EV charger proposal for Dorchester back at council this week, after delay
A project that was delayed by council at their meeting on October 10 will be back up for consideration at a special meeting on November 1. Councillors voted to add the item to this week’s special budget meeting agenda in order to make sure it can be completed before the end of this year’s fiscal year on December 31.
At Tantramar council’s October 10 meeting, town staff brought forward a proposed project to install two Level 2 EV chargers beside the Dorchester Veterans Community Centre (DVCC), something which climate change coordinator Brittany Cormier said would be a “cost efficient, timely and effective way of increasing Tantramar’s electrical vehicle charging infrastructure.”
The project would be partially funded through NB Power’s Plug In NB program, and cost the municipality about $9500 on top of the rebates available. Cormier told council that staff saw the DVCC as a “valuable location” for the chargers based on access to a power connection, ownership by the town, and “high visibility for both accessibility and security.” Cormier also cited “the proximity to amenities, restaurants, shopping, museums, the public library and gorgeous green spaces right on the valley, seeing the river and the train passing by.” The DVCC is on Main Street, near access to the Station Road Marsh Loop Trail and about a 5-minute walk from the village centre.… Continue
Dorchester’s Peep and Keep aims to create ‘old time sense of community’
The village of Dorchester is coming alive this weekend with its second festival of the summer, the Sandpiper Festival, running from Friday to Sunday with events at the Dorchester Veterans Community Centre (DVCC), the library, the Greater Dorchester Moving Forward Co-op, Palmers Pond, and of course, the Village Square. (Tonight’s concert in the square has been moved to the DVCC due to weather. The full schedule is available as a pdf here.)
It’s no coincidence that this weekend also marks the grand opening of Dorchester’s latest new business, the Peep and Keep Ecotique. Sandpipers—and their nearby migratory habitat on the mudflats off Dorchester Cape—feature prominently in the concept of the new shop, co-owned by longtime residents Kara Becker and Debbie Wiggins-Colwell.
The shop is dedicated in equal parts to environmental sustainability and cultural heritage, hence the “Peep and Keep” moniker. Becker says the pair wanted to “create that old time sense of community in Dorchester,” and also “celebrate our place in the Fundy biosphere.”
The shop provides information and support for the Johnson’s Mills Shorebird Reserve and Interpretive Centre, says Becker. As part of the Sandpiper Festival, this Saturday afternoon at 2pm, staff from the Nature Conservancy of Canada will make a presentation on sandpipers and shore birds at the Peep and Keep. That will be followed by a “mix and mingle” on the upper floors of the Bell Inn. “Folks can just get together and chat about everything that’s going on in the community,” says Becker.… Continue
Council to consider hiring Veolia to take on Dorchester water as well as Sackville
Town engineer Jon Eppell is recommending that Tantramar expand its contract with Veolia Water Technologies to include the operation of the Dorchester water treatment plant. Tantramar council will consider the proposal at its regular meeting tonight at 7pm in Sackville town hall.
At council’s committee of the whole meeting in July Eppell said a request for a change in position from the current staff person operating the Dorchester plant prompted the town to explore the outsourcing of the service.
“We went to Veolia who we’re all very familiar with in Sackville,” said Eppell. The global water treatment company has been operating the Sackville plant since 2007, and it also operates the Moncton water treatment system.
The Dorchester contract would cost the town an additional $2000 per week, or $104,000 per year, with additional costs for overtime and emergency services. There will also be about $12,000 in technological upgrades for Veolia to take over the Dorchester system. Tantramar currently pays about $245,000 annually for the Sackville Veolia contract.
The Veolia contract amount is not currently budgeted, but a staff report says the funds will come from “salary savings within the Dorchester portion of the Utility Budget,” for 2023, and then will be budgeted accordingly in 2024. Overall, this will be an increase in utility expenses, as the staff person currently operating the plant will be reassigned to other utility duties.… Continue
Considering the future of Tantramar’s abandoned properties
Two Tantramar councillors are raising questions about abandoned properties in their wards, and what the future holds for them.
Both Deputy Mayor Greg Martin and councillor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell have called attention to buildings they say could pose a danger to residents due to their dilapidated condition.
Wiggins-Colwell told council in March that a property across from the Dorchester post office has been vacant for nearly 30 years. Recently, said Wiggins-Colwell, “I got a call from the postmistress saying there were three young kids in the building playing.” By the time the councillor checked it out, the kids had moved on, but she remained concerned. “They do board it up, but they do break it down and they get back in,” said Wiggins-Colwell. “The floors are caving in… so it is a bit of a concern.”
Deputy Mayor Greg Martin has a similar concern over in Jolicure at the intersection of Parson Road, Luciphy Road, and Jolicure Road, where a former community hall lies vacant. “I just want that building to be secured,” says Martin, “whether it’s tearing [it] down or boarding [it] up… Do something so that somebody doesn’t get hurt.”
At its April 11 meeting, Tantramar council is slated to consider first reading of a renewed Dangerous and Unsightly Premises bylaw based on those currently on the books for Sackville and Dorchester. The bylaw gives the municipality the power to clean, repair or demolish buildings that have gone through a rigorous complaint and evaluation process, and then charge the costs to the property owners.… Continue
Meet the candidates: Debbie Wiggins-Colwell, running in Ward 1 (Dorchester)
Debbie Wiggins-Colwell was elected mayor of the village of Dorchester last May, and has spent most of her year and a half in municipal politics dealing with an impending amalgamation. Wiggins-Colwell is now running for a seat on a new Tantramar council representing Ward 1 Dorchester. She’s optimistic about the potential for the amalgamation, and stresses her ability to be a voice for people in the Dorchester area.
Listen to CHMA’s Meet The Candidates interview with Debbie Wiggins-Colwell, which took place November 2, 2022, at her home in Dorchester:
CHMA is compiling all its election coverage in one place, for your convenience. For more candidate interviews and other local elections coverage, click here.
TRANSCRIPT
CHMA: So thanks for having us here today, Debbie.
Debbie Wiggins-Colwell: You’re very welcome, Erica.
CHMA: Just to start off, tell us a bit about yourself.
DWC: Well, I’ve been a resident of Dorchester for over 50 years. Of course Dorchester is near and dear to my heart. I brought up three children, one special needs boy who is severely autistic. And Dorchester being a small community, for our family, they really embraced him. And I’m willing to give back now, to my village. They have done so much for myself and my family, that it’s… yeah.
CHMA: All right. And you also you have some experience on Village Council.… Continue