The Region of Queens wants to offer residents with dug wells access to low-interest loans to convert to drilled wells. (Bluenose Well Drilling Facebook page)
Queens County homeowners who want a new drilled well will eventually have access to low-interest loans through the Region of Queens.
Councillors voted unanimously at their regular meeting last week to ask staff to draft a bylaw for a water supply and septic upgrade program.
Some Nova Scotia municipalities already offer low-interest loans for residents who want to switch from a dug well to a drilled well, sometimes at interest rates as low as two per cent.
Joanne Veinotte, the region’s director of finance, told councillors that municipal staff haven’t had calls looking for help with septic systems. But they have heard from people struggling with dry wells who want a loan or grant program to help drill a new one.
“Council will have to decide, are you satisfied with providing $10,000 of assistance, or would you like to provide $30,000 of assistance, or perhaps more?” Veinotte said.
“Because all of those things depend on how much money you are willing to loan at a low-interest rate, are you going to cover the whole bill or part of the bill? That’s a council decision that will be made through the bylaw process.”
In her report to council, Veinotte said that Queens County has received less than 40 per cent of its annual precipitation in 2025. The area is classified as having severe to extreme drought conditions.
The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg and the Municipality of the District of Barrington are two municipalities on the South Shore that offer low-interest loans for homeowners.
Lunenburg provides up to $20,000 for either well or septic upgrades at a rate of two per cent a year for a term of up to 15 years. Barrington offers a three per cent rate on loans of up to 10 years for well upgrades only. Some municipalities, like Halifax, offer help for both water and septic at prime plus two per cent.
Residents repay the loans through their tax bills.
Initially, staff recommended a program only for drilled wells. But some councillors, like Jack Fancy and Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton, said they’d like to see septic upgrades included in the program.
“I think of in Milton in particular, there’s so many septics that are going straight into the river,” Fancy said.
‘And that’s part of the environmental issue of it we need to clean up. And if we’re going to do this, I think we need to make this all part of it.”
District 6 Coun. Stewart Jenkins said he’d like to see the cost of a water pump and water tank included in the program.
Veinotte said councillors have the ultimate authority to draft the bylaw the way they want and to hash out the details, including how much to set aside each year for the loan program.
“You guys would talk all of those things through and decide what works best for our residents,” she said. “But absolutely, you as council have the discretion to determine what goes into what pot and how much everyone can take out.”
This is just the first step toward a low-interest loan program for wells and septic systems in Queens County.
Staff will draft a bylaw for councillors to review at a future meeting. Once councillors introduce a proposed bylaw, residents will have a chance to have their say at a public hearing before anything is adopted.
A consultants report does not recommend installing traffic lights at the Main and Market intersection in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)
A study of the troublesome three-way stop in downtown Liverpool has found traffic isn’t that bad and that it doesn’t warrant installing traffic lights.
Engineering firm CBCL presented its findings to council this week about the intersection at Main and Market streets.
“We found overall that the intersection has sufficient capacity for the current traffic volumes and the future traffic volumes with the current stop control configuration. We found that the traffic signals are not warranted,” David Copp, a transportation engineer with CBCL who conducted the on-site traffic study in February, told councillors at their regular meeting Tuesday.
Copp said that opinions about the intersection are mixed. While some pedestrians and business owners believe there’s no problem, others told him it is hazardous.
“There was a number of folks who identified that cars or trucks were not yielding to pedestrians. They were sort of blasting through the stop signs and just ignoring any pedestrians who were waiting. There definitely seems to be a bit of a lack of trust on the part of the pedestrian that vehicles will actually stop where they’re supposed to when they approach the intersection.”
Collision data for the area is very limited. There have been 36 reported collisions within a 100-metre radius from 2009 to 2024. Most of those were vehicle collisions. Five of them involved pedestrians.
“So it made it very challenging to draw any conclusions or highlight trends or causation between these incidents,” he said.
Overall, the study found traffic flow and vehicle speeds were within acceptable limits. And it also found that five new housing developments planned for the Mount Pleasant area just outside downtown Liverpool won’t make volumes a problem in the next 10 years.
Copp said some changes could make the area safer for pedestrians.
He said combining the through and right-turning westbound lanes at the post office on Main Street would shorten the crosswalk there and improve visibility.
There would still be an issue of cars entering and leaving the angled parking spaces next to the post office. He said most of the collisions in the area were related to those spaces and that council should consider removing or reconfiguring them.
The intersection has been the scene of lots of close calls over the years.
District 5 Coun. Jack Fancy said he doesn’t believe combining westbound lanes on Main Street is enough to protect pedestrians.
“We’ve had people hit and I think due diligence, if we just walk away from this and say we’re going to combine those two lanes, I don’t think we’re doing our job,” he said.
“I can live with the car to car (collisions), you can fix those. Car to pedestrians, you can’t fix. So I think the car to pedestrian is our biggest concern.”
He wants to see some kind of pedestrian-activated signal to alert drivers when somebody wants to cross.
District 4 Coun. Vicki Amirault said the intersection and the sidewalk approaches have to be improved to be more accessible for people with visual, hearing or mobility impairments.
“It’s very scary to go through that intersection for pedestrians, very scary. So I think there’s a lot of work we have to do there, and if it doesn’t warrant traffic lights, maybe put up the lights for the signals for the pedestrians. But I think this is a situation where we really have to do a lot of a lot more conversation, a lot more work. We just cannot leave it the way it is.”
Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton told QCCR after the meeting that even though the traffic count was done in February, when numbers would be typically lower, she said it still gives a good baseline for council to consider.
“And so our conversation with that particular intersection, I think, is far from over, and we should consider if there’s any improvements that we can make to the parking there (at the post office), how we make that the best it can be, given the information that was presented today.”
Workers were cleaning up in front of 194 Main St. on Wednesday morning. The construction barricades have been removed and work has stopped. (Rick Conrad)
UPDATED Wed., July 9 at 1:55 p.m.
A rundown building in downtown Liverpool will go back on the market after regional council denied a developer’s request to turn it into apartments.
Councillors voted Tuesday not to change the municipal land use bylaw to allow Eric Fry to build up to 16 apartments at 194 Main St., known locally as the old Stedmans building.
Fry, president of SDL Investments Limited, told QCCR in an emailed statement on Wednesday evening that he won’t pursue the project any further.
“Unfortunately, we will be ceasing any further work on this project and putting the building up for sale immediately,” Fry said.
“While I understand that Liverpool does not wish to abandon its commercial presence on Main Street, we firmly believe that this decision is very short-sighted and does absolutely nothing to move the town forward, encourage new residents to move here or assist in revitalizing the downtown.”
He could not be reached for a followup interview about his statement.
The municipal planning strategy allows residential development downtown only in buildings with a primary commercial use. The bylaw requires that residential buildings in the downtown core have at least 50 per cent commercial space on the ground floor.
Fry’s proposal was to transform the whole building into living space.
Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton told QCCR on Tuesday morning after the council meeting that even though councillors voted 5-2 against a bylaw change, she hopes Fry continues with some apartments in the space. She made the comments before Fry’s evening statement.
“I think our community and our council members have made it very clear that they want there to be a downtown core commercial presence. And that is our Main Street,” Charlton said in an interview. She chaired Tuesday’s meeting because Mayor Scott Christian was on vacation.
“And there is allowance now for residential units to go in there to still allow for some housing. So there is flexibility there. I do certainly hope that the developer will continue with this project in the revised way that it reads in our bylaws now, but certainly if he chooses not to, that’s certainly up to him.”
Fry bought the building in January for $235,000. In February, he applied to the region for a bylaw amendment to allow a residential-only development with indoor parking.
Councillors considered three options: to allow residential development as a main use in downtown, to allow it by development agreement with council’s approval or to keep the bylaw unchanged.
Before Fry acquired the property, it sat vacant for a few years and was heavily damaged by extreme weather. Before that, it housed a dollar store and office space on the ground floor.
Workers have been cleaning up the building’s interior and fixing damage since early spring.
“We are extremely shocked and disappointed in council’s decision this morning to deny our application to amend the Land Use Bylaw and Municipal Planning Strategy language,” Fry said in the statement.
“Having owned properties in Queens for more than 10 years, our understanding was that Liverpool needs more housing. Our initial residential building, The Falls in Milton, has been fully occupied since it opened last fall and there is a list of residents wanting to move in when a unit becomes available. This led us to approach RQM about an additional project that would create 16 additional units in the heart of Liverpool. Not to mention, convert an otherwise dilapidated structure into a signature building to anchor the town’s Main Street.
“Liverpool needs residential housing and not additional commercial space clearly demonstrated by the number of For Rent signs in the downtown core.”
The region hired consultants UPLAND Planning from Halifax to hold two public engagement sessions and an online survey on the potential bylaw change.
Thirty people responded to the survey, and only seven people attended the information sessions at Queens Place Emera Centre.
Eighteen of the 30 survey respondents said they were supportive of removing the commercial requirement from the bylaw.
But local business owners told the consultants they were worried about how it could potentially erode the downtown commercial zone.
The region’s planning advisory committee met on Monday to discuss the consultants’ report.
They recommended sticking with the status quo and keeping the bylaw unchanged.
District 5 Coun. Jack Fancy voted against the motion to maintain the status quo.
He said the building needs a lot of work and he’s worried Fry might sell it.
“So in order to make it so it’s profitable, it has to be a lot of money coming back,” he told his fellow councillors.
“ That’s the whole idea. You don’t put money into something if you’re not going to get your money back out of it.”
Fry also owns The Falls in Milton, a three-storey apartment complex on the Mersey River, geared toward people 55 and over.
His plan for 194 Main St. was to have apartments on two levels, with a parking entrance at the back of the building on Water Street.
“I’m not an expert,” Fry said in his statement to QCCR, “but from my experience, I don’t think this type of thinking is going to move the needle in a town with so much promise and potential.”
Here is what councillors voted on and how they voted:
MOTION: That Council of the Region of Queens Municipality maintain status quo and deny the application to amend the Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use Bylaw to allow new multiple unit residential dwellings as a permitted main use in the Downtown Commercial (CD) Zone.
FOR: Maddie Charlton, Courtney Wentzell, Stewart Jenkins, Vicki Amirault, Wanda Carver
Tony Flint, a resident of Bristol Avenue in Liverpool, speaks to Region of Queens councillors on Tuesday about a proposed 24-unit apartment building on his street. (Region of Queens YouTube channel)
Residents of Bristol Avenue in Liverpool say they’ve lost faith in Region of Queens councillors after a bungled vote on a controversial proposed development.
A 24-unit apartment building is planned for the area, which is the main thoroughfare into and out of downtown Liverpool.
Residents say the development is too big for the neighbourhood. They say the population could triple in an area with only a two-lane street, one sidewalk, and already hectic traffic.
Councillors heard the appeal on Tuesday during their regular council meeting. As part of that process, the appellant and the developer can make their cases to council.
Developer Larry Cochrane was at the meeting, but left before the appeal was heard.
Resident Tony Flint told councillors that congestion and noise will only get worse if the apartments are built. He and other residents are also concerned about pedestrian safety and the ability for emergency vehicles to get to the new building.
“So all of a sudden you have a massive influx of people in an already very busy street,” he said. “I think that looking at the drawing, the developer probably tries to do as much as he can with the available space, but it’s really, really cramped.”
Mike MacLeod, the region’s director of land use, said no traffic studies were completed or required as part of the process. He said Cochrane met the requirements of the Land Use Bylaw.
Councillors debated a motion to deny the appeal and allow the development to go ahead.
At first, a majority of councillors voted 4-3 not to reject the residents’ appeal. But then, council took a break. After discussion among the mayor, councillors and the interim CAO, they returned.
Mayor Scott Christian said that a councillor was confused by the motion.
“At least one member of the council didn’t understand the way that they were voting with respect to that motion,” Christian told the meeting as Bristol Avenue residents watched.
“I’ll ask for your forgiveness. I’ll just try to be transparent here. We have four of the seven of us are new. I myself am a new chair here. I want to circle back on that motion to make sure that it’s 100 per cent clear for the council with respect to what they’re voting for or against.”
So they voted again. Three councillors — Jack Fancy, Wanda Carver and Stewart Jenkins — changed their vote to deny the appeal after all.
Coun. Courtney Wentzell was the only vote against rejecting the appeal.
After the meeting, Bristol Avenue resident Janet Perry was visibly upset.
“I’m disappointed and I don’t understand the two separate (votes). We had the motion, it was defeated. They go out and change their minds. I think it’s totally unfair.
“I’ve lost faith in council and the process that we went through.”
Resident Roger Wilcox said the process to approve new developments is flawed.
“The town has a problem because of this development procedure that’s inadequate. (They’re) scared of being sued. … That’s why they changed their vote.”
Flint said he’s worried about someone being injured or killed because of the increased traffic. And he worries that council doesn’t care.
“It means that regardless of the possible dangers to the public, they’re just pushing it ahead anyway. Certain people are friends with certain people and that’s the way it works.”
Developer Cochrane is the treasurer of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce. His wife is the vice-president. The chamber’s president is Ashley Christian, who is married to Mayor Scott Christian.
The mayor told QCCR after the meeting that he wasn’t in a conflict.
“From my perspective, I don’t feel there’s a conflict of interest. Certainly if residents feel that there is, I’d be happy to speak to that or think about it. To be honest, … my wife’s involvement with the chamber of commerce or Larry’s involvement with the chamber of commerce would have no bearing on my decision-making process or procedural approach to handling that situation.”
During the appeal, some councillors appeared to sympathize with residents’ concerns, especially about traffic and safety. But Christian said they were handcuffed by provisions in the municipality’s land use bylaw.
“The challenge is that legally we really are bound to the municipal planning strategy and land use bylaws.”
Barring another council reversal, the way is now clear for the four-story apartment building to go ahead.
Construction has begun on the $8-million outdoor pool at Queens Place Emera Centre in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)
Region of Queens councillors want to test the waters on the idea of switching lanes and building an indoor pool after all.
Construction on the $8.08-million heated outdoor pool next to Queens Place Emera Centre has already begun. But councillors said Tuesday they heard from many residents during the recent election campaign who want an indoor facility.
Coun. Courtney Wentzell said many of his constituents prefer an indoor pool, while some were against a new pool altogether.
“So when we’re voting on this and we’re thinking about this, we need to think about our constituents and what we heard in each district,” he told council. “And I will say from my experience and my constituents, they definitely prefer an indoor pool.”
Coun. Jack Fancy said he also heard from many people on both ends of the pool debate. He added that council’s initial pool discussions were always geared toward building an indoor pool.
Council voted in June 2023 to go with the less expensive outdoor option — a heated, 25-metre, six-lane pool. But many residents have long advocated for an indoor pool that can be used year-round.
“As Coun. Wentzell has said, it was a hot topic. Every house asked me,” Fancy said. “I think most people didn’t even realize that we were getting donations or monies from the government.”
Fancy said voters were also concerned about how spending more money on a pool would affect the region’s tax rate.
The region secured $3 million from an anonymous private donor and $2.2 million from the province. The region is picking up the rest of the tab.
Councillors on Tuesday asked the region’s CAO to prepare a report on how feasible it would be to change the current project so that Queens has a year-round pool.
Mayor Scott Christian campaigned in favour of an indoor pool. He said regardless of what councillors find out, it won’t stop the current project.
“This motion wouldn’t in any way impact currently what’s taking place with the preparation of the site,” Christian said.
“It also would not reverse course in terms of no pool at all. That’s not what’s on the table. It’s very much about providing the assembled council with all of the information required to understand what would be required and what the foreseeable impacts would be of entertaining and exploring and shifting the construction project to an indoor pool.”
Coun. Vicki Amirault said it’s important for councillors to understand the conditions under which the region secured funding for the indoor pool and how a change might affect that.
CAO Cody Joudry said he hopes to report back to council at their next meeting on Nov. 25. He said that report may not be made available to the public, if it includes information about contracts or negotiations.
Region of Queens councillors chose District 2 Coun. Maddie Charlton on Tuesday as the region’s deputy mayor. (Rick Conrad photo)
District 2 Coun. Maddie Charlton is the new deputy mayor for the Region of Queens.
Councillors voted for Charlton, who was the only nominee, at Tuesday’s meeting, the first since the Oct. 19 municipal election.
Charlton’s term as deputy mayor is for two years. She won’t get a raise, though she will be compensated at the mayor’s rate of pay while she acts as mayor.
Scott Christian presided over his first council meeting as the region’s new mayor. Charlton was re-elected to council, as were Jack Fancy and Vicki Amirault. New councillors are Courtney Wentzell, Stewart Jenkins, Wanda Carver and Roberta Roy.
Region of Queens councillors make $20,865 annually, while the mayor makes $41,730.
Scott Christian, mayor of the Region of Queens, is preparing for the newly elected council’s first meeting. (Rick Conrad photo)
Queens County residents can expect more than just new faces around the table as regional council meets Tuesday, for the first time since the October election.
Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian says people will also notice changes in how meetings are run. He says they’ll be a little less formal, and give councillors more opportunity to address residents’ concerns.
“Where we can, making it feel more approachable and trying to generate good, fulsome conversation,” Christian told QCCR in an interview.
“So a little less formal, a little more conversational with the hope of making it more engaging for the public and to really foster good conversation around the table.”
One of the first issues they’ll tackle on Tuesday is the new outdoor pool at Queens Place Emera Centre. In his campaign for mayor, Christian said he wants the pool to be a year-round, indoor facility.
The region broke ground on the new pool on Oct. 4. The $8-million structure is slated to be open by 2026.
Christian says he and the rest of council will discuss the region’s options if councillors eventually decide to upgrade the project.
“We haven’t had an apportuity as a council to debate this and I look forward to hearing what my fellow members of council, what their perspectives are on it,” he said.
“But at this stage, the motion will just be related to having better information. From my perspecitve, that’s the first appropriate step, is to have a complete understanding about if we go down that path what are we getting ourselves into, but also what opportunites are there, what willingness is there on part of the various funders at the table and the construction company who’s been engaged to pursue a shift in scope?”
Before becoming mayor, Christian was a private and public sector consultant. He was elected in a tight race in the Oct. 19 election with former Queens County educator Terry Doucette.
The other new faces on council are Roberta Roy, Courtney Wentzell, Wanda Carver and Stewart Jenkins. They’ll be joining re-elected councillors Maddie Charlton, Jack Fancy and Vicki Amirault.
Christian says he’ll be working as mayor full time. And he admits he has a lot to learn.
But he says he and the rest of council have had a good start, thanks to guidance from CAO Cody Joudry and a productive two-day training and orientation session in Halifax last week.
“What I heard loud and clear throughout the campaign was a desire to see our council working effectively together. I think that we’ve already made some really great strides. I’ve had conversations with each and every member of the council and sought to hear them out. … I think we made some really positive strides as a group in terms of coming together while we were in Halifax. … And another thing too is working effectively with other members of the community, with other organizations, and other orders of government, and what I hear is a real comitment across the team to start to do those things.”
Christian says there’s a lot of work to be done. But he also says that with a staffing crunch at the region, he and the rest of council need to be patient.
“We as a council need to be realistic in terms of the capacity of the staff right now to execute on some of the work that is important. The whole team has a real commitment to addressing the priority concerns in the community, but we need to do it in a way that makes sense.”
Ultimately, Christian says he hopes he and the rest of council can get the public more involved and engaged in the region’s business.
“We are accountable to the pepole of Queens and we need to make sure that they are well informed and that they have access to the decisions that we’ve made and the conversations we’ve had in reaching those deicsions.”
The new Region of Queens council meets Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. at council chambers on White Point Road. You can see the agenda here.
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.
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.”
“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.
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.
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.
Entrance to Region of Queens council chambers. Photo Ed Halverson
The proponents of a Liverpool development called “The Point” were back before Region of Queens council with a plan to provide over a hundred units of affordable housing.
Rumclo Developments Ltd recently acquired seven acres across Shore Rd from their proposed “Point” development.
Rumclo laid out their plans to build 22 Townhouses in an area they are calling “The Curve” and 92 apartments made up of 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom units in a community dubbed “Birchwood Gardens”.
The developers want the Region to commit to extending Municipal water and sewer to all their proposed developments in short order.
With Mayor Darlene Norman absent, Deputy Mayor Jack Fancy chaired the most recent meeting.
Fancy says staff are preparing a report outlining what is required to extend municipal services to the developments.
“We should be able to discuss it and have an understand of what the full implications will be for the cost,” said the Deputy Mayor.
The report is expected before council in the coming weeks.
Other highlights from the June 13 council meeting include a $2,475 grant to the Liverpool Ukulele Ceilidh Society from the Region’s Community Investment Fund.
The Region will borrow $780,000 to cover the costs of Liverpool’s Main Street Sewer/Water Project.
Council granted permission to Highway Pentecostal Church to hold church services every Sunday evening in the Liverpool Waterfront Parking lot over July and August.
Public works will receive new four new trucks.
Two ¾ ton heavy duty pickups will come from Mosher Motors at a cost of $152,350 +HST.
The department asked for a budget of up to $40,000 to buy a mid -size truck from David Hatt Auto Sales to be used by the building inspector.
A fourth truck was not included in the 2023-24 capital budget but is needed after a fleet vehicle reached its end of life sooner than expected and needs to be replaced.
Council agreed to fund the purchase of used truck up to $25,000.
Public Works will also be taking ownership of a 2023 Trackless MT7 tractor from Saunders Equipment Ltd, Fredericton NB at a price of $178, 820 + HST. The tractor will be used for snow removal.
In the final piece of business, the new pool came back around for discussion.
After much back-and-forth council decided to go ahead with plans for an outdoor, six-lane, 25-foot-long pool with a zero-entry point after it was determined building an indoor pool is too costly and not feasible at this time.
A wind-breaking fence and hot tank area are also included on the municipality’s wish list.
Council will now wait for the Project Manager and Engineer to come back with conceptual drawings so they can begin pricing out the build.
The next Region of Queens Council meeting will take place at the Greenfield Fire Hall on June 27 at 6pm.
The proposed site for the new library at Queens Place lies at the end of the driveway beside the sledding hill. Photo Ed Halverson
Region of Queens Council has cancelled the construction of a new library near Queens Place.
In a recorded 5-3 vote, Councillors Amirault, Charlton, Fancy, Gidney and Muise voted not to build the library at that location, while Mayor Norman and Councillors Brown and Hawkes voted to go ahead.
In August 2022 council agreed to sell the land at Queens Crossing (the name of the site containing Queens Place, the Best Western Hotel, the skatepark, the planned long-term care home and the proposed library site) to the Queens Care Society for $2 per square foot.
The 479,000 square feet of land would bring in roughly $960,000, which is about what public works staff estimate it would cost to build a road, sidewalks and water infrastructure out to the end of the cul-de-sac to accommodate the library and long-term care home.
Historically, council has reinvested any proceeds from the sale of land on that site back into infrastructure at Queens Crossing.
Charlton says she supports the construction of a new long-term care home, but council was never asked if they wanted to spend that money and since it isn’t a policy, this council is not bound by the decisions of previous councils.
“We did not discuss a road extension when we agreed to sell the land,” said Charlton. “We were selling the land because it was already serviced for water and sewer to the point where it was required.”
Mayor Darlene Norman says if the municipality doesn’t cover the cost of extending these services it will need to come from the Queens Care Society’s construction budget.
“The whole idea that we would not show our support for this amazing facility is beyond comprehensible to me,” said Norman.
Councillor Vicki Amirault chairs the library site selection committee and voted against the committee’s recommendation.
The committee was tasked by council with finding the best location to build a new library.
Councillor Amirault was contacted to provide a comment for this story but did not reply before publication.
Council is now looking at options to move the library closer to the Queens Place Emera Centre.
They have requested costed studies for two different library concepts.
One will determine the price of a stand-alone library beside Queens Place; the other would examine building an extension on the Centre.
CAO Chris McNeill told council he was warned by the project manager an extension would be more costly.
McNeill says any extension on Queens Place would have to look at the existing capacity of the building to handle additional demands on electricity, heating and water supply among other issues.
McNeill also informed council the two studies could cost in the range of $200,000.
In the meantime, council is aware of the precarious situation the Thomas H Raddall Library finds itself.
In addition to infrastructure issues the building is currently up for sale.
Council is suggesting the library find alternative locations where they could relocate temporarily until a new permanent location can be built.
Region of Queens Council listens to public comment in Brooklyn during the Jan 24 meeting. Screen shot from Region of Queens YouTube video.
Region of Queens council took the show on the road, holding the last meeting in January at the Brooklyn Community Hall.
A large number of residents came out to voice their support during the public comment section for building an indoor pool instead of the outdoor pool currently in the planning stages.
The proposal was made to take the money donated by an anonymous benefactor and combine it with the money the municipality has earmarked for the construction of a new library.
The proponents expected that would account for almost $6 million.
The group would like to see the province and federal governments each contribute matching funding to bring the total amount to $18 million and build the new library and pool at Queens Place.
At this point there is no formal plan or budget to determine if $18 million is even enough to get the desired outcome.
They’ll be more on this story in the coming days.
Once the meeting commenced there were two recommendations for council to consider.
First, council approved a $236,000 grant to the Liverpool Curling Club for the installation of solar panels and the construction of an accessible entrance.
The cost of the grant will be covered by a recent donation made to the Region by the J & W Murphy Foundation for the purpose of directing it towards civic improvement projects.
Mayor Darlene Norman says the club has invested approximately $750,000 in upgrades over the past year without any ask from the Region.
Considering the community benefit the club brings for events extending far beyond curling council was glad to provide them with the help they’ve requested.
“The curling club has proven their ability to move forward on their projects,” said Norman. “They’re very successful, dedicated, hard group of workers. And of the many projects that are within Queens County this place has a definite positive impact on our Main Street Liverpool. You know it’s three-minute walk from there, this is the type of thing that we can support at no burden to the taxpayer and at the same time be helping that Main Street area as well as social, physical, forwardness from our people.”
Council also approved the second recommendation to install a new uninterruptible power supply (UPS) in the Liverpool Business Development Centre, home to the area’s largest call centre.
The new unit will replace one that has been in operation for 20 years but has reached its end of life.
Council awarded a tender to Universal Power Solutions to install the new UPS at a cost of $114,950 plus HST.
Council then heard an update from Public Works detailing the projects they are currently involved in across the municipality before turning their discussion once again to the subject of a pool.
Deputy Mayor Jack Fancy spoke as a member of the pool committee to ask that council review the recommendations previously brought forward by the committee.
The committee has proposed a site at Queens Place, the use of solar power, a pool design that features a gradual sloped entrance or “zero entry” accessible side and six lane and they’re asking to be able to apply for grants on the Region’s behalf to secure more outside funding.
The committee’s recommendations will come before council at a future meeting for discussion and a vote.
Council will return to chambers for the next meeting to be held on Valentines Day, February 14 beginning at 9:00am.
It’s taken the better part of a year, but the Thomas H Raddall Library has found a new home at Queens Place.
Last year, Region of Queens council formed a committee comprised of library officials, users, and councillors to evaluate several possible sites and recommend a location.
The committee determined a lot adjacent to Queens Place was best for several reasons including proximity of other recreational opportunities, the ease of access for all residents of Queens and the fact the land is already owned by the municipality.
When the recommendation was made to site the new library at Queens Place in June of 2022 council was divided as some councillors felt the library should stay close to its current location in downtown Liverpool while others wanted to relocate the institution alongside the recreation complex.
At the June meeting, the majority of councillors rejected the recommendation and instructed the committee to return with another that wasn’t Queens Place.
After six months spent evaluating three other locations the committee brought the same recommendation back to council this week.
Through the course of their research the committee determined building the library at any of the other possible locations would add a half million dollars to the construction.
Adding to the pressure to find a new home for Thomas H Raddall Library is the fact the Rossignol Cultural Centre in which the library is located is up for sale.
Mayor Darlene Norman says council did what it need to do to ensure a library remains in Queens.
“Councillors who had previously voted against understood with these new facts in front of them, they were very unwilling to place these additional costs [on the taxpayer]. They were very concerned about the fact that we need, we must have a library and they seem to understand that this was the best place for it,”
The new location passed by majority with four councillors and the mayor in favour, Deputy Mayor Jack Fancy voting against and Councillors Muise and Gidney abstaining from the vote.
The library will be built adjacent to the sliding hill at the end of Queens Place Drive.
Norman says now that a site has been selected, the project planning team can get to work on designs and a timeline for construction.
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.
The only concrete action taken at the latest Region of Queens council meeting was the decision to create a pool committee.
Councillors Jack Fancy and Vicki Amirault will be joined by two members of the Queens Community Aquatic Society and two residents at large on the six-person panel.
However, Mayor Darlene Norman says it still isn’t clear what responsibilities the committee will have.
“What they’re going to talk about? I don’t know. Maybe they can discuss how to encourage more people to become lifeguards or other things, because they really have no authority to make decisions,” said Norman. “We’ll just see how it goes.”
Since then, some members of council and the Queens Community Aquatic Society have been pushing to tie the new pool to the development of a new library.
The mayor says municipal staff time is at a premium right now and no one is available to sit on the committee and provide resources as they are already working on several other major projects in the community.
“Our engineering and our CAO and our planner, they’re very involved with the building of the new Queens Manor, highly involved with that. We’ve got some major street work going on,” said Norman. “We’re, like many municipal units, we’re struggling with our staff shortage numbers. We don’t have enough labourers in our engineering department.”
Norman says staff is fully prepared to take the on the development of a new pool in 2023.
“At which time they will consult with the community about an outdoor pool, location, etc.”
The committee is expected to meet in early October and Norman says council will attempt to determine what the committee’s function will be before that first meeting.
The group running the Jack Fancy dog park in Milton wants to turn calendars into comfortable seating.
Queens Community Dog Park Association is selling calendars featuring pictures of member’s pets in the hopes of raising $4,000 towards the installation of new shaded benches along the park trail.
Association president John Simmonds anticipates the calendars will be in high demand.
“We have a lot of people in Queens County and South Shore generally, where, they’re not into smart phones and computers and what not,” said Simmonds. “They just love to have a calendar up on the wall.”
Since the dog park was officially opened last September the number of members has fluctuated between 50 and 100.
Simmonds says the park was designed for pets but has also allowed their owners to come play.
“The thing with the dog park, I’ve found, is it becomes a social gathering place for the owners,” said Simmonds. “The dog is almost an excuse for the owners to get out and have a chat with their friends and the dogs benefit as well.”
Simmonds says production of the calendar was paid for through advertising, leaving all the proceeds to go directly to the park.
They will be sold at retailers throughout Queens at a cost of $15.
