Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton chaired the Dec. 19 special council meeting on the capital budget. (Region of Queens YouTube)

Region of Queens councillors had some tough questions for senior staff on Friday afternoon as they pored over their five-year, $57-million capital budget.

Elected officials were concerned about the timeline for water and sewer improvements in Liverpool as part of the $26-million Mount Pleasant extension.

They also wanted to know more about projects like the South Queens Outdoor Pool and planned upgrades at the Astor Theatre. And there were concerns about the municipality’s long-term debt.

District 3 Coun. Courtney Wentzell returned to an issue he’s brought up before about extending water and wastewater services to the Mount Pleasant area to connect two planned housing developments to the system. That project is supported with $10.7 million in provincial funding.

“With the loss of treatable water and with us … hiking the water rates, and then going ahead and starting a project to send transmissible water up Mount Pleasant Street before you fix the issue down here on (the west side of) town, … it does not make sense to me, and it never will. 28/29 before you fix the problem? No.”

The region’s current plan calls for $9.7 million in work to begin this coming year to run new water mains to the Mount Pleasant area and upgrade existing infrastructure en route. Work on other, older parts of the system is now scheduled to begin in 2028/29. The end date to finish the overall project has been pushed to 2032/2033, from the original finish date of 2028/29.

But with South Queens Water Utility reporting more than 60 per cent of its treated water lost through leaks in the system, Wentzell says he wants to see older pipes, like the lines and laterals from Roy Turner Road to Union Street, fixed first.

“Isn’t this all one big project now?” Wentzell asked.

“
Isn’t this all just one project or is the Mount Pleasant exchange separate getting up to Dauphinee Farms than the rest of Liverpool? I’m lost. I’m trying to expedite and get the old infrastructure fixed before we start driving pressureless water up a hill.”

Adam Grant, the region’s director of infrastructure, said the contracts are already awarded for the work to Mount Pleasant. And he said fixing one line won’t solve all their water woes.

“I wouldn’t expect to see 60 per cent of it be in that one segment of line. As we know, it’s spread throughout the town. 
So if we accomplish 10 per cent, we should be satisfied. I don’t want to set false expectations that replacing that transmission main, it’s gonna save all of our beans that are falling out of our basket.”

Councillors asked staff to return in January with options to expedite upgrades to older water and sewer lines in Liverpool.

District 6 Coun. Stewart Jenkins questioned Grant and Finance Director Joanne Veinotte about cost overruns at the $8-million South Queens Outdoor Pool.

Veinotte said that in trying to keep the project on budget, some details were missed like the $150,000 wraparound concrete bleachers.

“How can you miss $150,000 of cement bleachers?” Jenkins said. “I don’t understand it.”

Grant said many different departments rushed to finalize the pool design for tender. And some things were overlooked.

CAO Willa Thorpe, who was not with the municipality when council approved the pool plan, said that won’t happen again. 

“When we, as an organization, make hasty decisions on major projects, these are how items like this get missed,” she told councillors.

“So if we were to explore a project of this magnitude again in future, staff will take a different approach.”

Jenkins also wondered why the region is planning to spend about $5 million on heating, cooling and accessibility upgrades at the municipally owned Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre, home of the Astor Theatre.

“I can’t believe we’re going to spend $5.4 million, when we have poverty, and we have leaking pipes, and we have everything else to spend money on, but we’re going to spend $5.4 million, for something that is not used by very many people in Queens County, and many of them have never been inside. So I think we should be considering that in our budget deliberations.”

Other councillors said the municipality has put off necessary upgrades at the Astor for a while. They said the facility is used well now and it could be used more with a modern HVAC system. It’s currently limited in what it can offer in warmer months because there’s no air conditioning.

Councillors also asked staff for a list of how the $10.2-million accumulated surplus will be spent. If they approve the current capital plan, that surplus is projected to drop to $1.7 million by 2031. 

And if they approve the proposed five-year capital plan, they’d also be voting to rack up the region’s long-term debt to $26 million by 2032.

Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton, who chaired the meeting because Mayor Scott Christian was away, said council is heading in the right direction.

And she said residents can participate in the budget process by filling out a survey on the region’s website here: https://www.regionofqueens.com/budget-engagement.

“And so you can say what’s working well, what’s not working well,” Charlton told QCCR. “Recognizing we have financial implications. we can’t do everything, but I think if we hear from people and there’s overarching themes or gaps and things that we’re missing, then it really positions council to make decisions about those items moving forward.”

Councillors will be back on Jan. 13 to vote on the capital budget.

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Region of Queens Municipality administration building. (Rick Conrad photo)

Region of Queens councillors will discuss the municipality’s five-year, $50-million capital budget on Friday afternoon.

The region is getting an earlier start on its budget talks this year. The plan is to approve the capital spending estimates by January so that tenders can be issued earlier in the year to get work started more quickly.

While some projects are under budget, like renovations for the library space at the Liverpool Business Development Centre and the upgrades at Beach Meadows Beach, others are running over.

For example, staff are reporting funding shortfalls with the $8-million South Queens Outdoor Pool. Overall cost overruns are estimated at about $150,000, with just over $4 million in costs to date.

The expansion of water and wastewater services to the Mount Pleasant area is running a little behind schedule and over original budget estimates.

The project, which was initially projected to cost about $22 million, is now expected to cost $26 million.

Councillors will discuss the capital budget in a special council meeting on Friday at 3 p.m. at council chambers on White Point Road.

The Region of Queens Water Utility has proposed increasing water rates by more than 100 per cent. (Bluewater Sweden via Unsplash)

Hearing dates have been set for the Region of Queens water rate hike application, as customers brace for their costs to double.

Joanne Veinotte, the region’s director of finance, told councillors in June that the water utility needs to bring revenue in line with costs immediately. The Region of Queens Water Utility’s 1,233 customers in Liverpool and Brooklyn bear the costs of the service.

“These increases translate to an average annual increase of 106 per cent in the initial year, 3.8 in Year 2 and 2.7 in Year 3,” she said.

“Over the last several years, the utility has struggled operationally with staffing, and the treatment plant was heavily damaged in July 2023 during a severe thunderstorm that destroyed a large amount of sensitive and expensive instrumentation and equipment at the site.”

The Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board has scheduled a public hearing for Thurs., Oct. 9 at 10:30 a.m. in council chambers on White Point Road.

An evening session starting at 6 is also scheduled if it’s needed.

People can speak at the hearing, but they must register with the board by Sept. 17. Residents can also send written comments to the clerk of the board at PO Box 1692, Unit M, Halifax, NS B3J 3S3, by email at board@novascotia.ca, or by fax at 902-424-3919. The deadline for written submissions is also Sept. 17.

People can request formal standing as an intervenor in the hearing. That allows you to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses. The deadline for applications for intervenor status is Aug. 22.

The region hired consultants G.A. Isenor and Blaine Rooney to prepare its water rate study for the regulatory board.

They found that the water utility will rack up a deficit of just over $1 million by the end of 2025/26, if rates don’t increase immediately. That shortfall will swell to $3.344 million by 2027/28 without higher charges.

For residential customers, the average quarterly bill is now $82.61. That could rise to $169.66 this year, $174.63 in 2026/27 and $177.39 in 2027/28.

The average customer currently pays $330.44 a year. If the rate hikes are approved, that will rise to $678.64 annually in the first year and $709.56 after three years. 

The annual fire protection charge paid by the municipality, currently $201,531, could increase by 99.3 per cent to $401,599 for 2025/26, $495,931cfor 2026/27 and $503,625 for 2027/28.

Queens water customers had to endure an almost nine-week boil water order in summer 2023. That was after a lightning strike heavily damaged the water treatment plant.

The region gave a one-time 70 per cent discount on water bills, after public demand.

This time, though, customers likely won’t get a break from significant increases to their water bills.

The region claimed in a news release in June that its customers pay the lowest rates in Nova Scotia. 

The new rates would put it in line with the Town of Lunenburg, but higher than the Town of Bridgewater and the Cape Breton region.

Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian said comparing rates in Queens to other municipalities isn’t as straightforward as it seems.

“This proposed change to the rate, it brings us into alignment with a lot of ‘like’ municipalities, a lot of our neighbouring municipalities who have water utility systems. So I think that is important to understand what we look like in comparison to a lot of the other municipal units around us.”

The regulatory and appeals board has the power to set rates as requested, order a lower increase or an even higher one.

You can read the documents filed with the region’s water rate application on the Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board website here, by entering M12363 in the field to go directly to the matter.

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Kim Masland, Queens MLA and Nova Scotia’s public works minister, announces $10.7 million in provincial funding for a $21.5-million water and sewer expansion that gives the green light to two new housing developments in the Liverpool area. (Rick Conrad)

The Nova Scotia government and the Region of Queens are teaming up on a $21.5-million project to extend and improve water and sewer services in the Liverpool area.

Queens MLA Kim Masland on Monday announced $10.7 million in provincial funding to expand water and wastewater service to the Mount Pleasant area. The region will pitch in $10.8 million. 

The project means that two new private housing developments will go ahead on more than 60 acres of land. About 325 new housing units will be built for up to 1,200 people. It will be a mix of sold and rented space. About a third of those units could be affordable housing.

Masland, who is also Nova Scotia’s public works minister, made the announcement at the region’s municipal offices in Liverpool on behalf of John Lohr, the minister of municipal affairs and housing. 

“We need this funding, we know our community’s growing, we certainly need affordable and more housing stock within our community,” she said in an interview after the announcement.

“We’re attracting people to our community every day, there are med professionals that want to come here. This is a great project. This will allow us to build more houses.”

Masland said a municipal housing needs assessment found that Queens County needs 555 more housing units by the end of 2027. She said it’s difficult to recruit health care staff to move to the area if there’s nowhere to live.

“We need people building faster. We need homes up, we need places for people to live. We are in a housing crisis in the province and we’re going to do whatever we can to make sure we can help.”

The funding will also improve existing water and sewer services to more than 1,200 homes and businesses in the area, and help improve the amount of water available for firefighting efforts.

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman emphasized that the funding will do more than help developers build new homes.

She said the current infrastructure is at or over capacity. The project will improve service for residents in Liverpool, Brooklyn and Milton.

“There are some really crucial repairs that need to be made to our system, so it can expand in all directions. This is not case-specific for specific people.”

The provincial portion of the funding comes from the $102-million Municipal Capital Growth Program. The region applied in December for the funding.

Norman said the region’s finance staff are working now to figure out how the municipal portion will be funded. The region is currently working on its 2024/25 budget.

Adam Grant, the region’s director of engineering and public works, said Monday he hopes the work will be finished in 24 to 36 months.

“So work is already underway. Following the feasibility study, we’ve migrated into some design work preliminary and that’s underway right now, looking at having designs rolled out in the fall and construction starting in the next 12 months ideally.”

The developers behind the two housing projects said Monday they were excited by the news. They’ve lobbied the municipality for the past few years to extend water and sewer services to those areas.

Both projects are near downtown Liverpool.

Larry Cochrane plans an 87-unit development on the old Dauphinee Farm property near Queens General Hospital, which would include a 24-unit apartment building.

He said he will soon begin the design phase of the project.

“I wish it was faster of course, but we’ll take that because there’s lots of work I need to do to get ready to start a project like this.”

Graham van der Pas is a partner with Rumclo Developments. They plan a three-stage development on about 30 acres of land farther up the road from Cochrane’s project.

“We’re very, very excited. We’ve been lobbying for this for the past two years. So it’s amazing.”

The Rumclo development will feature The Point, which will have 124, two-bedroom homes for sale, The Curve, with 22 three-bedroom townhouses, and Birchwood Gardens, 82 affordable rental apartments. Van der Pas said the affordable rentals will be 80 per cent of the median market rate. A one-bedroom would be about $800 a month, a two-bedroom $1,000 and a three-bedroom would rent for $1,200.

A section of The Curve will also be reserved for staff from Queens General Hospital to rent.

“I think a community like this needs it,” van der Pas said. 

“I think what our developments will bring to the town is … a significant amount of property taxes. The revenue will go up there, the economic revenue of people potentially starting businesses, new patrons for the businesses that are already existing. It’s significant.”

Ashley Christian, president of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce, said she’s happy that such a big investment is being made in Queens.

“We have been advocating through the chamber of commerce for more housing for a couple of years. So we’re so excited to see this huge investment, especially made by the municipality, really impressed by that.”

Christian said she’s especially happy that half the funding is coming from the province. She said she hopes that means the project won’t be a big burden on municipal taxpayers.

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Queens MLA Kim Masland. (Rick Conrad photo)

Public Works Minister Kim Masland will be in Liverpool on Monday to announce plans for wastewater upgrades in Queens County.

Masland, who is the MLA for Queens, will be making the announcement on behalf of John Lohr, minister of municipal affairs and housing.

She will be joined by Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman.

The announcement will take place at 1 p.m. at the municipal building at 249 White Point Rd. in Liverpool.

Rumclo Developments Ltd proposed Birchwood Gardens and The Curve communities. Photo from Rumclo Developments Ltd, Region of Queens Agenda package

A new affordable housing development in Liverpool hinges on whether the municipality is ready to extend water and sewer services along Shore Rd.

Rumclo Development Ltd is proposing to build 92 units of affordable housing between Shore Rd and College St in a community they’re calling Birchwood Gardens.

The apartments will be a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms ranging from 650ft² to 1,000ft².

Rent is projected to range between $696 and $1,200/month, depending on construction costs.

During their presentation at the most recent Region of Queens Council meeting on June 13, Rumclo officials expressed frustration that they have yet to see a study that will determine if municipal water and sewer can be extended.

Rumclo has requested the service extension for another development they’re proposing further along Shore Rd called “The Point”.

The presentation also included a development called “The Curve” which would sit adjacent to Birchwood Gardens affordable housing project.

The Curve will see 22 two and three bedroom 1,500ft² townhouses built that would sell between $400,000 and $500,000 and rent at approximately $2,000/month.

They developers argue the new proposed developments can piggyback off the same lines that will service “The Point”.

Rumclo developer Chad Clothier says they’ve already lost this building season and are eager to learn if they will have the water and sewer extensions so they can plan to build in 2024.

“Ask the Region why the study isn’t coming back or what the hold up to the study is and it really makes it hard as a company to feel like we can get this project done if a simple study is taking this long to come back,” said Clothier. “So, we’d really like to get some insight on the study.”

Region of Queens Interim CAO Dan McDougall was sympathetic to the developer’s time pressures but explained determining if the municipality can extend those services is not a simple matter.

“It’s actually far more complex than just extensions,” said McDougall. “Extensions are one element of what we’ll likely receive back from the consultants. They’ll also provide insight on how the system needs to be improved in order to accept volumes, both water and wastewater.”

McDougall says the existing wastewater treatment plant has the capacity to handle the increased number of users but getting the flow to the plant will require significant upgrades to the underground infrastructure.

The CAO says the study is also looking at how providing municipal water to the developments will affect the existing system.

“You can get water to the lands that you’re proposing to develop but what are the implications on the rest of the system?” asked McDougall. “Will it result in negative water pressure in other areas of the municipality where improvements are required in order for the extensions to work for your project, but to work for the rest of the community as well.  So, it’s not a simple study.”

McDougall expects the final engineering report to come to staff and council for review in the next few weeks.

It will then be a month or two before it will be presented to council for a decision whether the project will go ahead.

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Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman with Queens MLA and Public Works Minister Kim Masland. Photo courtesy Communications Nova Scotia

The Region of Queens received $2.6 million in joint funding for water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades.

Member of Parliament for Halifax West Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Public Works Kim Masland, and Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman, were on hand at Queens Place Monday to announce the contributions from all three levels of government.

The federal government is investing $1,046,800, the province is kicking in another $872,333 and the Region of Queens is contributing the remaining $697,867.

The money will be used to upgrade and replace water, sanitary, and storm sewer lines.

Part of the funding will go to decommissioning the existing combined sewer outfall in the Waterloo East sewershed boundary and ending the generational practice of pumping wastewater into the bay.

A new wastewater pumping station, forcemain, and a storm sewer outfall will also be included in the project.

The stormwater system is being designed to withstand 100-year storm water levels.

Minister Masland says improvements in these systems will go a long way to supporting development and bringing new residents to Queens.

While those are important issues, she says her larger concern is for cleaning up the harbour.

“The big thing for me with this project is it’s very important that we have a healthy liveable harbour,” said Masland. “And this funding today will certainly make sure that we can replace and upgrade that inadequate infrastructure, and definitely outdated infrastructure that has been there for way too long.”

Mayor Darlene Norman says the Region of Queens has been steadily working on replacing that outdated infrastructure since amalgamation in 1996.

She says the application for this project was submitted in 2021 and the Region is ready to begin when weather permits.

“We’ve been waiting to do it. It was just a matter of $2.6 million is a lot of money,” said Norman.

The project is shovel-ready and will take place in two phases over this year and next.

Norman says the municipality recognizes residents of Waterloo Street will be inconvenienced over the next two years and the Region will keep them informed every step of the way.

The mayor says there are still many areas of Queens County with issues around water and wastewater that need to be addressed.

“First, we have to correct the outfalls and keep our Liverpool Bay healthy. I mean outfalls and oceans is just, I mean major outfalls are just so wrong,” said Norman. “And then we look forward to parts of our county which are in peril if they have unhealthy drinking water so, this is one part of a very big puzzle that needs to be put together.”

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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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Concept drawing for development on Dauphinee Farm land from November 8 Region of Queens Council agenda

A local developer is asking the Region of Queens to foot the bill to extend water and sewer services for the construction of 87 new homes in Liverpool.

Larry Cochrane wants to develop on the former Dauphinee farmlands across from the RCMP station on Shore Road.

A presentation to municipal council anticipates over 11 years, 87 new homes will be built and $1.6 million will be raised in municipal taxes.

Mayor Darlene Norman understands from the request that without the Region putting in the 150 metres of water and 200 meters of sewer lines the project will not proceed.

“If there is not sanitary municipal water and sewer then the lot sizes on his property would have to be much larger and he does not see that as financially feasible to push ahead on that,” said Norman.

Phase one, projected to be completed in seven years, would create 57 units including 30 semi-detached homes, three single family houses and a 24-unit apartment building.

The proposal presented to council suggests the $750,000 the Region would receive in taxes from the development over the next seven years would offset the estimated $725,000 cost of extending the services.

The second phase would begin in 2030 and proposes to build another 30 semi-detached homes and deliver $820,000 to the municipal coffers.

Norman says while it is unusual for the Region to entertain a request from a private developer to provide municipal services, in this case, the action would just speed up a process that was already planned.

“On our future land use zoning and documents, this does show the land in question is part of future designated land for municipal services,” said Norman.

The mayor says this is the initial ask from the developer and she expects more information to come forward to council in a reasonable time before they decide if they will support the project.

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