Municipal election takes shape as Queens County councillors, others declare intentions

Three people sit behind wooden desks in council chambers with a video screen behind them that displays a coat of arms and the words Region of Queens Municipality.

Region of Queens councillors Jack Fancy, David Brown and Vicki Amirault have declared their intentions for October’s municipal election. (Rick Conrad)

With less than three months to go before October’s municipal election, incumbents and former councillors in Queens County are declaring their intentions.

So far, three of the seven sitting councillors have said they won’t run again. Three others have declared they will run again. 

District 1 Coun. Kevin Muise could not be reached. And Mayor Darlene Norman hasn’t yet announced her plans.

The region’s electoral boundaries have also been redrawn since the last election. So some people will be running in areas that look different than they did in 2020. (You can see the descriptions and maps of the new electoral boundaries on the Region of Queens website.)

District 6 Coun. David Brown is one of the councillors who won’t be reoffering. District 2 Coun. Ralph Gidney and District 7 Coun. Carl Hawkes are the others. Gidney’s area will be changed to District 3. Former councillor Susan MacLeod, who placed second in the 2020 mayor’s race, will be running to replace Gidney. 

Brown told QCCR that he feels he’s done what he can for his constituents. He represents the areas around Port Medway, Mill Village, Greenfield and Labelle. A newcomer to municipal politics in the 2020 election, he beat Jason Croft by about 130 votes. 

“I feel like I’ve accomplished as much as I can accomplish in council and I’m not really happy with the process, so I’m looking at different avenues for moving on,” he said. “I just feel like we’re a municipal council, but we don’t govern like a municipal council. We still govern like a town council.

“It seems like everything we do is centred around Brooklyn, Liverpool and Milton and any time we try to get anything done outside of that core, it’s a struggle.”

He said he wasn’t criticizing his fellow councillors or municipal staff. And he didn’t want to provide examples of some of the struggles he’s had.

But he said he feels the Liverpool area is over-represented on council, with five councillors who have some part of their district in Liverpool, Milton or Brooklyn. With the redrawn boundaries, that’s down to four. 

“Whoever goes into council from rural areas is just going to have to fight harder to try to get their areas recognized. Maybe if councilors coming in from Liverpool, Brooklyn, Milton, realize that they’re not funding 100 per cent of the cost of what happens in Queens County, but they’re expecting 100 per cent of the expenditures that are happening in Queens County, it’s not a fair and equitable solution for anybody.”

Brown said he was also frustrated with some of the criticism he’s received online and in person since he became councillor. He said he welcomes feedback from constituents, but he said sometimes it goes too far.

“There’s a lot of anger with people, in the public. They seem to think that because you’re a public figure they can say whatever they want to you. And council is not a high-paid position to put up with the amount of hours and the abuse that we’ve been taking from some people. So I’m just not interested in doing another four years of that.”

But Brown is still proud of the work he’s done as councillor, especially helping to save the South Shore Regional Airport in Greenfield and finding more money to support the region’s volunteer fire departments.

“I’m happy with what I did. I think council has done the best job that they could for the most people. It’s just most of the work is done in the centre of town and that frustrates me.”

District 3 Coun. Maddie Charlton will be trying for a second term. She joins District 4 Coun. Vicki Amirault and District 5 Coun. Jack Fancy, who have announced they will seek re-election.

Because of the boundary changes, Charlton will be running in District 2 this time. But it’s essentially the same area as she represents now in District 3, with the addition of part of White Point Road. 

Amirault will still run in District 4, but her area now includes Danesville and East Port Medway. It also has less of Brooklyn. 

And Fancy, who represents the Milton area, has said he plans to run in District 7, which is where he grew up. That area includes much of north Queens, including Caledonia and Kejimkujik National Park.

In 2020, Charlton made history at age 29 as the youngest person elected to Region of Queens council.

She told QCCR that she’s enjoyed her past four years in municipal politics.

“Although it has certainly come with challenges,” she said.

“I have certainly learned a lot over these last four years and I really think that younger representation at the council table is important.”

Along with bringing a more youthful perspective, she says she’s proud she’s been able to advocate for better access to council meetings for the public. She pushed for a regular evening meeting to make it easier for people to attend, as well as the upgrades necessary to livestream meetings.

Charlton says she believes that council’s communication with the public has improved.

“That was one of things that as a resident before I ran was something that was really obvious there was a bit of a disconnect there. There certainly have been improvements. And those are some that I’m really proud of as well. Besides the standing evening council meetings, I championed audio and video upgrades because people couldn’t hear when they tuned into the meetings. And I think it’s really important that residents can do that and access those meetings and listen to those meetings if they can’t be in the room. So I would say that’s still not perfect. But I think it has gotten better.”

Charlton said that communication breakdowns were partially responsible for the controversies over a new library. 

“I would say that we need to slow down before we speed up. … We hit the gas too fast and different information was evolving over cost and I think if we would have just slowed down, we could have pieced things together in a more sensible way to then confidently make a plan that we could endorse going forward.”

David Brown says he regrets that council didn’t commit to a new library. They decided instead to move the library, at least temporarily, to the business development centre on White Point Road.

“I would have liked to have seen a library built. Having an actual brick and mortar standalone library built and not having that happen and the way the process worked out was one of my biggest frustrations in the last term.”

Charlton says that if she’s re-elected, she’d like to advocate for more youth programming and recreational opportunities. And she says she hopes other young women take a crack at council this time around.

Brown says he’s not sure what he’ll do next, but he’s going to enjoy his free time. His advice for people who want to run for council? Do your homework and be prepared to stick up for your district.

“Just to be prepared it’s not going to be the happy smiley place that you think it’s going to be,” he says.

“You’re in for a fight every day. If you want to get your area recognized and you want an equitable amount of expenditures for all areas of the county, it’s not going to go smoothly. There’s a fight involved with it. There’s a lot of argument. You have to do your research, know the policies, know what you want going in and know what your consittunts want going in because you’re representing those constituents, you’re not representing your own personal interests. … You have to know what all those constituents want so you can make the best decision for the most people.”

The municipal election is Oct. 19. This year, for the first time, Queens County voters will be able to vote in person or online. 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Region of Queens councillors to vote on play park write-off

Kids play this week at the splash pad at Etli Milita’mk, the universally designed play park in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

UPDATED JULY 20 at 10:30 a.m.

Region of Queens councillors will vote next week on whether to write off almost $51,000 in cost overruns and funding shortfalls at the universally designed play park in Liverpool.

Councillors voted last week to move the issue forward to their June 25 meeting for a final vote. Most of them appeared to support absorbing the cost.

District 2 Coun. Ralph Gidney was the only one against the motion to vote on the matter at their next meeting.

The provincial organization recently asked the municipality to cover $50,962 in unpaid bills on the $630,000 playground. Some $5,988.79 of that is interest on the overdue account.

Joanne Veinotte, director of corporate services, told councillors last week that Autism Nova Scotia told the municipality they believed that the region would cover any shortfalls.

“Fundraising was less than forecasted. The ACOA contribution was less than budgeted and there were cost overruns such as short-term security for surfacing materials, rescheduling of a rubber surface contract and extension of a rubber surface area. This all contributed to the overage.”

Beyond that, however, details about the overdue account were sparse. It was unclear what the outstanding bill is for or to whom, or when Autism Nova Scotia realized that there wasn’t enough money on hand to cover all the expenses of the project.

The playground is named Etli Milita’mk (pronounced ed-a-lee milly-dumk), which is Mi’kmaw for “we are playing here”. It opened last October, after years of community fundraising led by Queens County resident Debbie Wamboldt and others. It’s designed to be inclusive and accessible for everybody, regardless of ability or age. 

The community group raised about $100,000 on their own, with the region donating the land near Queens Place Emera Centre and committing $111,773 from its community investment fund. ACOA and the provincial government also contributed to the project.

Autism Nova Scotia issued charitable tax receipts and held the money in trust to pay the region for construction as invoices were submitted. The region also agreed to own, operate and maintain the playground.

QCCR tried numerous times for an interview with officials from Autism Nova Scotia. Last week, a spokeswoman said in an email that they were “unable to provide an interview at this time”.

QCCR asked the municipality this week for clarification on the account. In an email, Heather Cook, the region’s communications and engagement co-ordinator, explained that the municipality has paid all bills related to the park and no suppliers are owed money.

Because of cost overruns and funding shortfalls, she said, Autism Nova Scotia contacted the region in April to say that it would not be paying the full amount of the final invoice, which the municipality issued in January. The group did not pay any interest on overdue invoices during the term of the project, resulting in interest charges which contributed to the shortfall.

Councillors will vote on June 25 “to fund the outstanding interest charges and project overrun that (are) owed to the municipality due to the funding shortfall.”

The money would come from the municipality’s accumulated budget surplus.

District 1 Coun. Kevin Muise said last week that councillors had voted to donate the land and approve funding from the community investment fund. But he said they didn’t vote to cover any overruns.

District 3 Coun. Maddie Charlton asked if there was any additional information that staff could share with councillors before their next meeting.

CAO Cody Joudry, who took over in November, said there wasn’t.

“I don’t believe there is any other documentation to provide council. … From Autism Nova Scotia’s perspective, they’re like, ‘Well, it’s not really fair to make us cover the difference because we were just the pass-through and really the region was the one who was managing the project.’

“I think if we were doing this over again, we would have brought this to council a lot sooner, like in the construction phase and talked about these issues. But I can’t do anything about that now. So, unfortunately, Coun. Charlton, I do not believe there is any more information I can bring you.”

Councillors did not want to ask Autism Nova Scotia or the local fundraising group to cover the extra costs.

Mayor Darlene Norman said that it was nobody’s fault. Construction delays and weather last summer contributed to the extra expenses. 

She said in an interview Monday that it didn’t help that the region was without a full-time CAO for much of last year. Former CAO Chris McNeill left the job in May. 

“Remember, this was a time when we had no CAO last year, directors were shifting and taking those roles. And then we had the boil water situation happening, we had no permanent CAO. I’m not saying that’s any reason why this may have occurred, but obviously there was lack of communication between Autism Nova Scotia and Region of Queens staff.”

Norman said that in future, the region would likely approach projects like this differently.

“It was a lesson that if a project like this should ever be undertaken again there needs to be very firm rules respecting who manages what and conversations and communication between the two partners.”

The June 25 council meeting will be held at the Westfield Community Hall in North Queens.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

ATV groups hope for destination riding area from Lunenburg to Shelburne

David White is president of the Queens County ATV Association. (Rick Conrad)

ATV riders in Queens County are hoping to connect off-road trails with public roads and streets in the municipality so that operators can more easily use local services and support local businesses.

David White, president of the Queens County ATV Association, and vice-president Greg Wigglesworth made a presentation to regional council this week outlining various options to make that happen. 

“In this case, we’re asking the Region of Queens for assistance with some connection within the township,” he said in an interview after the meeting.

“The whole goal here is to make a trail that connects across Queens County as well as providing economic advantage by bringing off-highway vehicle users to be able to access things like gas and accommodation and restaurants and that sort of thing.” 

This isn’t the first time White has proposed a connected network through Queens County for users of off-highway vehicles.

The association spoke to council last July about the idea, shortly after the Nova Scotia government passed the Road Trails Act. That would allow OHVs on provincial and municipal roads, with certain conditions.

Both levels of government must first grant ATV access to those roads. In the Region of Queens, that would require a new bylaw. 

White and Wigglesworth presented councillors with various options to create a road trail near Queens Place Emera Centre, the Best Western and businesses around the intersection of Milton Road and Route 3 that would connect with the Trestle Trail. They also outlined options for a road trail to connect the Trestle Trail to White Point Road and from the trail to the lower parking lot downtown.

It’s part of the group’s vision to create a destination riding area in Queens for ATV users. White told councillors it would attract more business to the area from riders in the municipality and beyond.

“Our ultimate goal is to create the connectivity, to be able to go from the Lunenburg-Queens County line to the Queens-Shelburne line. Other ATV groups in other areas are working to make those connections as well.

“We’re looking to do it in a way that has minimal impact on residents. Our ultimate goal is to improve the connectivity, to enhance the trails for everybody, so it’s better quality trail for off-highway vehicles, walkers, cyclists and other users, as well as to make sure we have that economic impact, and to make sure we’re maintaining a safe environment for everyobdy.”

White said the group has been canvassing property owners and businesses. So far, he says, the response has been positive. He said Yarmouth has already allowed access to off-highway vehicles on Water Street in their downtown core.

“It’s very well travelled and they’ve been having a lot of success with that.”

Councillors appeared supportive of the idea. District 2 Coun. Ralph Gidney said he’s excited by the proposal.

“I think this is a very good idea, and what it’s going to do for our community is fantastic.”

District 3 Coun. Maddie Charlton said she’s happy to see the group provided so many different options.

“I look forward to everyone coming together and finding a way forward with this.”

Councillors asked for a staff report on allowing the vehicles to use municipal roads. 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Liverpool property owner ordered to demolish buildings after years of complaints

The owner of 90 Common St. in Liverpool has been ordered to demolish the buildings and clean up the property. (Rick Conrad photo)

By Rick Conrad

A rundown Liverpool property that has been the subject of numerous complaints since 2009 will be torn down in the next 30 days.

Queens regional councillors voted on Tuesday to issue a demolition order to the owner of 90 Common St. in Liverpool.

The property used to be known as the Wesleyan Church. In 2009, Chris Currie and a friend bought the property. Currie is now the sole owner.

Neighbours had lodged many complaints over the years with Queens bylaw enforcement officers, saying the property is dangerous and unsightly.

Bylaw enforcement officer Jason Hartung told councillors Tuesday that since 2009, neighbours have continued to file complaints and the property has continued to deteriorate. He recommended that council declare it dangerous and unsightly and issue an order for the owner within 30 days to demolish the main building and an out building, and clean up all construction and demolition materials and all other miscellaneous debris like glass, metals, shingles and plastics.

If the owner doesn’t comply, the municipality may do the work and bill him for it.

“It appears to be collapsing in on itself and it presents a clear and present danger to the public,” Hartung said. “The owner has had numerous years to address these concerns.”

Queens bylaw enforcement officers say 90 Common St. in Liverpool ‘is a possible threat to public safety’. (Rick Conrad photo)

The owner told bylaw enforcement in 2015 that he would tear down the property, but that never happened. Hartung said Currie complied with several requests to clean up the property, but the building continued to deteriorate.

In 2017, a fire inside the structure damaged it further. Despite the property being mostly boarded up, people were breaking in and vandalizing it. Even the RCMP contacted the municipality with concerns about their officers’ safety, Hartung said.

In April 2020, the region’s building inspector recommended it be demolished as soon as possible.

Currie told the municipality in May 2021 that he would demolish the building and build a new rental property on the land. Hartung said that when that didn’t happen, Currie blamed Covid lockdowns.

Hartung said municipal staff gave him more time to fix the problems. In May 2023, bylaw enforcement again inspected and found that the property was still dangerous and unsightly. In December, they received yet another complaint about dangerous conditions on the property and saw that an exterior wall at the back of the building had collapsed. Parts of the roof were also caved in.

Hartung said Currie has said he would apply for various permits to develop the property over the years or promised to demolish it, but never followed through. 

“This property can no longer be secured,” he said. “The building is a possible threat to public safety.”

Currie’s wife Karen Gilmour asked councillors Tuesday to give him more time. She said he plans to build a three-unit affordable rental on the property. She said he couldn’t be there because he was away working.

She asked them to extend the 30-day demolition order to 90 to 120 days to give Currie time to fix it up and secure funding for the affordable housing project.

“There have been numerous times where he’s tried to do something with that property,” she said in an interview after the meeting. 

“He’s just a private landowner. He bought a building that was in disrepair, was hoping to do something with it and … it hasn’t really worked out. He’s done the best that he could to ensure that he was complying with bylaw enforcement in terms of cleanup and covering up graffiti.”

District 2 Coun. Ralph Gidney said that while he sympathizes with what Gilmour told councillors, he said it’s obvious the buildings can no longer stand.

“With everything that’s transpired in the last nine years (since 2015), I can’t see holding this off any longer. But history is repeating itself here. And I think we’d better do something now.”

Gilmour said her husband will go ahead with his plan to develop affordable housing on the site.

“It’s only been in recent weeks that we’ve been able to explore the options available for affordable housing, which this community is in desperate need of. I was really hoping that council would consider that. And it’s a little bit disappointing that that didn’t even get discussed.

“It’s quite a viable project. … It’s just unfortunate that we’re not going to be given the additional time needed to secure the property.”

Mayor Darlene Norman said council is always hesitant to issue a demolition order. But it’s been 14 years and “it is a huge concern to people in the community.

“I do believe the owners are responsible people and they will work with staff to get that building down and get the place cleaned up within 30 days of the date of the order.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Queens council refuses to extend road, won’t build library at recommended location

A road leads to an open green space which is the proposed site for construction of a new library

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

Region of Queens Council has cancelled the construction of a new library near Queens Place.

In a recorded 5-3 vote, Councillors Amirault, Charlton, Fancy, Gidney and Muise voted not to build the library at that location, while Mayor Norman and Councillors Brown and Hawkes voted to go ahead.

The motion was put forward by Councillor Charlton who expressed concerns Council wasn’t consulted about building a new road on the site which would extend the existing driveway to accommodate both the planned long-term care home and the proposed library.

In August 2022 council agreed to sell the land at Queens Crossing (the name of the site containing Queens Place, the Best Western Hotel, the skatepark, the planned long-term care home and the proposed library site) to the Queens Care Society for $2 per square foot.

The 479,000 square feet of land would bring in roughly $960,000, which is about what public works staff estimate it would cost to build a road, sidewalks and water infrastructure out to the end of the cul-de-sac to accommodate the library and long-term care home.

Historically, council has reinvested any proceeds from the sale of land on that site back into infrastructure at Queens Crossing.

Charlton says she supports the construction of a new long-term care home, but council was never asked if they wanted to spend that money and since it isn’t a policy, this council is not bound by the decisions of previous councils.

“We did not discuss a road extension when we agreed to sell the land,” said Charlton. “We were selling the land because it was already serviced for water and sewer to the point where it was required.”

Mayor Darlene Norman says if the municipality doesn’t cover the cost of extending these services it will need to come from the Queens Care Society’s construction budget.

“The whole idea that we would not show our support for this amazing facility is beyond comprehensible to me,” said Norman.

Councillor Vicki Amirault chairs the library site selection committee and voted against the committee’s recommendation.

The committee was tasked by council with finding the best location to build a new library.

The Queens Crossing site was put forth as the committee’s unanimous choice for the new build in June of 2022 but was rejected by council in a 5-3 vote.

In January of this year the committee made the same recommendation which council accepted at that time.

Councillor Amirault was contacted to provide a comment for this story but did not reply before publication.

Council is now looking at options to move the library closer to the Queens Place Emera Centre.

They have requested costed studies for two different library concepts.

One will determine the price of a stand-alone library beside Queens Place; the other would examine building an extension on the Centre.

CAO Chris McNeill told council he was warned by the project manager an extension would be more costly.

McNeill says any extension on Queens Place would have to look at the existing capacity of the building to handle additional demands on electricity, heating and water supply among other issues.

McNeill also informed council the two studies could cost in the range of $200,000.

In the meantime, council is aware of the precarious situation the Thomas H Raddall Library finds itself.

In addition to infrastructure issues the building is currently up for sale.

Council is suggesting the library find alternative locations where they could relocate temporarily until a new permanent location can be built.

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

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On second thought, Queens Council approves library at Queens Place

Sign over windows for the Thomas H Raddall in Liverpool

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.

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

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