Global Empire call centre cubicles. Photo Ed Halverson
By Rick Conrad
The Global Empire call centre wants a break on its lease in the Liverpool Business Development Centre on White Point Road.
Mayor Darlene Norman says it’s because the company is using 18,000 of the 25,000 square feet it originally signed up for.
“So they wanted the lease amended to indicate that they’ll only be renting the space they are using. And that frees that space up for the Region of Queens to do with as it wishes.”
Council approved the amendments in principle. Norman said that when the new agreement is signed, it will be available to the public.
A new library could come in at a third the cost of previous designs if Region of Queens Council decides to build it in the Liverpool Business Development Centre.
Projections from staff indicate refurbishing the building to accommodate relocation of the Thomas H Raddall library would cost in the neighbourhood of $1.15 million.
Home to Belliveau Veinotte accounting and Global Empire Call Centre, the building is commonly known as the call centre.
Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman says the municipality is under pressure to find a new home for the regional library as the lease at its current location in the Rossignol Centre is up at the end of 2024.
“Library users will recognize the fact that our present library location is on really weak legs,” said Norman. “There are difficulties with the building sometimes with power and heat. The building’s been for sale now for, I would say a year. The price has been reduced and Council is getting very nervous that unexpectedly, we may be without a library site.”
The Region of Queens has wrestled with where to build a new library since it decided to allocate approximately $3 million from an unexpected budget surplus to its construction in spring of 2022.
The library site selection committee twice recommended an area by the sledding hill at Queens Place for the relocation. Council declined the first time but decided to accept the committee’s recommendation when it came around a second time.
But council scuttled the plan once more when it came to light that close to a million dollars was needed to connect the sledding hill library site to the existing road and infrastructure.
The proposed site at the Liverpool Business Development Centre meets most of the criteria established by the library site selection committee.
It has 6,000 square feet of available space, parking for 24 vehicles, outdoor lighting, outdoor space for programming, isn’t in a known flood zone and is already owned by the municipality.
However, the nearest sidewalk is 350 metres away and the site is currently not accessible by public transit, although the staff report mentions Queens County Transit could potentially extend service to the location.
Norman says the Centre has a lot of positives to offer but people may struggle to get to the site. She is concerned if the library is not centrally located, the Region could be creating a problem that will hound residents for years to come.
“We need to realize that if we spend a million, or a million and a half, or a million and three quarters, or whatever it takes, there’s no such thing as renovating, spending that much money and just making a temporary library,” said Norman.
“It will have program rooms, it will have its own washrooms, it will have [a] staff room, it will have its own entrance. When all of those things are put in there, I would say that is where the library is going to stay for decades.”
Council heard the presentation from staff and will decide at a future meeting whether they will go forward with the Call Centre location for the new library.
To hear the broadcast version of this story click play below.
Thomas H. Raddall Library. Photo credit Ed Halverson
Municipal staff have suggested building the new library close to the Region of Queens administrative office.
In a release issued, Thursday Nov 16, staff say the Liverpool Business Development Center, on Harley Umphrey Drive, “offers an ideal space, including ample parking, access to green spaces, and more room for programming.”
Another benefit of the proposed relocation is that the Liverpool Business Development Center is owned by the Region of Queens.
The library’s lease in their current location at the Rossignol Centre in Liverpool is set to expire at the end of 2024.
Municipalities are responsible for providing space to locate regional libraries in Nova Scotia. Finding a new site to relocate the library has proved contentious for Region of Queens Council.
In the 2022/23 budget, Council voted to use part of a $3 million surplus from the federal and provincial governments to build a new library. A committee was struck shortly after to recommend a site. Their unanimous choice was that it should be located at Queens Place.
Council initially rejected that option in June of 2022 and asked the committee to come back with another recommendation. Councillors raised concerns at the time that the location would be too remote for people coming from the Liverpool area.
In January 2023, the committee again determined the Queens Place site was best and this time Council approved their recommendation and agreed to build the new library on the Queens Place location.
However, in March, Council rescinded that approval in a recorded 5-3 vote after learning the estimated cost of extending the driveway to the proposed site would be $950,000.
If Council agrees to move the library to the Liverpool Business Development Center, it will join existing tenants Belliveau Veinotte Accountants and Global Empire Call Centre.
In July of this year, Council awarded a $2,031,273 tender to Sea Coast HVAC for the installation of a new HVAC system at the Liverpool Business Development Center.
A draft design concept for the new library will be presented to Council for its consideration. If they agree to move the library to the Liverpool Business Development Center more design work will be required before renovations begin.
To hear the broadcast version of this story click play below.
Global Empire call centre cubicles. Photo Ed Halverson
Region of Queens will spend $1.9 million to fix the ailing cooling system at the Liverpool Business Development Centre.
Better known locally as the call centre building, the municipally owned property on Harley Umphrey Drive is home to Global Empire call centre and Belliveau Veinotte Inc accountants.
Mayor Darlene Norman says as the landlord, the Region needs to provide a safe environment for the 100 plus people who go to work in the building every day.
“It’s a lot of money. It’s what happens when you’re a landlord. You know, what’s our other choice? Shut the building down, break our leases, hold our breath and hope that the thing doesn’t break again and then when it breaks again and then when it does, we have no solution for air conditioning?” said Norman. “It’s a lot of money to spend on a building. The building is not even worth that much money. However, it’s a business, it’s a building, it’s employing people, they’re good people in there working.”
A staff report indicates in its 20-year lifespan the HVAC unit has required numerous repairs, over and above what is considered normal maintenance.
The unit is approaching the end of its serviceable life and parts are becoming almost impossible to find.
DUMAC Energy Limited was hired in February to conduct a study of the Centre’s HVAC system which produced two recommendations: install a new single facility system estimated at $1.2 million or a four-quadrant system estimated at $1.5 million before structural upgrades and design work is considered.
Half the cost will come from a special operating reserve while the Region will need to borrow money to cover the other half.
Norman says that borrowing could mean a small increase to resident’s property tax bill in the coming years.
“I believe it could roughly be two to three cents, which is what we dropped the rate down by this year. But, interest rates, who knows what they’ll be at the point in time.”
Norman says staff will begin working to resolve the HVAC issues right away but because of worldwide supply-chain issues she doesn’t expect the new equipment will be in place this summer.
Inside Global Empire Call Centre. Photo Ed Halverson
An aging heating and ventilation system has the Region of Queens looking at selling the Liverpool Development Business Centre.
The centre is home to chartered accountants Belliveau Veinotte Inc. and Global Empire Call Centre.
Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman says the HVAC system was installed as part of the original 2003 construction and has reached the end of its usefulness.
“It serves the entire building. It’s been band-aided, it’s been fixed. What on Earth are we going to do with it?” asked Norman.
HVAC technicians have examined the building and presented council with two options: replace the existing unit with one large unit to again service the entire building or split the building into zones and install four units.
Norman says both options are pricy.
Installation and renovation costs are projected to range between a million and two million dollars.
Council discussed how long it will take to pay that off based on the rental guarantees in place with the existing tenants.
Norman says before deciding on which way to go council have asked staff to bring back other options.
“Rather than make a decision, staff have been asked to approach one of the tenants who has expressed public interest in purchasing that building.”
Norman says staff will report back at the next council meeting whether the building should be put up for sale.
Nova Scotia Vice President Trevor LaPlante, Queens Mayor Darlene Norman and Owner Moe Nashman officially open the Liverpool call centre, April 4, 2022. Photo Ed Halverson
One of the largest private sector employers in Queens County is asking where his employees will find a place to live.
President and owner of Global Empire Corporation Moe Nashman made the comments at an event celebrating the grand opening of their call centre on White Point Road in Liverpool, Monday.
The call centre employs 120 people and Nashman says he would love to double that number.
“There’s a lot of people that want to work and for me to bring them from out of town into town, I can offer them employment and I know Sobeys and all the other grocery stores can offer them food, we just need to know where they live,” said Nashman. “If I could offer them housing, I could fill this place in five minutes.”
Global Empire already has call centres in Orlando, Florida and Boise, Idaho.
Liverpool is the company’s first call centre in Canada.
As he provided a tour of the refurbished facility, Nashman pointed to the rows of cubicles that filled half a large, open workspace.
Global Empire call centre cubicles. Photo Ed Halverson
He says the company has already ordered the furniture and equipment to fill the rest of the space.
“I would like to start hiring by the end of the year for the second half, but I do need to figure out the accommodation/housing for employees,” said Nashman.
Most of the call centre employees live within the Region of Queens but roughly 20 commute from outside the municipality with some travelling as much as an hour and a half each way.
Nashman is hoping to speak with provincial officials to learn what can be done to make housing more available.
“In five minutes, I could load an airplane full of people that want to come to Nova Scotia. Where they [are] going to live, I have no idea and that’s the biggest problem,” said Nashman.
He says an influx of a couple of hundred people to the area would benefit the region and the province as a whole.
As the tour concluded, Nashman added the company is still looking to hire another 10 people this round and is accepting applications.
