Drag performers Rhett Torical and Rouge Fatale read to kids and adults as part of Reading with Royalty at the Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool on Thursday. (Rick Conrad photo)
Drag queen story hour made its fabulous debut in Liverpool on Thursday as part of Pride celebrations on the South Shore.
The event, dubbed Reading with Royalty, featured Rouge Fatale, one of Nova Scotia’s best known drag performers, and drag king Rhett Torical.
They were at the Thomas H. Raddall Library to read to and sing along with kids and their parents, grandparents and others.
Two hecklers stood outside the library and yelled insults at Rouge and Rhett as they entered the building. The women later came into the library to watch. Staff had to ask one of them to leave after she appeared to be taking photos of the crowd.
Still, about 20 people showed up to listen to Rouge and Rhett read from such books as My Shadow is Purple, Bathe the Cat, Julian is a Mermaid and The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish, which was also one of the singalongs.
Here are some sounds from the afternoon and reaction from those who were there.
David Trueman, branch supervisor of Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool, speaks to a group this week at a public consultation session on the design of the temporary location of the library. Elise Johnston, accessibility and inclusion co-ordinator with the Region of Queens, is leading the sessions. (Rick Conrad)
It may not be the location that many Liverpool library users want, but they say they’re going to make the best of it.
The Region of Queens has been holding public consultations this week on the design of the temporary location for the Thomas H. Raddall Library.
Region of Queens councillors voted in February to move the library to the Liverpool Business Development Centre on White Point Road by the end of the year.
The current lease at the Rossignol Centre in downtown Liverpool expires Dec. 31. Sherman Hines, who owns the building, also has it up for sale.
The municipality owns the business development centre. It currently houses the Global Empire call centre and Belliveau Veinotte accountants.
It’s supposed to be a temporary location, while the municipality works on a long-term plan.
Councillors set aside $1,050,000 for renovations to the 6,500 square-foot space, though staff said it could cost as much as $1.26 million.
Municipalities look after buildings and furniture for libraries, while the provincial government provides about 70 per cent of overall funding.
Finding a new home for the library has been fraught with delays and controversy since 2022, when the region allocated $3 million from an unexpected budget surplus to its construction.
The library steering committee twice recommended a site near Queens Place Emera Centre, with councillors ultimately nixing that plan both times.
Many residents at a December meeting told councillors they did not want the library at the call centre site, which is outside of town in an area with no sidewalks and very little lighting.
But with a deadline to vacate the current space looming, the region decided the call centre was the best option for now.
This week, about 40 people have attended public consultations so far. The last one is on Saturday at the library at 12:30.
The proposed design includes two large program rooms that can be combined into one, a teen room with soundproofing for a miniature recording studio. That room could also be used as a smaller meeting area. The new space also features an open area for kids, as well as a large kitchen and expanded washroom facilities.
That’s in addition to the large area set aside for the library’s current collection of books and other materials.
Elise Johnston, the region’s accessibility and inclusion co-ordinator, is leading the consultations with David Trueman, the library’s branch supervisor.
Cathie Pearl-Wentzell was at one of the sessions on Thursday. The Brooklyn resident says her family have been library users since she moved to the area in 1977.
“I think it was very informative, I learned a lot, it’s good to have the opportunity to have input,” she said.
She said she’s disappointed in the location, but there are benefits to the new space.
“I’ve come to accept that, vehemently opposed (to the location), let my councillor know, let the mayor know. My question is can they tear this building down and build the library on this site? I don’t know.
“I think it’s going to have a lot of opportunities. Parking being one, it’s going to be much more accessible, much more comfortable climate-control-wise. And everybody has the best interest at heart, so you can’t go wrong with somebody with their hearts in the right places.”
Melissa Swatsenbarg of Liverpool uses the library at least once a twice a week. She said she likes being able to give her input on the design.
“It kind of culminates all the things I’ve been listening to over the past year and a half because I’ve been talking to a lot of people over the past year and a half about it.
“I like the final idea of having a fairly large kitchen and a designated teen space. I like the plans to have a more open children’s section.”
She said she likes the more modern amenities of the new space, even though the location isn’t ideal.
“None of us are really thrilled we have to go all the way through town to get back out of town to go to it,” Swatsenbarg said.
“It’s kind of out of the way. And there are no sidewalks. My kids will bike into the library here. (Out there), it’s a very busy road and it’s not a very safe road trying to get up and around there. So in that aspect, it’s going to change how many kids I allow to take themselves to the library.”
Even though councillors decided to move the library to the call centre space, they also acknowledged that a newly elected council in October could tackle the issue of a new library. But that could still take at least three to five years to happen.
In the meantime, some at the consultations suggested keeping up the pressure on council candidates for a new library in a more central location.
The last public consultation session is at the library on Old Bridge Street on Saturday from 12:30 to 1:30. People can also email accessibility@regionofqueens.com with their suggestions.
The public will soon have a chance to give their feedback on the design of the temporary library location in Liverpool.
Region of Queens councillors voted in February to move the Thomas H. Raddall Library to the Liverpool Business Development Centre on White Point Road by the end of the year. The current lease at the Rossignol Centre in downtown Liverpool expires at the end of December.
The municipality owns the business development centre. It currently houses the Global Empire call centre and Belliveau Veinotte accountants.
It’s supposed to be a temporary location, while the municipality works on a long-term plan for the library.
Councillors set aside $1,050,000 for renovations to the 9,200 square-foot space, though staff said it could cost as much as $1.26 million.
Elise Johnston, accessibility and inclusion co-ordinator, told councillors this week that she proposes full public input on the design for the temporary space.
‘We’re not talking about all the options. We’re not talking about the location, we’re talking about balancing the programmatic needs and the sizes of the room.
“Does the public want to see two bigger program rooms together that can join as one making sure one has a kitchen, or do we want to see more of a teen space or more of a theatre space?”
Johnston is recommending at least one morning and one evening in-person “working design” session, where options can be discussed and manipulated in real time using 3D modelling. She also suggested livestreaming the sessions on Facebook.
The meetings would be held at the current library’s location at 145 Old Bridge St., in Liverpool, so that people can get a sense of the space at the new place, Johnston said.
“We’re reusing a lot of the shelving and I think that’s a good way for people to visualize,” Johnston said.
Staff would continue to gather feedback for two weeks, she said, with a final layout being confirmed by mid-July.
Mayor Darlene Norman emphasized that everybody is welcome to attend the sessions and give their input.
District 6 Coun. David Brown said he liked the approach that Johnston proposed.
“I think having it interactive in the library space, it gives people a better chance of scale so they know what they’re getting.”
Councillors will vote on the motion at their June 11 meeting. The region would schedule the sessions as soon as they’re approved by council, promoting them with printed flyers and on social media, by email and announcements on QCCR.
Region of Queens CAO Cody Joudry and Mayor Darlene Norman before Tuesday’s council meeting. (Rick Conrad photo)
Library users in Liverpool will be checking out books in a new location by the end of the year.
Region of Queens councillors voted Tuesday night to move the Thomas H. Raddall library to the Liverpool Business Development Centre until a permanent site can be found and built.
The Global Empire call centre and Belliveau Veinotte accountants are the current tenants at the building, just off the White Point Road. The municipality owns the building.
The call centre currently uses about 18,000 square feet of the space, while Belliveau Veinotte leases 4,800. That leaves about 9,200 square feet for the library’s temporary location.
First, though, regional staff have to renovate to add washrooms and program rooms and to accommodate the library’s collection. The plan is to move the library there before the end of the current lease in December. It’s currently in the Rossignol Centre in downtown Liverpool, which is for sale.
Susan DeChamp, who was one of three members of the region’s library steering committee, was at the council meeting Tuesday evening. She said it’s probably the best option for now.
“So for what we have to work with, it’s not a bad blank slate,” she said in an interview after the meeting. “There is still the issue of some of our walking people getting to it. … There is some concern that library usage could suffer a bit for that. We need a library and this is our best option at this point.”
Finding a new home for the library has been fraught with delays and controversy since 2022, when the region allocated $3 million from an unexpected budget surplus to its construction. CAO Cody Joudry says a new library would likely cost much more than that.
The library steering committee twice recommended a site near Queens Place Emera Centre. Council rejected it the first time but decided to accept the recommendation a second time.
But councillors nixed that plan once more when they learned that connecting the site to existing road and infrastructure would cost close to a million dollars.
And then at a December meeting, after hearing from residents, councillors rejected a staff recommendation to move the library to the call centre building permanently.
District 4 Coun. Vicki Amirault, who chaired the library committee but voted against its recommendations, said Tuesday it’s a good solution to ensure library services continue.
“This has been a long process to say the least,” Amirault said. “It’s been quite a process but I just think we need to overhaul a little bit and move on.”
The vote on the temporary location was not unanimous. Mayor Darlene Norman voted against it. She said the region could have bought the building where the library is now, and keep it there until a developer could be found to put housing in that location.
“However, it was not a wish of council to do that,” she said.
“One would hope that during that refit that the CEO of the library and the library staff are consulted very closely and that we’re simply not creating office space, because it’s my feeling that once the library is there, the library will stay there. It would be very difficult for a future council to justify a million plus on renovation and then flip around to build a new library.”
CAO Cody Joudry estimates the work on the call centre will cost from $1.05 to $1.26 million. He says that he’ll work with the library’s CEO to ensure users and the rest of the community are consulted on the design and renovation of the space.
He said that with this council’s term ending in October, it would be difficult to complete consultation, site selection, design and tendering before then. Joudry suggests letting a newly elected council develop a long-term plan for the library.
But some councillors want the process to begin before a new council is elected in October.
District 6 Coun. David Brown said he wants public consultation to “start sooner rather than later” so that the incoming council will have something to work with.
Queens regional councillors will vote Tuesday on whether the Liverpool library will move to the Liverpool Business Development Centre until a new one can be built. (Rick Conrad photo)
The library in Liverpool may be moving temporarily to the Liverpool Business Development Centre on White Point Road.
Region of Queens councillors are set to vote on a recommendation Tuesday from CAO Cody Joudry to move the library to the same building that houses the Global Empire call centre and Belliveau Veinotte accountants. It would be there until a new site can be chosen, designed, financed and built.
The council meeting is set for 6 p.m. in council chambers on White Point Road.
The Thomas H. Raddall Library is currently in the Rossignol Centre on Old Bridge Street close to downtown Liverpool. The lease expires this December. Last year, the region spent $51,680 on rent.
The building owner Sherman Hines has been trying to sell it since at least November 2022. Joudry claims in his staff report that “staff are of the opinion the property is likely to be sold before the lease expires”.
Joudry is recommending that staff immediately begin renovations of the vacant space at the call centre building so that the library can move in by December. He estimates the renovations would cost from $1.05 to $1.26 million.
He is also suggesting that staff work with the library board to create a public consultation plan on a new library.
Councillors decided at a December meeting not to move the library to the call centre building permanently. Residents flooded them with emails and public comments about that plan. Most were against it.
Finding a new home for the library has been fraught with delays and controversy since the spring of 2022, when the region allocated $3 million from an unexpected budget surplus to its construction. Joudry says a new library would likely cost much more than that.
“Consulting the public about (the) library matter, selecting a site (and acquiring land if needed), creating design options, costing the project out, acquiring funding, tendering then constructing and moving the library will, realistically, take several years,” he says in his report.
“If council takes the recommendation to move the library as recommended, input and feedback would be beneficial to inform decisions on designs, renovations, and furnishing of the new space. As such the CAO and library CEO would work collaboratively to ensure the community and users are consulted on these matters.”
The library steering committee twice recommended an area by Queens Place Emera Centre for the relocation. Council declined the first time but decided to accept the committee’s recommendation a second time.
But council scuttled the plan once more when it learned that connecting the site to existing road and infrastructure would cost close to a million dollars.
At the December council meeting, many residents spoke against the plan to move the library to White Point Road permanently. Some also were worried that if the library moved there temporarily, council would stop looking for a new location.
Susan DeChamp was one of three community members appointed to the region’s library steering committee in April 2022. She spoke at the council meeting in December when staff were recommending the call centre building as the permanent site for the library.
“The main issue everyone had was the location itself,” she told councillors. “The first time we recommended the sledding hill location (near Queens Place), we had councillors object that you can’t move it that far from where it currently is and it would be unreasonable to expect library users to walk across the bridge. Now you’re asking library users to walk to the fringes of town where the street lamps are fairly far apart, it’s not brightly lit and there are no sidewalks.”
Jessica Joudrey and Tom Raddall resigned before the December meeting. Raddall told councillors that they were “frustrated and disillusioned”.
In response to public comments at the December meeting, District 6 Coun. David Brown summed up the general mood on council when he said that using the call centre only as a temporary space would give the region time to do more thorough public consultation.
“So I think we have to do a better job of getting more engagement from the public so that we can build what the public wants and needs,” he said.
“If we can make this a temporary, it gives us a chance to take a deep breath, look at it, analyze it and do that job right in the long run. And I think the public will be much better served if we get it done right rather than if we get it done quick.”
Joudry’s other recommendations include: a high-level public engagement process begin on what people want from a new library and a new advisory committee be formed with clear direction and support from council.
A new library could come in at a third the cost of previous designs if Region of Queens Council decides to build it in the Liverpool Business Development Centre.
Projections from staff indicate refurbishing the building to accommodate relocation of the Thomas H Raddall library would cost in the neighbourhood of $1.15 million.
Home to Belliveau Veinotte accounting and Global Empire Call Centre, the building is commonly known as the call centre.
Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman says the municipality is under pressure to find a new home for the regional library as the lease at its current location in the Rossignol Centre is up at the end of 2024.
“Library users will recognize the fact that our present library location is on really weak legs,” said Norman. “There are difficulties with the building sometimes with power and heat. The building’s been for sale now for, I would say a year. The price has been reduced and Council is getting very nervous that unexpectedly, we may be without a library site.”
The Region of Queens has wrestled with where to build a new library since it decided to allocate approximately $3 million from an unexpected budget surplus to its construction in spring of 2022.
The library site selection committee twice recommended an area by the sledding hill at Queens Place for the relocation. Council declined the first time but decided to accept the committee’s recommendation when it came around a second time.
But council scuttled the plan once more when it came to light that close to a million dollars was needed to connect the sledding hill library site to the existing road and infrastructure.
The proposed site at the Liverpool Business Development Centre meets most of the criteria established by the library site selection committee.
It has 6,000 square feet of available space, parking for 24 vehicles, outdoor lighting, outdoor space for programming, isn’t in a known flood zone and is already owned by the municipality.
However, the nearest sidewalk is 350 metres away and the site is currently not accessible by public transit, although the staff report mentions Queens County Transit could potentially extend service to the location.
Norman says the Centre has a lot of positives to offer but people may struggle to get to the site. She is concerned if the library is not centrally located, the Region could be creating a problem that will hound residents for years to come.
“We need to realize that if we spend a million, or a million and a half, or a million and three quarters, or whatever it takes, there’s no such thing as renovating, spending that much money and just making a temporary library,” said Norman.
“It will have program rooms, it will have its own washrooms, it will have [a] staff room, it will have its own entrance. When all of those things are put in there, I would say that is where the library is going to stay for decades.”
Council heard the presentation from staff and will decide at a future meeting whether they will go forward with the Call Centre location for the new library.
To hear the broadcast version of this story click play below.
Thomas H. Raddall Library. Photo credit Ed Halverson
Municipal staff have suggested building the new library close to the Region of Queens administrative office.
In a release issued, Thursday Nov 16, staff say the Liverpool Business Development Center, on Harley Umphrey Drive, “offers an ideal space, including ample parking, access to green spaces, and more room for programming.”
Another benefit of the proposed relocation is that the Liverpool Business Development Center is owned by the Region of Queens.
The library’s lease in their current location at the Rossignol Centre in Liverpool is set to expire at the end of 2024.
Municipalities are responsible for providing space to locate regional libraries in Nova Scotia. Finding a new site to relocate the library has proved contentious for Region of Queens Council.
In the 2022/23 budget, Council voted to use part of a $3 million surplus from the federal and provincial governments to build a new library. A committee was struck shortly after to recommend a site. Their unanimous choice was that it should be located at Queens Place.
Council initially rejected that option in June of 2022 and asked the committee to come back with another recommendation. Councillors raised concerns at the time that the location would be too remote for people coming from the Liverpool area.
In January 2023, the committee again determined the Queens Place site was best and this time Council approved their recommendation and agreed to build the new library on the Queens Place location.
However, in March, Council rescinded that approval in a recorded 5-3 vote after learning the estimated cost of extending the driveway to the proposed site would be $950,000.
If Council agrees to move the library to the Liverpool Business Development Center, it will join existing tenants Belliveau Veinotte Accountants and Global Empire Call Centre.
In July of this year, Council awarded a $2,031,273 tender to Sea Coast HVAC for the installation of a new HVAC system at the Liverpool Business Development Center.
A draft design concept for the new library will be presented to Council for its consideration. If they agree to move the library to the Liverpool Business Development Center more design work will be required before renovations begin.
To hear the broadcast version of this story click play below.
The Region of Queens has passed a $44 million dollar budget without raising taxes.
The budget includes $27.3 million for operations, $14.4 million for capital projects, $1.7 million to operate Hillsview Acres long term care home and $798,000 for the water utility.
Residential property tax rates for 2023/24 have been set at a base of $1.07 for Districts 1-12 and $1.92 for district 13 per $100 of assessment.
Commercial rates have been set at $2.17 in Districts 1-12 and $3.02 in District 13 per $100 of assessment.
Those rates can vary depending on if a resident or business is in a zone that applies a premium to connect to municipal services or charges an area rate to fund the efforts of community organizations.
In an unusual move, council members voted to take $442,835 from their surplus account to balance the operational budget and avoid raising taxes.
Mayor Darlene Norman is worried that decision may come back to bite them next year.
“This has to be a one-time only thing. That $433,000 represents a four-cent tax rate increase,” said Norman. “Council chose not to do a four-cent tax rate increase and instead we’ve taken that operational money out of surplus. These operational costs do not go away, and they will be here next year.”
Norman is concerned pulling money from reserves to cover the operational costs this year just moves the problem into next year’s budget.
“When you’re not bringing in enough revenue to balance your expenses and you have to cut into side money, then are you really balancing your revenue with your expenses?” said Norman.
On the capital side of the budget, residents have a few big-ticket items to look forward to in 2023/24.
Some projects are ongoing such as the $3 million that has been set aside for the construction of a new library to replace the aging Thomas H Raddall in Liverpool.
The municipality is still trying to iron out a plan for the construction of a new outdoor pool.
Two million has been allocated from the Region to be added to the $3 million private donation to fund the pool’s construction.
A project manager has been hired to see if those two projects can be tied together and built alongside Queens Place Emera Centre.
The Region is also setting aside money for a couple of studies: one will look at extending the water infrastructure around Mt Pleasant for $137,000; another will see the municipality spend $175,000 to explore the possibility of moving the sidewalk to the outside of the bridge in Liverpool.
The budget also made clear the Region’s expenses are on the rise.
Policing costs for RCMP are up $200,000.
Queens also needs to increase the amount being placed in reserve for the eventual closure of the municipal landfill.
The landfill cell currently in use is scheduled to close in 10 years and a new one opened in its place.*
The initial estimate for that effort was originally pegged at $8.5 million but as prices have continued to rise that estimate is now closer to $19 million, three times the original amount.
*An earlier version of this story indicated the landfill was set to close in ten years. Mayor Norman has clarified she meant to indicate the cell was closing, to be replaced by opening another.
Region of Queens Council has rejected a developer’s request to allow short term rentals in all three units they are building in Beach Meadows.
A public hearing on the matter kicked off Tuesday’s Region of Queens council meeting.
The developer will have to stick to the current zoning to permit long term housing which allows only one short term rental on the site.
The council portion of the meeting began with the approval to update the Emergency Management bylaw.
After the development agreement was rejected, council voted to consolidate municipal insurance under one provider.
Much like a multi-line discount for having a car, home and life insurance policy, the Region will save approximately $60,000 by combining all coverage under one provider, AON Reed Stenhouse Inc.
AON requires a significant increase in deductible for fire department trucks, raising the current amount from $5,000 to $25,000 per incident.
The Region agreed to pick up any deductible costs above the $5,000 limit as it is rare for the fire departments to make a claim for the trucks and the move is considered low risk.
Council then approved a tiered system for providing low-income property tax relief.
Anyone with an annual household income up to $20,000 will receive $400 in relief, from $20,000 up to $25,000 will get $350 and between $25,000 and $30,000 will enjoy $300 in property tax relief.
Commercial operators will pay almost $18 more per tonne in residual waste tipping fees going forward.
Council approved a hike to $29.90 per tonne in closure costs effective April 1.
All is back to normal at the South Shore Regional Airport as the municipality has come to terms on a 20-year lease with the South Shore Flying Club.
The club will pay $4,000 plus HST to the Region each year and will be able to continue its activities in exchange for maintaining the site.
The municipality announced earlier this month it had come to terms on a 20-year lease with the South Shore Drag Racers Association.
The two groups will continue to share the airport as they have for years.
During the discussion portion of the meeting council talked about construction of the proposed outdoor pool at Queens Place.
Council put forward the idea that once the scope of the pool is known, that project and the proposed build of the new library alongside Queens Place should be combined and operated by the same project management team.
The next Region of Queens council meeting will be held Tuesday, April 11 in council chambers beginning at 9:00am.
A lighter than usual agenda was dominated by the proposed new library during the Region of Queens last council meeting.
As previously reported here, council voted to rescind their approval to build a new library at a site in Queens Crossing.
They’ve asked for studies to determine the cost to instead build either directly beside or attached to Queens Place Emera Centre.
The March 14 meeting began with a presentation from Queens Care Building Society updating their progress on the new long-term care home to be built at Queens Crossing.
The group is currently awaiting design approval before they can formally buy the land from Region of Queens.
Next council gave second reading to a Tax Exemption bylaw to support some non-profit organizations by allowing them to forgo paying their municipal property taxes.
Council passed the motion to give up $241,000 in revenue for the Region of Queens.
They also approved the naming of a new road off Shore Road in Western Head as Serenity Now Lane.
Council then rescinded library approval before awarding a community grant of $2,800 to this station, QCCR to update some broadcasting equipment.
Approval was granted to conduct an HVAC investigation at the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre.
Council agreed to provide $10,975 to DUMAC Energy to complete a comprehensive heating, ventilation, and air conditioning assessment to determine the needs and find solutions to the heating and cooling systems in the building which houses the Astor Theatre.
During the discussion portion of the meeting council talked about creating a tiered support system for low-income property tax relief.
Anyone with an annual household income up to $20,000 will receive $400 in relief, from there up to $25,000 will get $350 and between $25,000 and $30,000 will enjoy $300 in property tax relief.
Council will vote on that proposal in an upcoming meeting.
Added discussion items included how to reduce the amount the Region’s fire services are paying for insurance.
Council decided they will go with a lower cost insurance provider and pay the higher deductible for any of the five departments as there have been very few claims.
The next council meeting will be held Tuesday March 28 in council chambers beginning at 6:00pm.
