The proposed site for the new library at Queens Place lies at the end of the driveway beside the sledding hill. Photo Ed Halverson

Region of Queens Council will revisit the decision to build the new public library at Queens Place.

Several councillors have expressed they didn’t have a full picture of the costs involved in locating the new library at Queens Place when they voted in January.

At issue is an estimated $950,000 cost to extend the road, sidewalks, and underground water and sewer infrastructure to accommodate the new build.

At the last council meeting CAO Chris McNeill explained that while it is not policy, it has been councils’ practice to reinvest the proceeds from the land sales at Queens Place back into the site.

Queens sold a large plot for the construction of the new long-term care facility replacing Queens Manor and Hillsview Manor.

The new road would reach the library as well as the new long-term care home.

Because it wasn’t infrastructure work dedicated to the library build, it wasn’t included when the costs were tallied to locate the library on the site.

Councillor Maddie Charlton says the $950,000 puts the site preparation costs at Queens Place far higher than any of the other seven sites that were being considered.

She says the Region has many priorities and it should be up to council to decide if they want to allocate $950,000 for Queens Place or if it could be used on another project.

That led to this exchange at the last meeting between Councillor Charlton and Mayor Darlene Norman.

“It sounds to me like the library committee was under the assumption that this was a signed deal, that infrastructure was happening,” said Charlton, “and we didn’t have an opportunity to discuss that’s how we want to spend that money.”

Norman replied, “There is a way to change your mind about when new information comes forward and it is called resending emotion.”

Mayor Norman is concerned if council can’t agree to build a new library at Queens Place it may never be built.

“There may even be a discussion at some point in time, we may even get back to why do we need a new library and all other things. I mean, I really don’t know why council cannot just agree that Queens Place is a great place to put a library which we are committed to do, you know,” said Norman. “Library services are part of our responsibility and it’s a library for Queens County. It’s not a Liverpool library, it’s a library for Queens County. And if we have $1,000,000 from the sale of land and we want to put that into roads, sidewalk that may assist the Manor, well isn’t that a great thing?”

Council will vote if they want to rescind the motion to build the library at Queens Place during their next meeting March 14.

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Entrance to Region of Queens council chambers. Photo Ed Halverson

Region of Queens Council will once again vote whether to build the new public library at Queens Place.

After receiving more information on the costs to run a road and services to the new location Councillor Maddie Charlton presented a notice of motion for council to vote on the suitability of Queens Place for the new facility at the next council meeting. There will be more to come on this story later in the week.

While the new library provided the most heated discussion there was still plenty to discuss at the Feb 28 meeting.

Staff continued reviewing and updating existing bylaws and presented council with a modernized Emergency Management Bylaw.

Council then filled vacancies on the Heritage and Planning Advisory Committees.

Next staff recommended council approve a development agreement for the construction of a three unit fixed-roof overnight accommodation on Beach Meadows Road.

A public hearing will be held March 28 in council chambers for residents to provide input on the proposal.

The next item was a proposal shift the various insurance policies held by the Region to a single provider.

The move could save the municipality $65,000 each year.

Eight items in the discussion portion of the session began with a request to name a private road, “Serenity Now Lane”.

From there council talked about the Region’s area rate policy and requests for area rates from Brooklyn Cemetery Association and Brooklyn Recreation Association.

An area rate is a tax collected for a specific community purpose which is collected by the municipality through the property tax bill and paid to the administrating group.

The two Brooklyn Associations were concerned they couldn’t meet the level of accounting standards deemed necessary by the municipality.

Mayor Darlene Norman says if the Region is going to collect money on behalf of an organization, there needs to be the upmost transparency.

“It’s very important that when groups come to us requesting us to collect taxpayer’s money on their behalf that there be a third party independent look at their books.”

Norman says the groups will meet with the Director of Corporate Services and their councillor before presenting their yearly budgets and the reasons the area rate is required in a public meeting.

Council followed that with the library discussion which resulted in the motion to rescind the approval of Queens Place as the new library site.

A question about installing new sidewalks in Cobbs Ridge was shut down when Public Works staff said if the sidewalk was to be built, the underlying infrastructure should be updated first, which would increase the cost of construction exponentially.

Council then punted a discussion of whether council meetings should be live streamed to the communications committee.

The committee is looking into ways to improve sound and video for people wanting to follow council proceedings from home.

The last discussion point was to have an engineering firm perform a comprehensive study of the heating and ventilation system at the Astor Theatre.

Staff are recommending the study be included in the 2023/24 budget and work should begin as soon as possible.

Finally, the municipality announced it has entered into a lease agreement at the regional airport with the South Shore Drag Racers Association.

Discussions are continuing with the South Shore Flying Club.

Region of Queens Council will meet next in council chambers beginning at 9:00am on March 14.

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Thomas H. Raddall Library. Photo credit Ed Halverson

Tension between councillors at the last Region of Queens council meeting seems to have come from a simple accounting misunderstanding.

Many councillors were upset when it was revealed the cost to build the new library at Queens Place didn’t include $950,000 for the driveway, and other necessary infrastructure.

Several other sites were under consideration, but Queens Place was selected when it was determined each of the other locations would require up to $600,000 to prepare the sites for construction.

Councillor Maddie Charlton represents District 3, which includes the current home of the Thomas H Raddall Library in Liverpool.

She was one of the councillors who initially voted against building the new library at Queens Place.

She was convinced to change her vote when the library committee reported to council that each of the eight sites being considered would need hundreds of thousands of dollars of work to accommodate the new build.

Charlton was also worried that if the project was delayed any longer Queens could be without library services as the Rossignol Centre which currently houses the library is up for sale.

“That is a concern and that was also a part of why in back in January of this year I changed my mind and supported the location at Queens place because the library building is up for sale. It’s very old, it has its issues,” said Charlton. “And I’m a big supporter of the library so this this is difficult for me because I want to make sure residents have a library but also at the same time, we need to make sure that you’re representing your taxpayers the best way as well.”

Charlton and other members of council argued the Queens Place site was being misrepresented as the least expensive location when it now appears to cost almost twice as much as some of the other options.

Mayor Darlene Norman says after that meeting, she asked Region of Queens staff to explain why the numbers seem so out of whack.

The mayor says all the sites were evaluated on several factors such as flood-risk mitigation, demolition, and clean-up of any contamination.

She says the difference has to do with the land the municipality is selling to province for the new long-term care facility on the Queens Place site.

“It has been the historic action of council,” said Norman. “There’s not a policy but it has always been when land is sold in the Queens Place area Queens Place Crossing the money is used to invest in future infrastructure on that land.”

Norman says because of that, the cost of providing infrastructure and extending the driveway to the proposed library on the Queens Place site weren’t factored in.

The funding for the new library is coming from a $3 million surplus in the 2022-23 municipal budget.

Council will once again discuss if the library should be built on Queens Place land or moved to another location at their next regular meeting scheduled for this coming Tuesday, Feb 28.

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Future site of Queens long-term care facility. Photo Ed Halverson

The executive director of Queens Manor says while people may not see shovels in the ground there’s lots of work going on behind the scenes in preparation to build the new long-term care home in Queens.

Andrew MacVicar says the design team of architects and engineers are meeting regularly with staff and frontline workers to ensure the new facility feels like home to the people living there.

The new home will have 112 bed capacity divided into groupings of 12 to 16 residents called resident neighborhoods.

MacVicar says placing residents together in smaller numbers allow them to get to know each other just as they do in any other neighbourhood.

He says whenever a new design idea is brought forward it is measured against a very simple standard.

“It’s a resident centred philosophy so everything we do in our design meetings, the questions we’re asking are: how does this benefit our residents, how does this create a homelike environment and then again, the very next question is how does it benefit our staff and how does it allow our staff to be the best they can be?” said MacVicar. “Because if the staff aren’t at their best that is a direct impact on resident care.”

The team behind the development have traveled to three other long term care homes across Nova Scotia which already have some of the design elements they’re considering in place.

MacVicar says some of the design elements they plan to incorporate from these conversations include an open kitchen so residents and staff can connect with each other as you would at home.

Staff also suggested allowing more sunlight into the building so the home doesn’t feel closed off.

MacVicar says one of the most important suggestions was to place the new facility in the heart of the community which is how the decision was made to build at Queens Place.

“Isolating seniors is not a good idea. And you want your seniors to look out their window and see the community that they lived in that they still live in,” said MacVicar. “They want to see people that they know going to hockey games and they want to see parents with their kids at the skate park and they want to see, believe it or not, they want to see the trucks on the 103. They want to see cars, they want to see movement, they want to see action.”

Queens’ new long-term care home is scheduled to open in early 2026.

MacVicar understands there is a lot of anticipation from the community around the new building and the planning team is keen to give everyone a look once the design plans are finalized.

“We’re excited to share. We’re really excited about this project; we’re really excited about the design. We can’t wait to open it; we want to share it with the community.”

MacVicar hopes people will begin to see some activity on the site later this year.

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The proposed site for the new library at Queens Place lies at the end of the driveway beside the sledding hill. Photo Ed Halverson

Members of the Astor theatre want permission to pursue grants for a new air conditioning system and councillors are concerned about ballooning costs for the new library at Queens place.

The late additions made for an exciting agenda at Tuesday’s Region of Queens council meeting.

The meeting got underway with presentations from the property valuation services corporation or PVSC. The organization explained how they assess properties before providing that information to municipalities to use when collecting property tax.

The next presentation was an update from the recreation and healthy communities department.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, members of the Astor Theatre made their case for why they want permission to install air conditioning. They say climate change has led to uncomfortably high temperatures during the summer months making the space an unsafe work environment. Because the Astor Theatre is a tenant in the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre, they need permission from the municipality to make any changes.

During the recommendation portion of the agenda councillors approved the placement, design, and size of the new outdoor pool which is proposed to be built alongside Queens Place. Council also took the extraordinary step of allowing the pool committee to research and write grants on behalf of the municipality. Grants will still need to be reviewed, approved and submitted by municipal staff.

A study on the feasibility of servicing two new proposed subdivisions in Mount Pleasant will go ahead. Councillors approved spending up to $21,000 for CBCL engineering to undertake a six-week study to determine if there is the capacity to handle water and wastewater flow and demand to the proposed developments. The results of that study are expected to come back to council sometime in April.

Next, councillors debated and ultimately approved the Astor Theatre’s request to apply for grants to install air conditioning. We’ll have more on this story in the coming days.

Eight items were on the agenda for the discussion portion of the meeting.

Council received updates on their implementation report and a financial review for the third quarter.

The province of Nova Scotia is conducting an economic study on the ferry service from Maine to Nova Scotia and approached municipalities in southern Nova Scotia for feedback on the evaluation criteria.

Council was informed environmental documents pertaining to the Mersey River wind farm project can be viewed at the regional administration office and the Thomas Raddall library. The project includes plans to install 35 wind turbines on the site.

Council then discussed property tax exemptions and set a date of March 3rd to begin discussing their 2023-24 budget.

The South Queens Chamber of Commerce asked the Region to assume responsibility for the hanging flower baskets on display on posts in Liverpool. Council discussed taking on the project but determined in fairness, it should be expanded to include Caledonia as well. Staff will investigate the specifics of the request and bring a report back to council.

Finally, council discussed the construction of the new library at Queens Place.

Around the table councillors say they’ve been hearing concerns from residents that the Region has not looked for other sources of funding for the project. Some also feel the location at Queens Place was misrepresented as the best option.

Councillors who had opposed siting the new library at Queens Place dropped their opposition when they believed it would be the most cost-effective option. During the discussion it was revealed the construction of the road and other infrastructure leading to the library could add over $900,000 to the cost.

Council will be looking for staff to provide more information and a clearer accounting of all costs when the library is brought back for discussion at the next meeting.

That meeting will take place Tuesday February 28th at 6:00 PM in council chambers.

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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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Region of Queens Council listens to public comment in Brooklyn during the Jan 24 meeting. Screen shot from Region of Queens YouTube video.

Region of Queens council took the show on the road, holding the last meeting in January at the Brooklyn Community Hall.

A large number of residents came out to voice their support during the public comment section for building an indoor pool instead of the outdoor pool currently in the planning stages.

The proposal was made to take the money donated by an anonymous benefactor and combine it with the money the municipality has earmarked for the construction of a new library.

The proponents expected that would account for almost $6 million.

The group would like to see the province and federal governments each contribute matching funding to bring the total amount to $18 million and build the new library and pool at Queens Place.

At this point there is no formal plan or budget to determine if $18 million is even enough to get the desired outcome.

They’ll be more on this story in the coming days.

Once the meeting commenced there were two recommendations for council to consider.

First, council approved a $236,000 grant to the Liverpool Curling Club for the installation of solar panels and the construction of an accessible entrance.

The cost of the grant will be covered by a recent donation made to the Region by the J & W Murphy Foundation for the purpose of directing it towards civic improvement projects.

Mayor Darlene Norman says the club has invested approximately $750,000 in upgrades over the past year without any ask from the Region.

Considering the community benefit the club brings for events extending far beyond curling council was glad to provide them with the help they’ve requested.

“The curling club has proven their ability to move forward on their projects,” said Norman. “They’re very successful, dedicated, hard group of workers. And of the many projects that are within Queens County this place has a definite positive impact on our Main Street Liverpool. You know it’s three-minute walk from there, this is the type of thing that we can support at no burden to the taxpayer and at the same time be helping that Main Street area as well as social, physical, forwardness from our people.”

Council also approved the second recommendation to install a new uninterruptible power supply (UPS) in the Liverpool Business Development Centre, home to the area’s largest call centre.

The new unit will replace one that has been in operation for 20 years but has reached its end of life.

Council awarded a tender to Universal Power Solutions to install the new UPS at a cost of $114,950 plus HST.

Council then heard an update from Public Works detailing the projects they are currently involved in across the municipality before turning their discussion once again to the subject of a pool.

Deputy Mayor Jack Fancy spoke as a member of the pool committee to ask that council review the recommendations previously brought forward by the committee.

The committee has proposed a site at Queens Place, the use of solar power, a pool design that features a gradual sloped entrance or “zero entry” accessible side and six lane and they’re asking to be able to apply for grants on the Region’s behalf to secure more outside funding.

The committee’s recommendations will come before council at a future meeting for discussion and a vote.

Council will return to chambers for the next meeting to be held on Valentines Day, February 14 beginning at 9:00am.

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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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Thomas H Raddall Library. Photo Ed Halverson

It’s taken the better part of a year, but the Thomas H Raddall Library has found a new home at Queens Place.

Last year, Region of Queens council formed a committee comprised of library officials, users, and councillors to evaluate several possible sites and recommend a location.

The committee determined a lot adjacent to Queens Place was best for several reasons including proximity of other recreational opportunities, the ease of access for all residents of Queens and the fact the land is already owned by the municipality.

When the recommendation was made to site the new library at Queens Place in June of 2022 council was divided as some councillors felt the library should stay close to its current location in downtown Liverpool while others wanted to relocate the institution alongside the recreation complex.

At the June meeting, the majority of councillors rejected the recommendation and instructed the committee to return with another that wasn’t Queens Place.

After six months spent evaluating three other locations the committee brought the same recommendation back to council this week.

Through the course of their research the committee determined building the library at any of the other possible locations would add a half million dollars to the construction.

Adding to the pressure to find a new home for Thomas H Raddall Library is the fact the Rossignol Cultural Centre in which the library is located is up for sale.

Mayor Darlene Norman says council did what it need to do to ensure a library remains in Queens.

“Councillors who had previously voted against understood with these new facts in front of them, they were very unwilling to place these additional costs [on the taxpayer]. They were very concerned about the fact that we need, we must have a library and they seem to understand that this was the best place for it,”

The new location passed by majority with four councillors and the mayor in favour, Deputy Mayor Jack Fancy voting against and Councillors Muise and Gidney abstaining from the vote.

The library will be built adjacent to the sliding hill at the end of Queens Place Drive.

Norman says now that a site has been selected, the project planning team can get to work on designs and a timeline for construction.

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