Kim Masland, Nova Scotia’s minister of emergency management, announced more help this week for emergency services personnel to buy equipment. (Rick Conrad)
Volunteer fire departments and ground search and rescue groups will get more help from the Nova Scotia government to buy equipment.
Emergency Management Minister Kim Masland recently announced an increase of $2.8 million to the emergency services provider fund, which also provides funds for hazardous materials units. That fund is now at $4 million.
Individual groups can apply for up $30,000, up from $20,000 last year. Up to 90 per cent of costs will now be covered, an increase from 75 per cent. Applications are open until July 30.
A new regional category will allow multiple groups from the same area to apply for funding. Up to $200,000 is available in that category. Applications are open Sept. 1 to Oct. 14.
Masland told QCCR this week the new funding is in addition to reviews the department is doing around the province with fire departments and search and rescue groups to find out what kinds of support they need.
“With the frequency and strength of storms that we’re seeing, our fire departments are responding to calls that they’ve never responded to before, like swift water rescues, our ground search and rescues, it seems like every week, I’m hearing of our ground search and rescues doing a rescue call. So we know that everyone is struggling for funds so we’ve actually doubled the emergency services provider fund this year.
“We’re just working on how we can get services out there better. … Whatever it may be to make sure we’re setting them up for success.”
Organizations can also now apply for funding every two years instead of every three.
The Region of Queens has greenlit design work to begin on improvements to the town bridge. (Rick Conrad)
The Region of Queens is going ahead with design work to make the town bridge safer and more accessible for pedestrians and cyclists.
The two-lane bridge over the Mersey River is the main thoroughfare into downtown Liverpool.
The steel structure was built in 1958 and spans about 100 metres with an inside width of 9.6 metres. It has a narrow sidewalk on each side. There are no paved shoulders, dedicated bike lanes or barriers to separate traffic from pedestrians.
Two years ago, regional council commissioned a technical evaluation from engineering firm CBCL to look at active transportation upgrades. Council at that time decided to hold off on any work until more funding became available from the provincial or federal governments.
Simply to maintain the bridge with no improvements would have cost $325,000. To realign the two lanes and expand one sidewalk would have cost $700,000. An active transportation expansion with a dedicated space for pedestrians and cyclists had a price tag of $3.4 million. A totally separate pedestrian bridge over the river was estimated at $4.4 million.
Adam Grant, the region’s director of infrastructure, discussed the issue this week at council’s regular meeting. He said those estimates from 2023 would now likely be about 10 per cent more. He recommended the $3.4-million option.
“I think we get rid of a lot of the challenges that’ll be found working inside the existing structure,” he told councillors.
“Going that way would open up an avenue to create bicycle lanes on the existing bridge once the sidewalks are removed, as well as it wouldn’t require a realignment of the street from lanes all the way through to Water Street so it would be less invasive on the existing street structure, and would probably be able to provide a more fulsome solution on the exterior of the bridge as opposed to trying to fit within a kind of more refined area.”
Grant said he wanted to get the design work started so that the project would be shovel-ready if funding is secured. Councillors had set aside $181,749 in the region’s capital investment plan.
Under the municipality’s current agreement with the province, maintenance and repair work on the bridge is cost-shared 50/50.
But improvements to the bridge would require a new funding agreement, he said.
“At this point under the agreement we have, they’re under no obligation to entertain any upgrades.”
Councillors supported the less costly $3.4-million active transportation expansion, but said they need to look for funding from other levels of government.
Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton said she wants to see the expansion go ahead, but the region needs help from the province.
“I feel like we need to address this certainly. It’s not safe. If you’re walking on the bridge now, you’re quite high up, people misstep, and you could very easily be on the road. … We do have cyclists in Queens and so that’s a bit of a problematic place as it is,” Charlton said.
“We’re funding the design work. We should have some really meaningful conversations to look for support (for the expansion) because I don’t think we can take that on on our own, nor would it be fair for us to take it on on our own.”
Councillors voted unanimously to spend the money for the design work, while directing staff to look for funding for the improvements from the federal and provincial governments.
Horse pull at Queens County Fair. File photo: Doreen Holdright
Eleven community groups have been granted more than $62,000 from the Region of Queens community investment fund.
Non-profit groups from Queens County can apply to the $175,000 fund each year to help offset operational, capital, event, training or travel expenses.
The groups approved for $62,216 in operational funding this week represent only the first stage of grants from the fund. Steve Burns, the region’s community economic development officer, told council that they were time-sensitive.
Any requests from the community investment fund higher than $1,000 have to be approved by council.
Burns said council will be asked to vote on more funding requests now that their 2025-26 budget is approved.
Groups can apply to three different streams for operational funding: up to $10,000 annually if they own their own facility or are in a long-term lease and their programs or services are well-established and open to the general public; up to $5,000 to help community organizations that offer year-round programs or services to Queens County residents and up to $1,000 for groups that offer new, expanded or seasonal programs.
Community groups must submit financial statements, including their current bank balance, what the money will be used for and any other funding sources.
Here is a rundown of what each group received:
CJQC Radio Society, which operates QCCR, for eligible operating expenses up to $5,000
South Shore Flying Club up to $6,047
Friends of Hank Snow Society up to $10,000
Medway & Area Heritage Society up to $2,267.50
South Queens Chamber of Commerce up to $3,750
Mersey Band Society up to $3,121
Milton Canoe & Camera Club up to $2,030.50
Carroll Baker Society up to $5,000
Queens County Fair Association up to $10,000
Seaside Recreation & Community Centre up to $5,000
Bill Smyth and Alex Doggett of Queens County Transit with one of the new hybrid SUVs the non-profit society bought with funding from the federal and provincial governments. (Queens County Transit Facebook page)
Queens County Transit has received government funding to expand its fleet and to keep up with the growing demand for its service.
The non-profit based in Liverpool has bought two new hybrid SUVs, thanks to $116,293 in funding from the federal and provincial governments.
Alex Doggett is the chairman of the Queens County Transit Society.
“It came at a very opportune time for us. We were in this condition where we were refusing rides because we didn’t have enough vans and drivers.”
The new vehicles have been on the road since early April, Doggett said. The service now has eight vehicles, five of which are wheelchair-accessible vans.
“By having the two vehicles, we’re able to keep up with most of the requests, not all of them,” he said. “It’s quite amazing how busy the vans are.”
Queens County Transit gave more than 8,000 rides last year. In April alone, their fleet was out 700 times.
The service has been operating since 2018, when it started with three vehicles. It provides a relatively low-cost transportation option for anyone in Queens County. But it’s become an important resource for seniors and those on low incomes.
The federal government chipped in $93,034 through the Rural Transit Solutions Fund with the Nova Scotia government contributing the remaining 20 per cent, or $23,259.
Kim Masland, Nova Scotia’s public works minister and the MLA for Queens, said at an announcement on Friday that the funding will make a big difference in the community.
“I am so proud to support you. I have never been more proud and humbled to be the MLA for an area that is just growing more and more every day. And the big thing we take away every night is our hearts. The people’s hearts in this community are absolutely incredible and they open them up and do the right thing every day for the people that surround them.”
Doggett said the service survives thanks to government funding like this and support from the community. The Region of Queens municipality also committed $48,500 in funding to the service for this fiscal year.
“What it means is that we didn’t have to go into a fundraising situation, going to the public,” he said. “Where we’re non-profit, it gets very tight at the end of the fiscal year for us and it’s always great to have these types of programs.”
He said the cost of gas has doubled in the past year and maintenance costs have also risen.
“It’s really been quite an undertaking and hopefully it will continue into the future.”
Doggett said Queens County Transit is always looking for new volunteers and board members to help ensure the service thrives for a long time.
“We’re at the point a number of us are seniors and it’s time to get some younger blood in to carry on with this. Some of us are getting to the point where we’re probably going to be stepping down and hopefully get other people to come in and take over.”
The society has its annual general meeting scheduled for June 18 at 10 a.m. at their headquarters at 31 Milton Rd. in Liverpool.
Kim Masland, Queens MLA and Nova Scotia’s public works minister, announces $10.7 million in provincial funding for a $21.5-million water and sewer expansion that gives the green light to two new housing developments in the Liverpool area. (Rick Conrad)
The Nova Scotia government and the Region of Queens are teaming up on a $21.5-million project to extend and improve water and sewer services in the Liverpool area.
Queens MLA Kim Masland on Monday announced $10.7 million in provincial funding to expand water and wastewater service to the Mount Pleasant area. The region will pitch in $10.8 million.
The project means that two new private housing developments will go ahead on more than 60 acres of land. About 325 new housing units will be built for up to 1,200 people. It will be a mix of sold and rented space. About a third of those units could be affordable housing.
Masland, who is also Nova Scotia’s public works minister, made the announcement at the region’s municipal offices in Liverpool on behalf of John Lohr, the minister of municipal affairs and housing.
“We need this funding, we know our community’s growing, we certainly need affordable and more housing stock within our community,” she said in an interview after the announcement.
“We’re attracting people to our community every day, there are med professionals that want to come here. This is a great project. This will allow us to build more houses.”
Masland said a municipal housing needs assessment found that Queens County needs 555 more housing units by the end of 2027. She said it’s difficult to recruit health care staff to move to the area if there’s nowhere to live.
“We need people building faster. We need homes up, we need places for people to live. We are in a housing crisis in the province and we’re going to do whatever we can to make sure we can help.”
The funding will also improve existing water and sewer services to more than 1,200 homes and businesses in the area, and help improve the amount of water available for firefighting efforts.
Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman emphasized that the funding will do more than help developers build new homes.
She said the current infrastructure is at or over capacity. The project will improve service for residents in Liverpool, Brooklyn and Milton.
“There are some really crucial repairs that need to be made to our system, so it can expand in all directions. This is not case-specific for specific people.”
The provincial portion of the funding comes from the $102-million Municipal Capital Growth Program. The region applied in December for the funding.
Norman said the region’s finance staff are working now to figure out how the municipal portion will be funded. The region is currently working on its 2024/25 budget.
Adam Grant, the region’s director of engineering and public works, said Monday he hopes the work will be finished in 24 to 36 months.
“So work is already underway. Following the feasibility study, we’ve migrated into some design work preliminary and that’s underway right now, looking at having designs rolled out in the fall and construction starting in the next 12 months ideally.”
The developers behind the two housing projects said Monday they were excited by the news. They’ve lobbied the municipality for the past few years to extend water and sewer services to those areas.
Both projects are near downtown Liverpool.
Larry Cochrane plans an 87-unit development on the old Dauphinee Farm property near Queens General Hospital, which would include a 24-unit apartment building.
He said he will soon begin the design phase of the project.
“I wish it was faster of course, but we’ll take that because there’s lots of work I need to do to get ready to start a project like this.”
Graham van der Pas is a partner with Rumclo Developments. They plan a three-stage development on about 30 acres of land farther up the road from Cochrane’s project.
“We’re very, very excited. We’ve been lobbying for this for the past two years. So it’s amazing.”
The Rumclo development will feature The Point, which will have 124, two-bedroom homes for sale, The Curve, with 22 three-bedroom townhouses, and Birchwood Gardens, 82 affordable rental apartments. Van der Pas said the affordable rentals will be 80 per cent of the median market rate. A one-bedroom would be about $800 a month, a two-bedroom $1,000 and a three-bedroom would rent for $1,200.
A section of The Curve will also be reserved for staff from Queens General Hospital to rent.
“I think a community like this needs it,” van der Pas said.
“I think what our developments will bring to the town is … a significant amount of property taxes. The revenue will go up there, the economic revenue of people potentially starting businesses, new patrons for the businesses that are already existing. It’s significant.”
Ashley Christian, president of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce, said she’s happy that such a big investment is being made in Queens.
“We have been advocating through the chamber of commerce for more housing for a couple of years. So we’re so excited to see this huge investment, especially made by the municipality, really impressed by that.”
Christian said she’s especially happy that half the funding is coming from the province. She said she hopes that means the project won’t be a big burden on municipal taxpayers.
The Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage has developed an online tool to help non-profits, businesses and others find more information about grants. (Tourism Nova Scotia / Acorn Art & Photography)
The Nova Scotia government is launching a new online grant finder tool to help make it easier for non-profits, businesses and others to find government funding.
The new tool will help Nova Scotians apply for provincial grants supporting arts, culture, tourism, sport, recreation, cultural identity and languages through the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage.
“Nova Scotians have told us that navigating the large number of grant programs can be challenging, particularly for organizations with volunteers working in their spare time,” Allan MacMaster, minister of communities, culture, tourism and heritage, said in a news release.
“This one-stop entry will help people quickly match their needs with the programs that we have available.”
The province gave about 2,600 grants to hundreds of communities, groups and organizations for arts, culture and recreation initiatives in the past year.
The Nova Scotia government has given Parks Canada in mainland Nova Scotia $27,250 to help promote sites like Kejimkujik National Park.
Queens MLA Kim Masland said in a news release that the money is part of the Tourism Digital Content Marketing Initiative. It helps organizations create engaging digital marketing campaigns.
“Kejimkujik is a world-class park that gets thousands of visitors every year. This increased marketing will bring even more tourists to our communities in the future,” Masland said.
“More tourists means more money for our local businesses. This investment is great news for the residents of Queens County.”
Masland says the funding will help bring even more visitors to Keji and more tourists to shop at Queens County businesses.
Members of the Astor Theatre’s Seniors Connecting group produced a holiday play for QCCR in December. (QCCR photo)
Non-profit groups in Queens County can now apply for wellness funds through the Queens Community Health Board.
Past projects funded by the grants include a regular seniors art and craft get-together at the Astor Theatre, learning to curl sessions at the Liverpool Curling Club, and a podcast hosted by South Shore youth.
Groups can apply for up to $3,500 for new projects.
There are 35 community health boards across the province. People can apply to more than one board if their project occurs in more than one area.
New mixing console ready to be installed. Photo Brian Godfrey
The Region of Queens is providing almost $2,800 in grant money to this station through the Community Investment Fund.
QCCR manager Brian Godfrey says the money will be used to upgrade equipment in the main broadcast studio.
The main mixing console and amplifiers have been in Studio A since the station was launched over 16 years ago.
Godfrey says the equipment still works but as with any technology, it breaks down over time and reliability has become a concern.
“Studio A was always our biggest headache because there’s about, literally, thousands of feet of wire going everywhere in there,” said Godfrey. “We don’t know where it goes so, we had to hire on a couple of broadcast engineers.
The grant will cover half the cost of the new equipment with the rest of the funding coming as a personal loan from several members of the station’s board of directors.
QCCR recently signed a 10-year lease extension at our location on the corner of Market and Main streets in Liverpool.
Upgrading the equipment is part of a larger renovation which will include new flooring, furniture and a fresh coat of paint.
Godfrey says QCCR is a place for residents of Liverpool to hear local voices talking about local issues.
The station is not just a resource for local news, events, and programming but also a destination to hear discussions about Liverpool’s past, present and future.
Godfrey says QCCR is important as it gives community members a voice.
“One thing about the community radio station it’s open to anyone out there that maybe thought, oh, I could be a DJ, I’ve got a voice, but I never thought I could be on the radio,” said Godfrey. “Well, here’s your chance. We’re always looking for volunteers.”
Godfrey says the station will be asking for more funding from the Region in the next budget season to help with the installation costs of the new equipment
If all goes to plan, he expects the renovations and studio equipment will be in place by the end of May.
Anyone interested in volunteering with QCCR can do so by e-mailing Brian Godfrey at: cjqcradio@gmail.com
