The Region of Queens won’t give the South Shore Flying Club a break this year on its lease fee at the South Shore Regional Airport in Greenfield. (South Shore Flying Club)

The South Shore Flying Club’s request for a break on its rent at the South Shore Regional Airport had a rough landing at regional council on Tuesday evening.

Region of Queens councillors voted down a motion from District 6 Coun. Stewart Jenkins to forgive the flying club its $4,000 lease fee for 2025/26.

Jenkins was the only councillor who supported the motion.

“The club is more than just a club. They’re stewards of the airport,” he told councillors. “Years in the past, this region used to pay somebody thousands of dollars a year to sit at the airport just in case there was a plane come in.”

The municipality owns the small airport in Greenfield, but two years ago, it planned to sell it. 

Instead, the region signed 20-year leases in 2023 with the flying club and the Nova Scotia Drag Racers Association. The racing group pays $9,000 a year to lease the property for its events.

Under the flying club’s lease, it has access to the large hangar, but it also agreed to maintain the property for the region.

The club says now that it can no longer afford the annual fee. President Peter Gow wrote the newly elected council last October looking for the rent waiver.

He could not be reached Wednesday for an interview.

Jenkins said the club’s 34 members spend a lot of their own money maintaining the airport, terminal building, hangars and grounds. Three of the club’s members are also on call to respond to any problems at the airport, or to refuel a plane that’s landed.

“So we still have a viable airport. … But it’s also an asset that this region should be looking at seriously. And it’s also an asset that we pay very little to maintain. Everything else there is done by the club at their expense.”

According to the club’s financial statements, it recorded a loss in 2024 of $2,639.48. As of Dec. 31, it had a bank balance of $15,562.64.

Other councillors pointed to the club’s bank balance and its $25 annual membership fee, and said they could do more to raise revenue.

The club also spent $2,245 on clothing last year, as well as $1,241 on a new highway sign. Councillors said the club likely won’t have those expenses this year.

District 2 Coun. Maddie Charlton said she appreciates what the club does for the airport, but they also have a whole year to fundraise to help cover their costs.

And with budget talks coming up, she said she doesn’t want to commit to the rent waiver, especially with other groups in the region like the Queens County Food Bank asking for help.

“We are going into this budget process right now completely blind. We don’t know what our bottom line is. … I think it’s probably fair to say there will be some surprises there. We know we have huge infrastructure challenges. When I think about our strategic priorities, food insecurity is one of them, I think that would be an easy one (to assist) the food bank with the rent, but I don’t necessarily feel the same way with this ask at this time.”

After the meeting, Mayor Scott Christian said the club may be able to offset some of its operating costs through its application to the region’s Community Investment Fund.

The region usually announces the recipients of those grants later in the spring.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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The South Shore Flying Club maintains the South Shore Regional Airport in Greenfield as part of a lease agreement with the Region of Queens. (South Shore Flying Club Facbook page)

The South Shore Flying Club is looking for a break on its rent at the South Shore Regional Airport.

Peter Gow, president of the non-profit, says his group’s 35 to 40 members maintain the runway, hangars and grounds at the small airport in Greenfield.

“Between the insurance and the annual fee that we pay to the region, it kind of makes it pretty tight to keep operating,” he said in an interview Monday. “We’re just kind of run pretty thin.”

The flying club has asked the Region of Queens, which owns the airport, to waive the annual $4,000 rental fee.

Last October, Gow wrote to the newly elected council to ask for a break on the rent. District 6 Coun. Stewart Jenkins brought up the issue at last week’s council meeting. He asked councillors to support his motion for the rent waiver.

“They also provide a substantial service because they do keep an eye on the aiport, they clean it, they maintain it so that it can be used,” Jenkins told council last Tuesday.

“The problem is their limited revenue stream. Unlike other users of the airport, they don’t have 500 or 1,000 people coming to watch an event that pay money. It’s a small club with limited revenues.”

Two years ago, the region was on the verge of selling the airport. But after public backlash, municipal councillors decided to hold onto it. 

In spring 2023, the flying club and the Nova Scotia Drag Racers Association agreed to 20-year leases with the region.

Under the flying club’s lease, it has access to the large hangar, but it also agreed to maintain the property for the region. The drag racers have use of the small hangar.

“It was either we more or less agree to that or we don’t have an airport,” Gow says. “So we begrudgingly agreed to the lease with that stipulation that we would run it.”

Gow says the club has a few fundraising events each year, but it can’t sustain itself if it has to pay the rent on top of its annual $6,500 insurance bill.

“We try to do what we can here and there but everything is so expensive as everybody knows. It’s just kind of a bit of struggle. It just seems a bit odd that we pay a fee to operate the region’s facility.”

Gow said the small airport could help attract new residents to Queens County.

“We feel it’s very important. You take what’s going on around the world now, south of the border. Some of our American neighbours may consider moving to the area and that might be one of the things they look for — is there a viable airport there for someone who might have a small plane. It could make the difference between somebody moving to the South Shore and not.”

Last week, councillors said they were supportive of Jenkins’s motion, but voted to defer it to their next meeting on March 25 so they could get a look at the club’s financial statements.

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Campaign contribution disclosure forms are missing from the Region of Queens website for some candidates in October’s municipal election. (Rick Conrad)

Mayor Scott Christian got the most campaign contributions of any candidate in October’s municipal election in Queens County.

He received just under $10,000 ($9976.44) from 49 declared donors, some of whom are local small business owners and landlords.

The biggest donation to Christian’s campaign was $1,000 from Chad Clothier, who co-owns Rumclo Developments. They’re behind the already approved housing development The Point on the Mersey. They plan to build up to 146 detached houses and townhouses, as well as 82 rental apartments just outside Liverpool.

• CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS: Use this link to view breakdown by candidate

Christian told QCCR he believes his campaign raised just over $10,000 in total, including small donations that don’t have to be declared.

“I’m really proud of the amount of money that my team was able to fundraise and it did come from a pretty diverse swath of people. There were a lot of dribs and drabs contributions as well. I think my biggest contribution was $1,000 and my smallest contribution I think was a toonie.”

Christian said Clothier is a friend. He said he and his team began fundraising early, seeking donations first from the people they know, including personal and business connections.

“It shouldn’t come as a suprise to anyone who knows me that a lot of my social network includes a lot of people who are members of the business community. … I didn’t shy away from the notion that I was a ‘grow Queens’ candidate.”

Former Queens MLA Kerry Morash and former Region of Queens mayor Chris Clarke also contributed to Christian’s run.

Clarke gave $250 to Christian and to his opponent Terry Doucette.

Doucette declared $2,550 in donations from seven donors. The largest were $1,000 each from J. M. Reynolds Pharmacy, the company that owns Reynolds Pharmasave in Liverpool, and Mitchell Nauss of construction and consulting company MC Nauss Holdings.

Under Nova Scotia’s Municipal Elections Act, candidates had 60 days after the Oct. 19 election to file their contribution disclosure statements, even if they accepted no donations.

Everybody who runs must declare any donations over $50, or check a box confirming that they received no contributions.

Failure to do that can result in a fine of up to $2,500 or six months in jail.

Also, if candidates don’t submit a disclosure form, they forfeit their $200 deposit.

Disclosure statements from only 11 of the 19 candidates are posted on the Region of Queens website. Christian and Doucette were among the candidates who filed their disclosures on time. All other councillors except Jack Fancy met the deadline.

When QCCR recently asked Fancy about it, his disclosure form was posted the next week. He had no contributions over $50 to declare.

The region says all forms that were submitted have been posted. 

QCCR reached out to the candidates whose forms are missing. Those who could be contacted said they had no contributions to declare, but said they filed the necessary paperwork with returning officer Ian Kent.

Kent is an employee with Elections Nova Scotia, who was seconded to the municipality for the election. He could not be reached for comment.

Paul Deveau, who ran against Fancy in October’s election, said he filed the necessary paperwork and got his deposit back. But his disclosure form is not on the site.

“That’s kind of weird because I found it very professional and I found that Ian took his job quite seriously,” Deveau said.

“We had an exit meeting. And with the exit meeting, we had to return the voter list … and sign a declaration that we were going to remove all of our signs and we had to fill out that contribution sheet.”

Most candidates contacted said they were told they had to submit a campaign contribution disclosure form.

But some said they either couldn’t remember what forms they signed after the election or they didn’t submit a form because they had no donations to declare.

Candidate Gil Johnson said he got his deposit back, so he thought he did everything that was required.

“The reason I didn’t file was because I didn’t receive any contributions and didn’t know I needed to check the box.”

Coun. Stewart Jenkins, who was acclaimed in his district, said returning officer Kent had a checklist of the things he was required to submit.

“I was told to file a form, which I did, even though I didn’t have any contributions to claim,” Jenkins said.

A spokesman for the Department of Municipal Affairs said in an email that it’s up to the municipality to make sure candidates comply.

“It is the municipality’s responsibility to address situations where an elected municipal official is not in compliance with requirements surrounding disclosure statements, and the province expects candidates to comply.”

Under the Municipal Elections Act, the municipal clerk is supposed to keep track of all documents related to the election.

Mayor Scott Christian told QCCR he asked about the missing documentation and was told by now former municipal clerk Pam Lovelace that everything that was submitted to the region has been posted to their website.

He said he was unsure why not all forms are posted, though he added that the region’s deputy returning officer has been on leave for some time. 

Here is a list of the candidates whose campaign contribution disclosure forms aren’t posted yet to the Region of Queens website:

• Candice Weagle
• Douglas Bent
• Susan MacLeod
• Star Donovan
• Paul Deveau
• Alex Gallagher
• Tina Brown
• Gil Johnson

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Pam Lovelace, a former Halifax councillor and mayoral candidate, is no longer the Region of Queens municipal clerk. (Facebook)

The Region of Queens has dismissed another top staff member, just three months after she was hired.

Pam Lovelace got the job as the region’s municipal clerk in early December. 

Interim CAO Dan McDougall would not comment on Lovelace’s firing because it’s a personnel matter. He said the municipality “will work towards filling the municipal clerk position”.

Mayor Scott Christian also wouldn’t comment on her departure.

“I wish Pam all the best and what comes next for her professionally. I thank her for her contributions that she made to the Region of Queens for the time that she spent with us, both as municipal clerk and acting cao. Beyond that, it’s personnel, it’s not really the realm of council.”

Vaughn Mullen first reported Lovelace’s termination on his Social Politics social media channels on Wednesday.

Lovelace is a former Halifax regional councillor, who placed third in the 2024 Halifax mayoral race.

Then-CAO Cody Joudry hired her, just two weeks before he was fired himself by regional council. Christian said at the time that Joudry wasn’t the right fit with the newly elected council.

After Joudry was fired in mid-December, council appointed Lovelace acting CAO. She did that job until the region hired Dan McDougall as interim CAO in mid-January.

In a news release announcing her appointment as acting CAO, the region said Lovelace “brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise … with more than 20 years experience in the public sector.”

“Council of the Region of Queens Municipality is confident that Ms. Lovelace is the right person to guide the municipality during this transition period.”

QCCR asked Christian if he was surprised by Lovelace’s dismissal.

“No. I have a close working relationship with the CAO and it was something that had evolved in terms of Pam’s role in the organization and the time that she spent here. No, I wasn’t surprised.”

At last Tuesday’s council meeting, Lovelace was still on the job. She presented a progress report on the region’s Dismantling Racism and Hate Plan.

Lovelace could not be reached for comment.

Before Lovelace was hired, the region had been without a full-time municipal clerk for more than a year. Christian said he and the rest of council are working with interim CAO McDougall to figure out how to structure that job, or whether to create a deputy CAO position.

But he said nothing’s been decided yet.

In the meantime, the search for a full-time CAO continues. Christian said the region has received more than 10 applications in the week since it was posted on various job sites.

“We’re not going to rush it, we’re going to be deliberate and intentional about it. If thorugh this first round, it doesn’t yield the right-fit candidate then we may explore using a recruitment agency or something like that. But so far so good. Pretty encouraged by the quantity and the quality of the applications the we’ve received on the job ad thus far.”

He said council decided to save time and money by not using a professional recruiting firm. 

Christian, Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton and councillors Courtney Wentzell and Stewart Jenkins are on the CAO search committee, with McDougall providing advice.

Christian acknowledged there’s been some upheaval in the region’s ranks since the new council was elected in October.

“It’s tumultuous obviously, it invites uncertainty and it’s destabilizing when you have major shifts in the senior leadership. That’s why it’s really important to find the right person for this next role to provide some stability.”

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ATVs ride in the Privateer Days Parade last summer on the Liverpool waterfront. (Rick Conrad)

The Region of Queens took the first step this week to allowing off-highway vehicles on some municipal roads, but ATV groups say they want to see a timeline for when it will happen.

Councillors voted on Tuesday evening to form an advisory committee to look at what needs to be in place to create the first part of a connected road trail network. 

That would go from West Street, near the municipal administration building and hook up with the multi-use Trestle Trail at various points to Bristol Avenue near the grocery stores and the Hank Snow Hometown Museum.

The Queens County ATV Association and the Queens Rails to Trails group have been lobbying the region since July 2023, shortly after the Nova Scotia government passed the Road Trails Act. That allows off-highway vehicles on provincial and municipal roads, with certain conditions.

Coun. Stewart Jenkins said it’s time the region acted.

“I think this is an important part of the tourism and recreation of Queens County and that we shouldn’t delay this because it seems like it’s been going on for a while,” he said at Tuesday’s council meeting.

“I think we should get a move on it. The committee sounds like the right way to go with it. Start moving forward with it so that the ATV association and the users can make use of a good thing.”

Groups lobbying for the connected network say it could generate millions in economic activity for Liverpool businesses and would allow users to travel more easily from Lunenburg to Queens to Shelburne counties.

Dave White, president of the Queens County ATV Association, told QCCR that it’s good to have some movement from council.

He said his group and others have spent more $250,000 last year alone, maintaining 70 kilometres of trails in the county.

“It’s exciting to hear that they’ve actually made a commitment to have a committee look at it and hopefully that moves forward in a timely fashion. We would have liked to have heard a time commitment on that,” he said.

“The road trails act that came out two years ago provided a unique opportunity to make these connections. So when we look at our neighbouring municipalities and towns, so Shelburne, Digby, Barrington, Yarmouth have already done this, we don’t want to be left behind.”

The region’s committee will include staff, a member of council and representatives from ATV groups and local businesses.

It will look at costs, community engagement, any required upgrades to infrastructure and what should be in a bylaw or policy for road trails.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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The Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool will reopen on Saturday. (Rick Conrad)

UPDATED Feb. 21, 2:17 p.m.

The Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool is finally ready to welcome patrons to its new location.

It will reopen for full service on Saturday (Feb. 22) at 10 a.m. The library will be open six days a week and closed on Mondays.

The interim location at 54 Harley Umphrey Dr. is in the call centre building off White Point Road.

The branch has been closed since Dec. 15, when staff packed up the library’s collection to prepare for the move from downtown Liverpool.

Ashley Nunn-Smith, the CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries, told QCCR that she can’t wait for people to see the space.

“Very exciting. I know it’s been a long wait, longer than we had hoped but we are ready and we are ready to open,” Nunn-Smith said.

“People will be genuinely happy to see inside. There’s a lot of cozy chairs and nooks for reading. But really, the space is so much more than just the books. You can come in and warm up from the cold, you can chat with the staff, you can attend programs, so we’re really excited to be able to offer all of the services again.”

The lease at the former location on Old Bridge Street was due to expire at the end of December. So the Region of Queens decided to put the library, on an interim basis, in the municipally owned Liverpool Business Development Centre off White Point Road.

The region budgeted up to $1.26 million for renovations to the space.

Many residents were concerned that it’s not easy to walk to, with no sidewalks and limited lighting.

Queens County Transit and the South Shore Public Libraries have teamed up to offer free transportation from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Thursday from the farmers market location on the Liverpool waterfront to Harley Umphrey Drive.

The Raddall family has agreed to allow the library to continue to use the Raddall name for five years because they’ve been assured by the region that the municipality is working on finding a permanent, central location for a new, purpose-built library.

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One of the trucks from the Greenfield and District Volunteer Fire Department that went off the road on Sunday en route to fighting a fire near White Point. (Greenfield and District Volunteer Fire Department Facebook page)

The Greenfield and District Volunteer Fire Department may have lost two trucks on Sunday to icy roads near White Point, but its firefighters still helped battle a house fire.

Chief Moyal Conrad described the dangerous driving conditions he had to deal with as his crews responded to a call for help from the Liverpool Fire Department.

“We left here. It was a sunny day. There was no snow in the air. The closer we got to Liverpool, the snow was coming down. Reports were the house was fully involved and the roads were treacherous. I was driving the first truck for Greenfield. The road was really, really slippery. The first turn we almost didn’t make. I went in about a couple hundred yards and stopped and rethought my choices. We were only hundreds of yards away from the scene, so we proceeded very, very cautiously. Every turn we tried to make, the truck had a mind of itself.

“The front tires would not steer at all. Every time we went towards the ditch until we hit the hard crushed snow and it bounced back on. … There was a downhill turn at the end and as we were going down the hill, she just kept sliding, sliding, sliding and she just got to the edge and all of a sudden the front tires caught the hard snow and bounced back on the road. When it did that, it slingshot my ass end then my truck into the ditch. It put a brand new 2023, million-dolar truck into the ditch.”

Conrad was in the truck with his son Brandon, who is also the deputy chief. The chief says he’s grateful they escaped unhurt.

“I was basically holding on to him saying, ‘Oh my god, we’re going off, Brandon.’ It’s a very sickly feeling when you have no control of what you’re driving.”

The other tanker truck from Greenfield that went off the road on Sunday in icy conditions. (Greenfield and District Volunteer Fire Department)

Firefighters from Liverpool, Greenfield, North Queens, Port Medway and Mill Village responded to the blaze off the White Point Road on Sunday. That was during a freezing rain warning, which made already slick side roads in the area even more dangerous.

Conditions were so bad that a salt truck also ended up in the ditch.

The Greenfield department sent two tankers. Soon after Conrad’s truck left the road, another tanker from Greenfield coming the other way also slid off the road and landed on its side.

Nobody was injured in either case. And two of the crewmembers from the second truck walked to the scene and spent the rest of the day helping fight the fire, even though it was difficult to stand on the icy roads.

“And they fought fire for the rest of the afternoon and the evening and our rescue truck come along with four other firefighters that made it to the scene and they were on scene fighting fire all afternoon, all evening.”

Conrad says the truck he was driving was a newer model the department bought in 2023. He believes that one can be fixed. The other tanker was an older model from 2017 that was extensively damaged and will probably have to be replaced.

A new tanker truck costs about $1.2 million, he said.

He said he hopes insurance will help cover the costs of repairs and replacement. And there may be some money available through the Region of Queens, which provides up to $425,000 over 10 years for new equipment.

But any insurance payout will cover only what the department paid for the truck, not its replacement cost, Conrad said. So, the fire department could still be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Most of that would have to be raised through the volunteer firefighters’ fundraising efforts like community breakfasts or the Nova Scotia Firefighters 50/50 draw.

“We need to think a lot of things out,” Conrad says. “Queens County doesn’t have a big tax base. We do not have a lot of money to work with. We do a lot of fundraising just to keep the lights on. We have to flip a lot of eggs sometimes in order to buy these trucks.” 

Conrad says they get about $80,000 a year from the Region of Queens to help run the department, half of which goes to keep the hall open. 

“That does not buy equipment, that does not train my men. All that stuff is done by the great people of this county when the fire departments put out their hands (for fundraising) … If it wasn’t for the fundraising, us out here in the country, it makes it hard to be able to purchase stuff. We had a truck plan and that truck plan has gone right out the window at the moment.”

Even so, he said he’s hopeful that things will work out.

“On a good note, in the last two days, I’ve taken a ton of calls and emails from people who want to help out. I just got a message from a fire chief in Prince Edward Island who wants to help us out.”

And he said the neighbouring North Queens Fire Association has loaned them one of their older tankers. So, he said the Greenfield department is still able to respond to fire or medical emergencies.

“We’re not defeated yet. We have the gear and we have the trucks. Members are keen. I don’t want to take away from anybody else’s fundraising, but think of us the next time we have a breakfast or something and come out and help us out.”

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The Main and Market intersection in downtown Liverpool will be the subject of a traffic study by CBCL. (Rick Conrad file photo)

The Region of Queens will spend about $24,000 to do a traffic study of a downtown Liverpool intersection that has seen its share of collisions and close calls.

Last January, a 79-year-old woman was taken to hospital after being struck in the crosswalk at the intersection of Main and Market streets.

That reignited concern in the community about safety at the three-way stop.

Adam Grant, the region’s director of infrastructure, told council this week the intersection regularly has peak traffic volumes of 200 to 250 vehicles.

“Going back over the last year, we had lots of conversations regarding this intersection. Council’s concerns over the safety of it to pedestrian and motorists alike. We’ve been back and forth a few different times with reports, different analysis, different investigation.”

The previous council asked on Oct. 8 to issue a call for proposals for a traffic study of the area.

Grant said engineering firm CBCL could begin that work as early as Feb. 17. It will include looking at this intersection and others nearby, and installing cameras to monitor traffic and pedestrian movement. The firm will also interview pedestrians and motorists and use modelling software, and itt will look at projected traffic loads in the area.

He said it will be a broader study than one the region commissioned in 2015 from Insight Traffic Engineering.

Coun. Maddie Charlton said that many of the incidents seem to occur in one particular crosswalk, which runs from the post office to Five Girls Baking. 

“There have been numerous pedestrians struck on one crosswalk in particular in this area with the most recent being the worst. Luckily, the woman who was struck survive. But it is an ongoing issue, and … although there haven’t been an insane amount of pedestrians hit, I think one is too many. And so we need to address that.

“I’m uncertain about this study in one sense, because I don’t know if it’s going to solve the problem that we want it to solve. … I’m curious why we couldn’t just remove that crosswalk in that specific area, given that there are other substantial crosswalks in that area.”

Grant said he’s not a traffic expert and he’s unsure whether that would be the best solution. 

“I’m by far a traffic expert and I think that this study is a good investment to assure that we have a path forward to provide the paramount safety at that intersection. 

“Every leg of an intersection is considered a crosswalk. Where you have increased pedestrian movement, you delineate that by putting a sign up or painting it. I’m not aware of anywhere that would have a prohibited crosswalk from occurring. So I think to do something like that, we need to to go beyond who we have in this room to make that decision (and) provide some advice and do it cautiously to make sure that we’re getting the right solution, trying to solve the problem we understand.”

In his report, Grant detailed 36 reported incidents in the area from 2009 to 2024, according to information provided by the Nova Scotia government.

Five of those involved pedestrians being hit by cars in the crosswalk. Other pedestrians have reported or witnessed near-collisions at that intersection.

Grant said the main focus of the study will be how to improve pedestrian safety in that intersection.

Mayor Scott Christian said he understands Charlton’s desire to address the issue as quickly as possible.

“Certainly we want to be well informed with respect to making the decisions, certainly don’t want to drag our feet on it. I know that this was something that was batted about a bit in the past, and it is a priority concern to be addressed for public safety.”

The study will be funded from the region’s accumulated surplus of $6 million. Grant said the company could report back to council as early as May.

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Tony Flint, a resident of Bristol Avenue in Liverpool, speaks to Region of Queens councillors on Tuesday about a proposed 24-unit apartment building on his street. (Region of Queens YouTube channel)

Residents of Bristol Avenue in Liverpool say they’ve lost faith in Region of Queens councillors after a bungled vote on a controversial proposed development.

A 24-unit apartment building is planned for the area, which is the main thoroughfare into and out of downtown Liverpool.

Residents say the development is too big for the neighbourhood. They say the population could triple in an area with only a two-lane street, one sidewalk, and already hectic traffic.

When the development was approved by staff last July, residents submitted a petition and filed an appeal.

Councillors heard the appeal on Tuesday during their regular council meeting. As part of that process, the appellant and the developer can make their cases to council.

Developer Larry Cochrane was at the meeting, but left before the appeal was heard.

Resident Tony Flint told councillors that congestion and noise will only get worse if the apartments are built. He and other residents are also concerned about pedestrian safety and the ability for emergency vehicles to get to the new building.

“So all of a sudden you have a massive influx of people in an already very busy street,” he said. “I think that looking at the drawing, the developer probably tries to do as much as he can with the available space, but it’s really, really cramped.”

Mike MacLeod, the region’s director of land use, said no traffic studies were completed or required as part of the process. He said Cochrane met the requirements of the Land Use Bylaw.

Councillors debated a motion to deny the appeal and allow the development to go ahead.

At first, a majority of councillors voted 4-3 not to reject the residents’ appeal. But then, council took a break. After discussion among the mayor, councillors and the interim CAO, they returned.

Mayor Scott Christian said that a councillor was confused by the motion.

“At least one member of the council didn’t understand the way that they were voting with respect to that motion,” Christian told the meeting as Bristol Avenue residents watched.

“I’ll ask for your forgiveness. I’ll just try to be transparent here. We have four of the seven of us are new. I myself am a new chair here. I want to circle back on that motion to make sure that it’s 100 per cent clear for the council with respect to what they’re voting for or against.”

So they voted again. Three councillors — Jack Fancy, Wanda Carver and Stewart Jenkins — changed their vote to deny the appeal after all.

Coun. Courtney Wentzell was the only vote against rejecting the appeal.

After the meeting, Bristol Avenue resident Janet Perry was visibly upset.

“I’m disappointed and I don’t understand the two separate (votes). We had the motion, it was defeated. They go out and change their minds. I think it’s totally unfair.

“I’ve lost faith in council and the process that we went through.”

Resident Roger Wilcox said the process to approve new developments is flawed.

“The town has a problem because of this development procedure that’s inadequate. (They’re) scared of being sued. … That’s why they changed their vote.”

Flint said he’s worried about someone being injured or killed because of the increased traffic. And he worries that council doesn’t care.

“It means that regardless of the possible dangers to the public, they’re just pushing it ahead anyway. Certain people are friends with certain people and that’s the way it works.”

Developer Cochrane is the treasurer of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce. His wife is the vice-president. The chamber’s president is Ashley Christian, who is married to Mayor Scott Christian.

The mayor told QCCR after the meeting that he wasn’t in a conflict.

“From my perspective, I don’t feel there’s a conflict of interest. Certainly if residents feel that there is, I’d be happy to speak to that or think about it. To be honest, … my wife’s involvement with the chamber of commerce or Larry’s involvement with the chamber of commerce would have no bearing on my decision-making process or procedural approach to handling that situation.”

During the appeal, some councillors appeared to sympathize with residents’ concerns, especially about traffic and safety. But Christian said they were handcuffed by provisions in the municipality’s land use bylaw.

“The challenge is that legally we really are bound to the municipal planning strategy and land use bylaws.”

Barring another council reversal, the way is now clear for the four-story apartment building to go ahead.

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A few final touches and the Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool will be ready to open at its new interim location. (Rick Conrad)

UPDATED THURSDAY, 9:55 A.M.

The library in Liverpool is close to reopening, but a few things have to be ironed out first.

Ashley Nunn-Smith, CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries, told QCCR on Wednesday that a final fire inspection has to be done, and internet issues have to be addressed. 

“The construction work itself is finished. Books are on the shelves. We are waiting on a few very key things. … Once those are resolved, any day now I hope to be able to open.”

The Thomas H. Raddall branch has been closed since Dec. 15, when staff packed up the library’s collection to prepare for the move from downtown Liverpool to a building about 1.5 kilometres away. 

The lease at the former location was due to expire at the end of December. So the Region of Queens decided to put the library, on an interim basis, in the municipally owned Liverpool Business Development Centre off White Point Road.

The region budgeted up to $1.26 million for renovations to the space. 

Many residents were concerned that it’s not easy to walk to, with no sidewalks and limited lighting.

Queens County Transit and the South Shore Public Libraries have teamed up to offer free transportation from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Thursday from downtown Liverpool to the new location.

“If it’s really successful, I’m sure we can talk about expanding it,” Nunn-Smith said. “We could potentially look at adding other times or other days of the week.”

Nunn-Smith says she empathizes with library patrons who can’t wait for the branch to reopen.

“I know everyone’s really excited to get inside and to have a library in their own community again. We had hoped to be open by now. … We’re really excited to welcome the patrons back in too.”

Nunn-Smith said the new location will keep the Thomas H. Raddall name, after Raddall’s family were assured that regional council is committed to finding a more central, permanent location. 

The municipality’s library steering committee had recommended that a new library be built near Queens Place Emera Centre, close to downtown Liverpool. Raddall’s grandson Tom was the honorary chairman of that committee, but resigned after councillors twice rejected the committee’s recommendations.

Councillors decided last February to move the library to the new interim location instead. 

“With the new council, I feel the attitude has changed,” Nunn-Smith says.

“I’ve met with the mayor and Coun. (Courtney) Wentzell who is on the library board. And they too agree that a true community hub should be at the centre of the community where the people are. And so with that in mind and all of us being aligned, the library board, the Raddall family and the council on the direction of the library, it seems like a positive turn.

“So because of that, Tom Raddall … has agreed to retain the Thomas H. Raddall Library name for another five years.”

Nunn-Smith said she believes “the best case scenario” would be five to seven years before a brand new library could be built.

Despite the delays in reopening in the interim location, she says she believes patrons will enjoy the new space.

It’s bigger and brighter, with a large expandable program room as well as a community kitchen. It’s also fully accessible. 

And it will feature raised garden beds outside, thanks to funding from the Nova Scotia government.

“I love the inside of the space. It’s wonderful. And even the green space directly outside of the library is going to be great too.

“The programming spaces are outstanding. I would love to have such programming spaces in our other locations. … It’s going to be our first branch with a community kitchen, so we can run cooking programs and other types of baking and cooking demonstrations. It’s just going to be wonderful.”

Nunn-Smith said she hopes the Thomas H. Raddall Library is back in business in a few days. 

But regardless, a grand reopening is planned for Sat., April 5.

“So a ribbon cutting and story times and music and some cake, that type of big celebration day, so that everyone who hasn’t checked it out yet can come and celebrate the new space with us.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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