Discussions around changing the sidewalks on the Liverpool Town Bridge and updating the municipal phone answering service were a couple of items on the most recent Region of Queens Council meeting agenda.
The meeting started with a pair of presentations. The first was an update from Roswall, the company behind the Mersey River Wind Farm project.
The company has received several governmental approvals and held community information meetings. They are working towards completing development stage items and signing a lease for the Crown Land.
The second item was a joint presentation from the Queens County ATV Association and the Queens Rails to Trails Association. The two groups are looking for municipal support that would allow ATVs to travel along short sections of municipal roads as permitted by the recently announced Road Trails Act.
Council will discuss the request at a future meeting and will likely be bringing the idea forward to the public for feedback.
In the recommendations section council agreed to waive tipping fees for up to 10 metric tonnes or roughly $700 worth for a family who lost their home in a fire.
Council also agreed to spend $16,850 to install a new telephone answering service for the municipality. The Region has been unable to receive telephone messages for the past several weeks as the old system is no longer supported.
The parameters for a new seven-member police advisory board were also established. Councillors Brown and Hawkes along with Deputy Mayor Fancy will represent council. Community members will include Acadia First Nation Band Council member Andrew Francis and two others chosen from the public. The seventh member will be appointed by the province. Region of Queens is working towards having the new Police Advisory Board in place early in the fall.
Tenders for a new heating and ventilation system for the Liverpool Business Development Centre has come in $130,000 over budget. Council had approved spending $1.9 million in the 2023/24 budget. The only tender received came from Sea Coast HVAC at a total cost of $2.03 million. As it was the only bid, council approved spending the additional money to begin the work.
They also approved $446,200 to buy a new street sweeper from Saunders Equipment Ltd, of Fredericton NB.
A homeowner in Brooklyn requested municipal wastewater systems be extended to their property. Staff informed council it is not feasible at this time because of permitting issues from the province and the large number of projects they are already working on within the municipality.
Council also explored options for improving pedestrian and bicycle traffic on the Liverpool Town bridge. With four options ranging from $325,000 to refresh the existing layout to $4.4 million to move the lanes to the outside of the bridge, council opted to maintain what is in place now and keep an eye out for federal funding options in the future.
Finally, council went in-camera to discuss Nova Scotia Power’s request to install an EV charging station on municipal property in Liverpool, but no site was confirmed.
The next Region of Queens Council meeting will be held August 8 beginning at 9:00am in council chambers.
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