Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian speaks to residents before a town hall meeting at the Liverpool Fire Hall on Thursday. (Rick Conrad)

Community safety and downtown development dominated the first of seven town hall meetings held by Queens County councillors.

About 30 people attended the two-hour session at the Liverpool Fire Hall on Thursday evening to hear about council’s plans for the municipality and to ask some questions of their own.

Safety for people of all ages was a big concern.

Some residents said their grandchildren stay away from the Mersey Skatepark at Queens Place Emera Centre because of violence and bullying there. 

Others said they were worried about reckless riding of e-scooters and other vehicles on sidewalks.

And the owner of the Subway restaurant said she and her staff are dealing with problems from some students at the neighbouring Queens Adult High School.

Kim Moulton told councillors that her staff regularly witness drug use in front of the restaurant. She said they’ve called the RCMP, who take the students away but then bring them back. 

“Most times it’s pretty good. And then sometimes, when the new school year starts it starts over again and then we have to put our foot down,” she said in an interview.

“It’s not a very nice sight to sit and eat your lunch when you have a group of people hanging around loitering, smoking, cursing and swearing, spitting. It’s very unsightly.”

Other people told councillors they’re concerned about the lack of enforcement of e-scooters on sidewalks.

Nova Scotia’s Motor Vehicle Act clearly defines limits on e-scooter use, similar to bicycles. But Mayor Scott Christian said that Queens District RCMP have told the municipality that they can’t do anything about people riding them on sidewalks or recklessly on the road.

“Some of the stuff that was raised here, it’s not safe for pedestrians and it’s intimidating for some pedestrians when they have users on electric vehicles bearing down on them,” Christian said after the meeting.

“We see a lot of youth, a lot of young kids, riding these scooters. They’re going quite quick. A lot of them aren’t wearing helmets. Something I’ve raised to the (RCMP) staff sergeant and they’ve identified as something that they need to do some public education around. When we raise it to them they say the municipality has to do their part and get effective bylaws in place as well.”

According to the Motor Vehicle Act, which the RCMP usually enforce, riders of e-scooters or electric kick scooters are supposed to wear helmets at all times, just like users of bicycles and skateboards. They also must ride on the road or in designated bike lanes.

Municipalities can make their own bylaws governing their use, in addition to what’s in provincial legislation.

Region of Queens councillors held the first of seven town hall meetings Thursday evening. (Rick Conrad)

People also raised concerns about the state of downtown Liverpool.

Sylvia Hurley said much of Main Street looks rundown.

“It needs to be revamped,” she said in an interview after the meeting.

“It needs upgrading, those buildings. I mean, you go downtown and look at the old Stedman building. Just look at it. It’s not attractive. It’s not attractive. The old Scotiabank, not attractive. You know, it’s just not welcoming anymore.

“I was born and brought up here and I remember when on Friday or Saturday night you came into town, and there was no place to stand on the sidewalk and talk because there would be other people standing and talking, and you don’t get that anymore.”

Christian and Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton pointed to council’s recent decision to amend the land use bylaw to allow more residential development downtown, specifically at the old Stedman’s site at 194 Main St.

“Coming up with a winning strategy where we can get more vibrancy in the downtown core, that’s a big priority,” Christian said.

For the first part of the meeting, Christian took people through council’s vision for the municipality and the priorities they plan to work on in four areas – governance, economic development, community wellness and environment and infrastructure.

People were asked to choose one part of each of those areas that was most important to them. They could also write suggestions on Post-It notes. The Top 3 concerns appeared to be transparency and accountability, coming up with an economic development plan, and repairing and replacing aging infrastructure. 

Residents said afterward they appreciated the chance to air some of their concerns, though they said they wanted more time to ask questions.

Christian encouraged people to come out to one of the remaining six sessions, to be held over the next week and a half at locations around Queens County.

“I think it’s an opportunity to hear about the direction we’re trying to take the municipality in Queen’s County and then an opportunity to bring your questions forward.

“You want to come out to speak to the issue or ask your question directly to your elected officials, this is your opportunity to do it.”

The town hall meetings are scheduled to run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Here are the dates and locations of upcoming sessions:

• Fri., Oct. 17 – Milton Memorial Hall
• Mon., Oct. 20 – Mersey Point Hall
• Tues., Oct. 21 – West Queens Recreation Centre
• Thurs., Oct. 23 – Greenfield Fire Hall
• Fri., Oct. 24 – Port Medway Fire Hall
• Mon., Oct. 27 – North Queens Fire Hall

More information about the sessions is on the Region of Queens website. Residents can also fill out a survey here.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Region of Queens Council. Photo Region of Queens

The creation of a new police oversight board and rezoning for affordable housing topped the items at the recent Region of Queens Council meeting.

Council was on the road this Tuesday, June 27 at the Greenfield Fire Hall with a relatively light agenda.

Three recommendations came forward.

The first was a $5260 grant to the Privateer Days Commission from the Community Investment Fund. The money will help the Commission offset the $42,080 operational costs for this year’s event.

Next council put forth three names to be considered for the Provincial Volunteer Awards. Each year the Region selects two people for recognition.

In recent years the Region would select names from the Ripple Effect program, a municipal program for the public to recognize the volunteer efforts of others. Despite many requests, no nominations were received this year, so council had to submit names.

Beach Meadows resident Amy MacGowan will receive the award for her work to independently raise money for several community organizations. Notably, in the past year she has raised $35,000. Of that, $27,000 went to assist two local families dealing with cancer diagnoses and another $6,000 was raised to assist those impacted by the recent wildfires in Shelburne County.

The second recipient is Sylvia Hurley from Liverpool. Hurley is active in numerous groups throughout Liverpool including the Victorian Order of Nurses, the K-ettes, Ladies Auxiliary Milton Baptist Church, Hank Snow Tribute, and the Queens County PC Association.

Both women will be recognized at a provincial ceremony planned for September 25.

The final recommendation was to rezone a parcel of land in Liverpool from Lower Density Residential to Multiple Unit Residential. The rezoning is needed to allow the construction of the two proposed buildings along Lawrence Street.

In November 2022, Council sold four parcels of land for a dollar to the Queens Neighbourhood Cooperative Housing Ltd to build 26 units of affordable housing.

The Planning Advisory Committee approved the rezoning at their June 19 meeting.

Now that council has given their blessing, residents will have their say at a public meeting ahead of the August 8 Region of Queens Council meeting. Provided there are no objections, the rezoning will go into effect Aug 31.

Three items were up for discussion.

The first was a Council Implementation report from staff to indicate how several council initiatives are proceeding.

The second was a request to waive tipping fees for a family who recently lost their home in a fire and don’t have the means to pay for disposal of the burnt materials.

Interim CAO Dan McDougall said other municipalities have a compassionate fund to assist people in this situation and suggested Queens could do the same. After discussing the matter, council requested staff come back with a report on how the compassionate fund could work in Queens.

The final item up for discussion was the creation of a Police Advisory Board.

By law, each municipality must have Police Advisory Board.

According to the staff presentation, “…Council has been the governance body acting as the Police Advisory Board with the understanding that this approach had received approval from the Minister of Justice at the time when this practice started. However, written approval from the Minister of Justice (pursuant to section 57(8) of the Police Act) for this governance model has not been located.”

One of the recommendations that came out of the Mass Casualty Commission Report in March was that “Municipalities and the Province of Nova Scotia should ensure that police boards and police advisory boards are fully staffed and performing their governance function.”

The Region of Queens was notified by the Department of Justice in May that they will need to establish a stand-alone Police Advisory Board. Staff are now working to get a board in place by September.

The next Region of Queens Council meeting will be held July 11, beginning at 9:00am in council chambers.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

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