red oak, yellow birch and sugar maple planted to help the Acadian forest become more resilient.

Government has set targets for the 2 billion tree planting initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 12 megatonnes annually by 2050, while also generating up to 4,300 jobs.

At the end of June Minister Jordan was again at Kejimkujik to announce $1.16 million in federal infrastructure renewal funding to help rebuild part of the park damaged by post-tropical storm Dorian in the fall of 2019.

Visitors will see a new climate-resilient, permanent pedestrian bridge built along the Mersey River trail after the former floating pedestrian bridge at Mills Falls had become susceptible to storm damage following Dorian.

Unfortunately for some visitors, the Mills Falls day-use park and part of the trail will be closed while the area is under construction.

Jordan explains any construction in a national park comes with challenges.

“Getting the infrastructure into the park, they don’t want to put in a road, so of course, there’s a lot of different things that they have to do to make it work and it’s very exciting to see it happening in Keji,” said Jordan.

Dorian also damaged the Seaside trail network causing coastal erosion and trail undercutting, washouts, strewn boulders, and loss of headland surface.

Part of the announced funding will cover the cost of repairing damage to both the Harbour Rocks Trail and the Port Joli Head Trail at the Seaside.

These announcements come on the heels of the reopening of Jeremy’s Bay Campground. The area was closed for a year to update water infrastructure and washrooms dating back to their original construction in the 1970s.

The federal government poured $10 million into Kejimkujjik to bring that infrastructure up to modern standards.

Jordan calls that money well spent.

“Everybody loves Keji, I don’t know anybody that doesn’t. It’s an absolute jewel in Nova Scotia. We’ve invested significantly in Keji in the last six years, making sure that they have what they need to continue to grow and meet the needs of the park.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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