Liverpool Community Sports Field eyes spring finish line

Crews are working on the $3-million Liverpool Community Sports Field at Liverpool Regional High School. (Rick Conrad)

There may be a little short-term pain this fall for some big long-term gain for Liverpool’s high school soccer teams as they wait for a new multimillion-dollar field and track to be completed.

Crews are working now on building the $3-million-plus Liverpool Community Sports Field at Liverpool Regional High School. It will feature the South Shore’s only all-weather, year-round track and a new artificial turf soccer field.

Kristopher Snarby, president of the Queens County Track Society which is leading the effort, said the field likely won’t be finished until November. And depending on the weather, the new rubberized track probably won’t be ready until early spring.

“They’re working hard, they have a camper on site and the crew’s actually living in the camper and working pretty long days,” Snarby said Tuesday.

“We’re hoping that the field will be done late October, early November and the track itself, it depends on weather in terms of when they can lay the track. So the track will either be done in November as well or it will have to wait till spring when things are little warmer. So things are coming together fairly well. We kind of had a pipe dream that the soccer field would be ready for this fall, but that’s not going to happen unfortunately.”

In the meantime, he said the high school’s boys and girls soccer teams are working with the middle school in Liverpool to use that field for practices. He said they’ll likely have to find another field outside Liverpool for their games. 

Despite having to wait a little longer than they’d hoped, Snarby says it’s gratifying to see the project coming together.

“There have been so many people pushing for this for so long, it’s nice to finally see the end result coming together. The contractors that are doing the work are doing a great job there. They’re working really hard to move along as fast as possible.

“It’s just really exciting to know that the community is going to have this facility in a few months. And it’ll be great to see people start to use it. I’ve had inquiries already from other areas who are interested in renting the field to have some higher level soccer taking place there. So that’s really positive. It’s just really exciting for sure.”

The track and field project got a $1.8-million funding commitment from the federal government, $1.2 million from the province and $250,000 from the Region of Queens municipality. 

Snarby said his group will be launching a private fundraising campaign in the next couple of weeks to cover other costs, such as a shot put and discus throwing area.

He said doing those separately from the main project is cheaper.

“The costs to do it as a whole project were extremely expensive. So we had to pull them out of the project and we’re still going to get them done, but they’re going to be quite a lot more cost-effective.”

Snarby said that as long as construction continues to go as planned, everything should be ready for use by March or April next year. 

“We’re looking forward to the end result.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Small community, big impact: Seaside Centre celebrates success after closure close call

Kristopher Snarby, president of the Seaside Centre in Beach Meadows, says volunteers and the community have helped revitalize the community centre. (Rick Conrad)

Volunteers in the Beach Meadows area have revitalized their local community centre, bringing it back from the brink just two and a half years ago.

When a new board of directors took over the Seaside Centre in Beach Meadows in November 2021, many in the community feared it would close.

But in the time since, the centre has reclaimed its integral place in the community. 

Kristopher Snarby is president of the Seaside Centre. He was one of those new board members. 

“We came into a situation where people were tired and they just couldn’t keep going with the way things were. And we had a group of energetic people step in. The community made it clear they wanted to keep the building. We had a huge turnout at that meeting. It was evident from that that people wanted to make sure that we kept this facility in the community.”

Over the past couple of years, board members and other volunteers have raised thousands of dollars to renovate the centre. It’s now holding more regular community events and even has a couple of regular tenants renting space to help pay the bills.

They have installed new insulation and heat pumps throughout the facility to make it more energy efficient. And they plan this year to install a new metal roof and metal siding to help it withstand the harsher weather conditions on the coast.

They also invested $80,000 in a new generator to make the building a comfort centre during periods like hurricanes or power outages.

“These projects are huge capital projects that in theory should take a long time to achieve and we’ve done a lot in the short term. … That’s almost $300,000 in capital improvements to the centre in two or three years. So it’s been busy and we’re investing in the centre to ensure it keeps on going for a long time and it’s really positive.”

The centre held its annual general meeting this week, where the board highlighted some of the successes of the past year. The facility recorded a $28,842 surplus last year.

Snarby says the Seaside Centre wouldn’t have been able to do it without its group of about 100 volunteers and the community’s support. More than half of its revenue comes from fundraising and individual donations.

“We’ve had huge amounts of support both in terms of volunteer hours but also donations. We’ve gotten donations anywhere from $20 to $1,000 or $5,000. So we’ve had big donations, small donations. It all goes into the pot to make that happen. Without that, none of this would have been achievable. All of our grants have required 20 to 25 per cent contribution from the community. Every event we’ve had people are super generous with donations and coming out to support the centre.”

“The community support it’s allowing to push through and really get this done.”

He said after the work on the exterior of the building this year, the next long-term project may be to update their kitchen facilities. 

“And then also just continuing to put on events and to be a place where people can come and gather. We have weekly groups that get together for yoga, for crafting, quilting. We’d like to expand that into some other weekly groups that attend here and just have more events for the community.”

Snarby says they’re always looking for more volunteers or for people to put on more events at the centre. You can find more information at their website at seasidecentre.ca or by joining their Facebook group.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Nova Scotia pitches in for new pool, soccer field, track for Queens County

Queens MLA Kim Masland, who is also Nova Scotia’s public works minister, with Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman on Friday at Queens Place Emera Centre after Masland announced more than $2.7 million in funding for Queens County. (Rick Conrad)

A new outdoor pool and a state-of-the-art track and soccer field for Queens County got a lot closer to reality on Friday as Queens MLA Kim Masland announced more than $2.7 million in funding for the region.

Masland, who is also the province’s public works minister, told a crowd at Queens Place Emera Centre that the province will give $2.2 million toward the $7.2-million community pool to be located next to Queens Place.

She also pledged an extra $500,000 for a new all-weather artificial turf soccer field and rubberized track at Liverpool Regional High School. Masland announced $700,000 last fall for the facility. That was before the design was changed to make it an all-weather facility, which would be the first of its kind on the South Shore. That brings the provincial contribution for that project to $1.2 million.

Masland made the funding announcements on behalf of Allan MacMaster, minister of communities, culture, tourism and heritage.

“These announcements are all about physical activity, making sure that we have opportunities for people living here and for people who are interested in moving to be part of what we have going on here in Queens. Great investment to keep our youth engaged,” she told reporters afterward.

“People that are moving to our communities, we have new doctors moving here, they have young families. They want to have facilities where their children and where they themselves … can be active. Health care is what we were elected on, and every decision that we make, health care plays a role in.”

Masland also announced the Liverpool Curling Club will get $47,030 for upgrades to its kitchen facilities.

The pool will be a six-lane, 25-metre, zero-entry structure, with a therapy hot tub.

The Region of Queens is contributing $2 million toward the pool, while an anonymous private donor has committed about $3 million.

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman said that tenders for work on the pool will be issued soon. And the hope is that construction will begin in spring of 2025, with an anticipated opening in 2026.

“The next call will be the issuing of tenders. All the pre-designs are completed.”

Deborah Herman-Spartinelli is a member of the region’s pool committee and the Queens Community Aquatic Society. She said the provincial funding was “wonderful” news.

“We still need to fundraise for certain aspects. There’s all these things like starter blocks, equipment and the therapy pool and other things that are needed.”

Kristopher Snarby is president of the Queens County Track Society. He said that with Friday’s provincial funding, in addition to $1.8 million from the federal government and $250,000 from the municipality, his group has about $100,000 in fundraising left to do.

“We’re still hopeful that we might be able to get it done by late fall,” Snarby said in an interview.

“From a soccer perspective, it’s great. It allows us to have a longer season. You can play into the winter if you want to, as long as there’s no snow. From a track perspective, the rubberized surface will be fully accessible, a level walking area for seniors, for people with disabilities, and that also can be used year-round as well.”

This is the Houston government’s second significant funding announcement for Queens County in the past two weeks. On April 15, Masland announced $10.7 million for upgraded water and sewer infrastructure that would also be extended to the Mount Pleasant area of Liverpool.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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No change in direction, Astor Theatre board tells concerned community members

About 70 people turned out to the Astor Theatre in Liverpool on Sunday for a community town hall meeting. (Rick Conrad)

Updated April 10, 9:12 a.m.

The board and staff of the Astor Theatre in Liverpool held a community town hall on Sunday afternoon to try to clear up some of the controversy that has recently swirled around the historic theatre.

About 70 people showed up for the two-hour long session. It was at times heated, with some very pointed questions from audience members. Others were supportive of the board, while others showed up to get more specifics on what has apparently divided the Astor community. 

Five board members as well as recently hired executive director Jerri Southcott and employee Malcolm Freeman took questions from the audience.

Chairman John Simmonds tried to clear up some things off the bat.

“We see no change in the direction of the Astor Theatre in terms of our instructions to Jerri. There’s been no change in our strategic plan or our mission or values,” he said.

“So we think that things have been going along well and will continue to go along well. And we would hope that the community would trust that whatever has occurred is just something that happened along the way. It’s not a pattern. It’s not a change in direction. There’s no regime change. So we hope to continue what has been the success of the Astor using community members, volunteers, as many people who are interested in coming in and joining in that.”

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Simmonds also reminded people that Southcott has been on the job for only two months, and appealed to people for patience.

Astor Theatre Society board members Lynn Cochrane, Loris Azzano, Tina Tucker and Anne Espenant, employee Malcolm Freeman and executive director Jerri Southcott took questions from the audience at the Astor Theatre on Sunday. Chairman John Simmonds is shown standing. (Rick Conrad)

The misunderstandings and concerns appeared to start shortly after the musical Follies wrapped in early March. The director of that play, Ashley-Rose Goodwin, announced that she would be mounting another youth production, Oliver Jr.

Goodwin had produced numerous youth productions at the Astor in the past few years, both in her duties with the Astor and under her own company, Mersey Rose Theatre Company. She also led many youth theatre workshops and summer camps.

But shortly after the announcement of Oliver, Goodwin resigned as associate artistic director of the Astor. 

That appeared to set off a cascade of events that eventually led to the resignations of two Astor board members. 

Many parents and other community members were upset that Goodwin was no longer with the theatre. 

A group of community members created the ad hoc group Queens County Community Theatre Advocates to “hold the board accountable,” according to a Facebook post. They said they were concerned about the “new direction” of the Astor.

They sent an open letter to the Astor board, saying they were shocked and dismayed at recent alleged decisions by the board and executive director Southcott.

They claimed that there was a sudden change in direction, that the local community was being shut out of Astor productions, that certain people were being paid to work on Astor productions instead of using community volunteers, and that Southcott was trying to engineer a “merger” between her Mahone Bay-based company South Shore Summer Theatre and the Astor. The group offered few specifics publicly about their concerns.

Things soon got heated and personal, with many people accusing the Astor or Southcott of various things on the Astor’s Facebook page. Members of this group also made accusations on their own public Facebook posts.

The group encouraged people to become members of the Astor Theatre Society so they could vote in a new board at an upcoming annual general meeting. 

They have also organized a special meeting for Monday at 7 p.m. at Liverpool Regional High School. Their original purpose was to elect an interim board of directors and to set a date for the annual general meeting.

At the meeting on Sunday, however, Astor board members said that they will be at that meeting and that chairman John Simmonds will chair it.

The Astor board called the community meeting on Sunday to explain what has happened in the past month and to answer any questions from residents and Astor supporters.

“One of the questions that was asked online, ‘What is so heinous about the things that are going on that we need to replace the board?’” Simmonds said Sunday.

“And we would question and say, we don’t know. We don’t know. So we were hoping to sort of reveal these things now and bring them out into the light so people can make their decisions as to what direction they would like the Astor and this board and our current staff to go in.”

Betsy Hartt said she was upset at Goodwin’s departure, saying the “magic changed in this theatre when Ashley was running those programs”. She said she was also worried about rumours that the Astor would no longer be dedicated to community theatre.

“The concern I have is if there is going to be a refocus on spreading our wings, that’s great. But the centre of the focus still has to be on the activities in this building. So, Winds of Change, local theatre. And I’m hearing that that’s not the case.”

Southcott replied to Hartt that the Astor’s focus hasn’t changed.

“There are no changes in direction planned. There were no changes made. We did have a change in personnel. When Ashley resigned, we respectfully accepted her resignation and then we did our best to get the show on the road by posting positions, filling them, and putting together a production team. We have a group of kids that’s really excited. We have a production team that’s working really well together. But we are wide open to more volunteers, more cast members, all of the people here in Liverpool and Queens County are more than welcome to be involved. We were simply getting the next production on the go.”

Liverpool resident Sandra Atkinson speaks at the community meeting at the Astor Theatre in Liverpool on Sunday. (Rick Conrad)

As for the supposed merger with South Shore Summer Theatre, board member Anne Espenant said that was not the intent.

Espenant said the Astor had already been in discussions with that theatre company before Southcott was hired. South Shore Summer Theatre brought a play to Liverpool each of the past two summers that generated $10,000 in revenue for the Astor.

Espenant said the board hoped to bring that company under the Astor umbrella in the same way Liverpool theatre group Winds of Change had been part of the Astor.

“I just want to make it clear that that was not Jerri coming in and saying I’m going to bring in South Shore Summer Theatre. It was us talking to her about that. We were just having initial conversations with their board about whether they thought, just like with the Winds of Change board, that might be something they want to consider. Now it’s off the table. But that (discussion is) not on Jerri. It’s on us.”

Queens County resident Kristopher Snarby, who is the vocal coach for the upcoming musical Seussical, also sat on the Astor board for 12 years. 

He echoed many in the audience on Sunday when he said he wasn’t clear what the online “uproar” was about. Snarby said the group of community members who wrote the letter to the Astor kept deflecting questions about their specific concerns.

“Like so many of you, I don’t think anybody really knows exactly what the problems are or were. And that’s a big problem in itself. … You read the letter and it says, I don’t know. It just says we’re mad, we’re angry.”

He said the accusations that the Astor or Southcott are trying to exclude local residents from productions is wrong, especially what he’s experienced since he’s been involved with Seussical.

“When I walked into this place, every kid who wanted to be there were there on the stage. There were no auditions. It’s the first show I’ve done where there were no auditions. So how can you be more inclusive than saying, ‘Come on the stage, we’re going to have fun. We’ll figure out the parts along the way.’ I’ve never seen that before. It’s the first time. You can’t get more inclusive than that.”

Snarby also said that another concern he saw online was that people are being paid for some productions.

He reminded people that when Winds of Change produced Les Miserables at the Astor in 2013, the musical director was paid and the musicians were given an honorarium. And he said they brought in actors from Halifax and Windsor to play two of the leading roles. They did not pay those actors, Snarby clarified later.

“There has been a history in this community of paying professionals for their time to do the job,” Snarby said. “Sometimes you have to pay professionals to do the job.” 

Liverpool parent Lori Smyth said her two kids have attended the Astor theatre camps and they are also in Seussical. She says the apparent divide over the Astor has her kids worried.

“I just want to say that as a parent I’m very impressed with the team,” she said. “I am very grateful that there is a group of people that want to develop community theatre for the youth in this town. I think some of the parents are concerned, our kids are stressed. They love the theatre, and they love the Astor. With meetings happening tomorrow, and meetings all over the place, how is this going to affect their ability to finish the production that they have started?”

Southcott said the past month has taken a toll on her and the board.

“But even more importantly, I’m realizing the effects it’s having on your children,” she said. 

“And it’s heartbreaking. I can tell you that we are committed as a production team to the kids and committed to providing this type of programming free of charge to everybody. I come to rehearsal and I feel better. I feel better because these kids are so incredibly talented, they’re nice, they are working together really well as a team. And I am committed to continuing that, so I hope that all of this can be resolved quickly.”

Board members and many in the audience said they’re also hopeful the rift can be repaired soon.

Liverpool resident Sandra Atkinson, who appeared in Follies, applauded the board for holding the information session.

“I just want you to fix it. I applaud you for being truthful, sharing your information, letting us know, letting us talk. And I applaud all the people for coming up here and saying whatever they felt they wanted to say. Thank you for doing this. And really just get to the table and fix it, please.”

The Astor recorded the town hall meeting and plans to post it on its Facebook page.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Liverpool to get South Shore’s only all-weather outdoor track

The soccer field at Liverpool Regional High School will be getting a makeover this year, with artificial turf and a new all-weather track. (Rick Conrad)

South Shore track and field athletes will be getting a year-round, all-weather track at Liverpool Regional High School.

The Queens County Track Society has decided to upgrade its original plan. Instead of an eight-lane gravel track, the school will now be getting a rubberized four- to six-lane surface.

It’s part of a $3-million upgrade to the school’s outdoor facilities, which also includes a new artificial turf soccer field.

Kristopher Snarby is president of the Queens County Track Society. He said Liverpool will have the only rubberized track and turf soccer field on the South Shore.

“That means it’ll be able to be used year-round. You don’t have to worry about thawing and bad weather and it’s a lot more accessible for people. So it’s definitely a nice change to the original plan.”

He said the change will add between $250,000 and $300,000 to the cost of the project. The original price tag was pegged at $2.75 million, with funding from the federal, provincial and municipal governments.

RELATED: Liverpool high school to get new track and artificial turf soccer field

Snarby said the group decided the extra cost was worth it to have a year-round facility.

“One of the challenges with gravel, is that when you have the type of weather that we have, it means there’s a lot of upkeep to keep the track surface safe for people to train on. With the rubberized synthetic version, it’s going to be an attraction for athletes all over the South Shore to train on who are doing running events in track and field.”

The 400-metre track will now have four lanes, with an additional two on the straightaways for 100-metre and 110-metre hurdles races.

There are rubberized tracks at Acadia University in Wolfville, King’s-Edgehill School in Windsor, one in Clare and some in Halifax. The closest track to Queens County is a gravel facility at Park View Education Centre in Bridgewater.

Snarby says he’s confident the group can find the money to cover the extra expense.

“We’ve been really fortunate with the funding from the different levels of government. It is a bit more expensive but not crazy expensive like some other versions could have been, I guess.”

He said athletes from around the South Shore will benefit from the upgraded track. He said that because it will be fully accessible, a wider range of people, including para athletes and Special Olympics athletes, will be able to use it.

“It’s going to be a big game changer. It’ll be the only turf filed on the South Shore and also the only rubberized track on the south shore. We’re envisioning soccer teams coming here to use it. When younger athletes from the South Shore that go on to regionals and provincials, they’re always playing on turf fields now. And they’re also running on rubberized tracks. So it will give the South Shore region an advantage being able to train on the same type of track and field that they would be playing higher level games at.”

It will also give people in the community a safe, accessible surface to use.

“It’s going to be a great surface for people to get out in the fresh air and walk or run on a surface where they don’t have to worry about rolling their ankles and tripping. So it’s truly going to be a fully inclusive community space for people to use.”

Snarby said the group plans to launch some fundraising efforts in the next few weeks.

And he said they hope to have the track and soccer field completed by late fall, but he said it depends on contractor availability.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Nova Scotia property assessment system ‘bonkers,’ Liverpool realtor says

Kristopher Snarby. (Submitted)

By Rick Conrad

A Liverpool realtor says it’s time to reassess property assessments in Nova Scotia.

Kristopher Snarby says the recent assessment numbers from the Property Valuation Services Corporation are all over the place. And the system needs to change.

“My concern is that there’s just no consistency to any of it,” he said Friday.

“People should be able to understand why their property went up or down. And it’s just completely random.” 

Nova Scotians began receiving their assessment notices this week. 

The independent, non-profit corporation says 2024 assessments are based on sales and financial data and reflect a market value as of Jan. 1, 2023, and the physical state of properties as of Dec. 1, 2023, including new construction, renovations, demolitions, and impacts from natural disasters.

Nova Scotia’s overall assessments rose by just under 18 per cent. 

Residential property assessments in Queens County rose by 25 per cent. The total residential assessment value for Queens County is $1.978 billion, an increase of just under $400 million. 

Snarby looked at 10 adjacent homes in Liverpool. He said the increase in assessed value ranged from five per cent to 90 per cent. And the overall average assessment increase for those 10 properties was 44 per cent, he said.

He said house sales in Liverpool rose 20 per cent in 2021/22, but dropped by seven per cent in 2022/23. In all of Queens County, he says they rose by 17 per cent in 2021/22 and dropped by three per cent in 2022/23.

“If they’re saying that the value of a home is based on market sales data, you would think they should rise about the same percentage if nothing has changed with those homes,” he said. 

He said even if the PVSC used sales data from 2021/22 which showed about a 20 per cent rise in sales in Liverpool, assessments shouldn’t be going up more than 20 per cent.

“If you have houses that have not been touched, they should all go up by the same amount or down by the same amount. 

“It’s completely bonkers the way this is done. There’s nothing that connects it to any hard, real numbers.”

No one from the Property Valuation Services Corporation was available for an interview. But in an emailed statement, a spokeswoman said PVSC uses a standard mass appraisal system, which values a group of properties as of a given date. 

She said if homeowners have concerns, they can speak to a PVSC assessor at 1-800-380-7775 or by email at inquiry@pvsc.ca. Information is also on their website at pvsc.ca. 

Homeowners can also file an appeal, but Snarby says that’s a double-edged sword because it might result in a higher assessment.

Snarby said the provincial government needs to take a look at the system.

“A lot of people are hurting right now and when the value of your house is suddenly tripled in a year or more, it’s another thing in life that’s super costly and expensive for people to try to cover these bills.”

The deadline for appeals is Feb. 8. Nova Scotians filed more than 13,000 appeals in 2023.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Community calling on province and feds to help pay for new indoor pool at Queens Place

Exterior of a recreational facility

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

Support for an indoor pool in Queens is growing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Local realtor says non-resident tax will alienate community, not solve housing crunch

A sign indicates a property is sold

COVID-19 has spurred home sales in Queens. Photo: Ed Halverson

New taxes targeting non-resident homeowners won’t address the affordable housing issue according to a local realtor.

Measures announced in last week’s provincial budget will impose a five percent deed transfer tax on the sale price of a home and a provincial tax of $2 per $100 of a home’s assessed value for anyone from outside the province purchasing a house in Nova Scotia.

Kristopher Snarby, managing associate broker with Exit Interlake Realty says everyone knows a lack of available housing has caused prices in the purchase and rental markets to soar but taxing buyers from outside the province won’t solve the issue.

“These new rules are only applying to people who don’t live here full time,” said Snarby. “For example, for me in the past year, I’ve dealt with a lot of Ontario buyers and Western Canadian buyers but they’re all moving here full time so nothing’s going to change on that front.”

Kristopher Snarby, managing associate broker EXIT Interlake
Realty in Liverpool/Bridgewater. Photo submitted by Kristopher Snarby

Another issue Snarby sees is the homes that would be subject to the tax aren’t generally in the price range for first-time homebuyers.

“It’s not the bread and butter. It’s not the $100,000 homes or the $200,000 homes. Probably a lot of them are oceanfront, lakefront, really high-end homes that are in the half million to a million-dollar range, and in Halifax even more, maybe. So, that’s the other part of the puzzle is that it’s not really the houses that the general public can afford.”

Snarby says many of the non-resident homeowners have come to the area year after year, supporting local businesses and services and have become part of the fabric of the community.

“My fear is we’re upsetting a lot of people who have contributed a lot to the province over the years and kind of slamming the door in their face saying, hey, you’re not welcome here anymore,” said Snarby.

Province says measuring effect of taxes will take years

Finance Minister Allan MacMaster says taxing non-residents will make more housing available in Nova Scotia because it attacks the problem on a couple of fronts.

First, the tax will raise money that government can put into affordable housing and second, it should cool demand for houses from buyers outside the province.

“It’s an inexact science. I will not come on and make claims that this will solve everything, these taxes will solve everything. But we do believe that they will have some impact and over the next two years we’ll be building a database,” said MacMaster. “We’ll know just how much we’ll be raising in terms of revenue, and we’ll know just how much of an impact these taxes will have on the housing market and whether or not they do, in fact, increase supply for Nova Scotians.”

Despite announcing the taxes to tackle the housing crisis, MacMaster says money collected won’t be set aside, instead, it will go into the provincial government’s general revenue.

“We haven’t collected a cent of these taxes to date, but we’ve already spent money last fall. We ear-marked $35 million for affordable housing, we added another $15 million in the budget that was introduced a week or so ago,” said MacMaster. “We’re taking in money and there’s money going out the door all the time and practically speaking, sometimes it’s difficult to just say, okay, we’re going to use these funds for a certain purpose.”

MacMaster says government will continue to look for ways to help Nova Scotians into homes but is definite on one thing.

“We need more housing. Whether it’s government purchased and managed housing, whether it’s co-operative housing or whether it’s private sector.”

MacMaster acknowledges building up the housing stock will take time and in the interim, government will make more rent supplements available to get people into rental units that may be outside their budget.

The new tax measures went into effect April 1.

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Hot housing market shows no sign of cooling down

A sign indicates a property is sold

COVID-19 has spurred home sales in Queens. Photo: Ed Halverson

Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic housing prices in Queens have climbed while the number of units available for sale have fallen.

Co-owner at Exit Realty Interlake Kristopher Snarby says that has created a sellers market.

“How things were before was that, there was so much inventory, it really was always a buyers market because the buyers would have 20 or 30 choices when they were looking at a house and now they’re down to only having two or three,” said Snarby. “I don’t really see it changing unless there’s a sudden surge of inventory.”

Snarby says sales between January and April of this year broke records.

Another lockdown in May and June took the wind out of the sails but Snarby says the market has already rebounded since July.

And while he doesn’t see the market cooling anytime soon, he says the buying frenzy has leveled off.

“A few months ago, in January to April we’d see if there was a new house on the market there might be five offers on it. Now we’re seeing one or two,” said Snarby. “So the quantity of offers coming in is lower so the prices aren’t going quite as crazy as they were but they are holding.”

Snarby says in the first part of 2021 home prices were 20 percent higher than the same period in 2020.

And a two-year average shows sellers are getting 40 percent more for their properties now than when the pandemic started.

Snarby says that jump is good news for people moving out of their homes but is putting others in a tough spot.

“It’s a horrible situation for people looking to rent or for first-time homebuyers who might not be able to be approved for a higher value property. It means that the properties that are under the $100,000 or under $150,000, they are selling very quickly.”

Snarby expects the trend to continue at least through the end of November.

He says anyone looking to buy a home needs to set themselves up for success.

“We always recommend that people go and get pre-approved. So go to your bank, go to a mortgage broker, find out what you can afford, find out what your timeframe is like. If you have that, that gives you an advantage, right off the bat. Then we recommend sitting down with a realtor, going through what your looking for and often times, if you do that, you’ll have an inside track on what’s coming on the market.”

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Pandemic ignites Queens County housing market

COVID-19 has spurred home sales in Queens. Photo: Ed Halverson

A hot housing market in Queens shows no signs of slowing down.

Kristopher Snarby, owner of Exit Realty in Liverpool and Bridgewater says the pandemic created a wild ride for sellers and buyers alike.

“It’s been a crazy year in a lot of ways. We started off, pretty normal winter, last January, February, March and then the pandemic hit and things slowed down for the early spring. Then May and June came and things really took off,” said Snarby.

According to the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors, 13,923 homes were sold in 2020, a 13% increase over 2019.

Kristopher Snarby, owner EXIT Realty in Liverpool/Bridgewater. Photo submitted by Kristopher Snarby

Snarby says Nova Scotia and the South Shore in particular have been getting a lot of attention from buyers outside the province.

“We just saw a lot of people from Ontario wanting to get out. Partly because of COVID,but also partly because they want a slower pace of life and the real estate prices here are so much cheaper,” said Snarby. “So we found a lot of people were choosing to sell their properties in Ontario and then buy something here, equally nice or nicer, at a fraction of the cost.”

That attention has gobbled up the inventory of available housing.

Snarby says many of those buying from Ontario are doing so without ever setting foot in the home before signing. Buyers will arrange to either have a friend look at the property or view it virtually through online videos. Snarby estimates he has sold 25 homes since May in this manner.

Because of the increase in demand, Snarby says he’s had to be proactive in finding homes for buyers.

“I’ve been making calls to people who I know who have been thinking of selling. I’ve been putting calls out on Facebook. A lot of our agents have been doing the same thing and through that we have had some people say, yeah, I’d like to sell,” said Snarby. “But the big challenge for them though, is that, a lot of times, there’s nothing for them to go to.”

Snarby says savvy sellers are watching the market for the home they want to become available before listing their houses.

When they do manage to find the right place, they’re paying 10 to 15 percent more than last year.

“It used to be that you could get a decent house in Queens County for $100,000 to $125,000. I would say, now you’re looking in the $150,000 to $200,000 range for the same kind of house,” said Snarby.

That’s consistent with the trends in selling prices across Nova Scotia. While that jump in price may cause sticker shock for locals, Snarby says Nova Scotia still isn’t seeing the drastic swings in prices experienced by other parts of the country.

“We’re not even close to the Toronto and the Vancouvers. You can’t get anything in Toronto for under seven-eight hundred thousand dollars. We’re definitely not there,” said Snarby.

He expects the hot housing market will continue into 2021.

“I think the secret of South Shore is out,” said Snarby. “I think people realize that we live in a great area with a lot to offer, close to the city but still that slower pace of life, it’s affordable, people are friendly.

Snarby suggests now may be the time for anyone looking to sell to put their home on the market.

“The thing right now is there’s still buyers out there who can’t find homes and there’s not much on the market. So right now, if you were to list a property, you don’t have a lot of competition. In the spring, you’re going to have more competition.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
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