Queens Place. Photo Ed Halverson

As the Queens Pool Committee gets down to the business of planning a replacement for the outdoor pool in Milton, some in the community are asking why those resources aren’t being poured into the development of an indoor pool for Queens.

At the recent Region of Queens council meeting some suggested the estimated $3 million anonymous donation should be lumped together with the $2.5 million the Region had set aside for a replacement to get close to $6 million in seed money.

They say the next step would be to use that money to entice the province and federal government to provide matching funding up to $18 million to build an indoor facility.

The group recognized an indoor pool would require a great deal more annual funding to run year-round.

The closest comparable facility to what’s being proposed for Queens Place is the Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre.

The Lunenburg County Multi-Purpose Centre Corporation oversees operations at the LCLC.

Projected year-end numbers released at their January meeting show the Town of Bridgewater and the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg contributed a total of $1,054,915 in municipal operating grants to the LCLC, just over half the $1,980,192 the facility took in total revenue.

The corporation is expecting expenses will be $2,215,323 for an operating loss of $235,131 in 2022-23.

The LCLC offers a rink, pool, meeting and fitness rooms, and houses the public library.

General Manager Kent Walsh says that while it may sound similar to what Queens Place would look like if the proposed indoor pool was added, it really is not a fair comparison.

“I was thinking of analogies and it’s like saying, what’s the fuel economy in a car,” said Walsh. “Well, it depends on the car and if I tell you that the fuel economy is 14 litres to the 100kms and what does that actually mean when you’re looking at a different car. It’s just totally different.”

Walsh says there are any number of factors that will impact the operating costs of an indoor pool.

He says the hours of operation, the number of swim lessons and other programming that is offered will impact the amount it will cost for staffing.

The size of the pool, and the source of power, whether it is solar, direct from the NS Power grid or some other method will dictate some of the operating costs.

And those numbers are just the tip of the iceburg.

Walsh says without knowing the final design it is impossible to begin to guess what the operating cost of an indoor pool facility would be.

He says from his experience, whether Queens builds an indoor or outdoor pool they should put together their long-term wish list for the facility and build it all at once.

“I think the one learning from the LCLC, because there were so many cuts made when things were being constructed, is that you just shoot yourself in the foot long term. If they end up going into this thing God I hope they go whole hog,” said Walsh. “ Don’t try to make a four lane, you know getting under the wire on costs. Just go the whole nine-yards because otherwise in five years when you just completely outgrown the thing…”

Walsh is naturally a huge supporter of recreation and fitness facilities.

He says every community is trying to attract healthcare workers and other talented people to come work in their industries, and a well-developed recreation centre can be a huge factor when trying to recruit young families to the area.

Welsh firmly believes the health benefits to the community more than make up for the cost to run many of these programs.

“You know what it costs when someone has a heart attack? A million dollars right off the bat, heart attack, bypass surgery, recovery, a million dollars. And it stresses out a system that’s already stressed out, all the negative things that come from you know, poor health.”

Walsh says it’s always better and less costly to prevent those kind of health emergencies. “If you can put programs in place that improve health outcomes for people, well how many, how many people do you got to divert from having a heart attack to make it worthwhile right?”

With no estimates on the cost to build and operate an indoor pool and no firm commitment from other levels of government to come up with additional funding to pay for it the indoor pool discussion could very well amount to little more than a nice idea.

Council will be addressing several motions pertaining to the construction of an outdoor pool when they meet this Tuesday February 14.

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Potential site of the new Queens outdoor pool. Photo Ed Halverson

With a goal of opening in Spring of 2025 the Queens Pool Committee have a lot of work ahead of them.

They hit the ground running in the last month.

Comprised of two council members, two members of Queens Community Aquatic Society and two members of the community who are pool users, the committee recently received a mandate to provide Region of Queens council with information and recommendations on the construction of a new outdoor pool.

They presented the first of those recommendations along with a proposed plan of action to council at the Jan 10 meeting.

Chief among those is where to build.

Committee Chair Deborah Herman-Spartinelli says Queens Place is the obvious choice for the new outdoor pool for many reasons.

“You’re talking about a facility that already has a huge lobby with a desk already there right by where you’d walk out to the pool. So, they can do the same thing you do with a card when you belong to the fitness centre. They can swipe it and go through and go right through to the pool and then the change rooms will be out there,” said Herman-Spartinelli.

“Plus you’re talking about costs too because you can share part of the wall of the [Queens Place] Emera Centre that’s already there, you can share the roof for solar panels and any air handling systems or anything that has to be done can be put on the roof.”

The group is proposing to build the pool alongside the fitness centre side of Queens Place.

They recommend a 6-lane, Olympic length as well as a side beach entrance with a gradual slope into the water which would be more accessible for children and anyone with mobility issues.

Herman-Spartinelli says new change rooms, separate from the ones used for the gym will be required to provide a wet-change area.

She says the location of the pool allows all the necessary mechanical equipment and potential solar power to be placed close to where it is needed.

Herman-Spartinelli says the committee is keen to use solar power so the pool can be built to a net-zero standard.

“To me it’s a no-brainer. If you’re going to build a pool for a region you should be putting solar in. It’s the best way to heat water,” said Herman-Spartinelli.

All of the recommendations and designs from the committee need to be approved by Region of Queens council before municipal staff issue tenders.

An anonymous donor is putting up the money to build the new outdoor pool in Queens.

The pool will be built with private funds then owned, maintained, and operated by the Region of Queens once construction is complete.

Herman-Spartinelli says the donor would like to see the pool in operation by the spring of 2025 and if all goes to plan, they should be able to meet that timeline.

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Region of Queens administration building. Photo Ed Halverson

At the most recent Region of Queens Council meeting council landed on a site for the construction of a new library, approved a new multi-unit residential development and discussed creating a policy for selling municipal property.

The meeting started with a pair of presentations.

The first by North Queens Active Living detailed the programs they offer and benefit they bring to the community.

The group is currently working towards gaining status as a society.

They’re asking council to continue supporting their work in the upcoming budget to the tune of $16,500.

Next, the Region of Queens Pool Committee outlined their desire to build the new outdoor pool at Queens Place as well as some rough timelines and next steps.

If all goes to plan, their aim is to begin construction in 2024 with the goal of opening the pool to the public in spring of 2025.

Council then followed up on the public meeting held before session and granted the request to convert a multi-unit building in Hunts Point from short-term to long-term rentals.

They also agreed to the name “Ocean Side Drive” for the road going into a proposed development near the hospital in Liverpool called “The Point”.

After much back and forth over the past year council accepted the library committee recommendation to build the replacement for the Thomas H Raddall library at Queens Place.

When the recommendation first came to council in June of 2022 some councillors didn’t want to see the library moved from downtown Liverpool.

Since then, the committee has looked into several different site options but determined any of those would increase the cost of construction by half a million dollars.

Council also considered the Rossignol Centre in which the library currently sits has been put on the market and a quick sale could leave the county without a library.

During the discussion portion of the meeting council asked staff to come back at a future date with options on a policy for the disposal of municipal properties.

Some members of council cited the recent proposed regional airport sale and the upset it caused all parties involved as the reason to have a process in place that was fair, transparent and easily understood when selling municipally owned land.

And finally, council heard from staff that the recent tax sale saw 16 properties sold for a total of $327,450.

Of that, $34,500.58 will pay off outstanding accounts and $292,949.42 will be held in the tax sale surplus reserve in trust for 20 years to give owners the opportunity to recoup the proceeds of the sale.

Council will take their next meeting on the road to Brooklyn on January 24.

The session will begin at 6:00pm at the Brooklyn Community Hall.

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Region of Queens Administration Building. Photo Ed Halverson

The sale of municipal properties to create affordable housing highlighted the recent Region of Queens council meeting.

Following a public hearing ahead of the meeting, council agreed to sell four parcels of land off Lawrence and Amherst Streets in Liverpool to the Queens Neighbourhood Cooperative Housing Ltd for one dollar.

Fair market value of the properties is estimated around $15,000 but council is permitted to dispose of properties to non-profit organizations for less if there is a community benefit.

Given the lack of affordable housing across the county, Mayor Darlene Norman says council was unanimous in their support of the sale.

“When they’ll break ground, that is uncertain. They’ll have to determine what exactly they want to build and then make a request to council because there may need to be some water/sewer work done in to site that land,” said Norman. “Council is excited about this.”

Council also voted to support the Queens County Track Society up to a quarter million dollars for the construction of new track facilities on the sports field adjacent to Liverpool Regional High School.

The project is eligible for 25 percent of the cost from the Region’s Community Investment Fund.

The final tally on the build is expected to be north of a million dollars and it’s expected the track will pursue funding from the provincial and federal governments.

Norman says the municipal funds won’t be released from the reserve until the society can show they have raised all the money needed to complete construction.

Council then moved into the discussion phase of the meeting.

After a couple of attempts, the committee working to realize the construction of a new pool in Queens now has terms of reference agreed upon by the majority of councillors.

The latest revision puts the committee members’ skills to work but doesn’t require municipal staff time.

The pool committee will also provide updates on their progress to council at regular intervals.

Several policy items were also up for discussion.

First, they reviewed a new policy to establish parameters around the selection, purchase, maintenance, and official removal of public art.

Second, council confirmed their meeting schedule would remain the same as the past year.

Lastly, an updated social media policy was presented and discussed.

All discussion items will return to council at future meetings to be voted upon before being adopted.

The next Region of Queens Council meeting will be in Chambers December 13 beginning at 9:00am.

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Milton Pool. Photo Ed Halverson

The committee charged with planning a new pool in Queens still has no direction on how to go about that task.

Formed at the request of Region of Queens council the pool committee was never given a formal Terms of Reference to indicate what they should be doing.

The committee wrote Terms of Reference based on those used for the library committee and presented them for approval at the last Region of Queens council meeting.

Mayor Darlene Norman says council voted not to approve the terms because the pool committee was told when it was created municipal staff did not have time to participate.

“When this committee was formed it was mid-way through our year,” said Norman. “This was never part of any budgeting and budgeting is more than just budgeting money, budgeting also budgets staff time.”

Some councillors felt a new pool should be given a higher priority after a private donor came forward with funding towards its construction.

It was revealed during the last council meeting that contribution was in the neighbourhood of $3 million.

CAO Chris McNeill said it will likely be spring of 2023 before staff will be freed up to assist the pool committee.

In the meantime, Mayor Norman says the committee has a great deal of expertise and experience to offer.

“I am optimistic that when we get these things ironed out that that committee can be very helpful in some research. If they want to find more money for extra add-ons, if they want to deal with the biggest problem, which is staffing,” said Norman. “That truly is our largest problem when it comes to pools is the staffing component.”

Norman hopes using the clearer direction from council, the pool committee will come back to a future meeting with terms of reference that will allow them to get underway without involving municipal staff.

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Milton Pool. Photo Ed Halverson

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.”

The push to build a new pool gained steamed earlier this year when it was announced an anonymous donor was gifting $3 million towards its construction.

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.

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Photo Ed Halverson

Region of Queens council took their last meeting on the road to the Pleasant River Community Hall.

The highlight of the agenda was council’s decision to invest almost $2 million to repair the failing air conditioning unit at the Liverpool Business Development Centre.

The meeting opened with the public comment section.

A couple of residents spoke asking council to put a pause on the permits to a controversial house being built on Eagle Head Beach while a third inquired about the possibility of adding more bylaw enforcement officers.

After that council went about approving the job descriptions for workers at Hillsview Acres long-term care facility.

The Region is mandated by the province to review the positions every four years.

From there, council voted to go ahead with the $1.9 million plan to install a new four-zone cooling system at the Liverpool Call centre.

Council then moved into the discussion phase of their meeting.

First up was a conversation around installing an accessible ramp at the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre in Liverpool.

Provincial law requires all government owned buildings to be accessible by 2030.

Council deliberated on the placement of the ramp and how it is to be enclosed.

The preferred option seems to be along the side of the building adjacent to the Royal Bank that leads from the rear parking lot.

The plan will be evaluated and brought before council in greater detail at a future meeting.

The last piece of business was a lively discussion on whether or not to form a pool committee.

The Queens Community Aquatic Society recently received a $3 million private donation towards the construction of a new pool and are looking for the region to begin construction as soon as possible.

The conversation revolved around who will make up the committee, what responsibility it will have and what will be asked of staff.

In the end, council decided to form a committee but what it will look like and what role it will play in the construction of a new pool has yet to be determined.

Council will hold a special council meeting Tuesday July 5 to discuss the location of the new library.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
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