Town council briefs, plus talking the threat of avian flu with AWI’s Pam Novak
Listen here to Tantramar Report for Tuesday, March 15, 2022:
In a tense meeting, Sackville council turns down two motions to slow down amalgamation
Things move quickly in the world of New Brunswick municipal reform, and on Monday two Sackville town councillors took a stab at slowing that down.
Councillor Bill Evans presented his motion calling for a boycott of the amalgamation process, instructing staff and councillors not to engage in advisory committees set up by the province. Evans argued that it would be more effective to protest the forced amalgamation by making the province “do their own dirty work.”
“Remember, they’ve only got one facilitator [for] five amalgamations,” said Evans. “They can’t do our amalgamation without our help. So let’s not help them. Let’s try to shame the bully and say, maybe we can’t stop you, but we’ll be damned if we will help you.”
Right off the bat, CAO Jamie Burke reacted with a strong message of alarm. Burke said he consulted with the town’s lawyer about the motion, and was paraphrasing from that conversation when he spoke to council Monday.
Burke made that case that Evans’ motion was actually illegal, because the province has passed Bill 82, giving it the tools to impose municipal amalgamations across the province in the next year. Burke said Bill 82 also gave the province, “the right to make inquiries into the assets and liabilities of local governments affected by restructuring,” which would mean that himself and town staff would be required to cooperate with Chad Peters, the provincially-appointed facilitator.… Continue
Sackville council roundup: amalgamation, growth, and fireworks
Listen here to Tantramar Report for Wednesday, February 16, 2022:
Friday on TR: New system to report sexual misconduct; municipal reform committee meets; storm wallops N.B.
On today’s Tantramar Report:
Mount Allison University has launched a new way for people to report sexual misconduct, harassment or assault on campus.
The move comes as part of an ongoing effort to respond to decades-long concerns about sexual violence on the Mount A campus.
In November 2020, then-student Michelle Roy posted an image of herself on social media, in graduation attire and holding a sign accusing the school of supporting rapists.
Since then, the university has brought in a third-party organization to respond to and support survivors of sexual violence, commissioned an independent review of its practices, and hired Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Coordinator, Dr. Tasia Alexopolous.
CHMA reporter Erica Butler called up Dr. Alexopolous this week to find out more about REES, and how it might impact sexual violence on campus.
Also on today’s show: Sackville town council’s municipal reform committee held its first ever-meeting this week. Erica Butler was there and brings us some highlights.
Plus more local news and information:
Tantramar Climate Change Week
The 10th annual Tantramar Climate Change Week starts on Saturday with an information booth at the Sackville Farmers’ Market.
A series of free online events organized by Eos Eco-Energy takes place throughout the week, including a climate change virtual trivia night next Friday, Feb. 11. You can find the full schedule online at eosecoenergy.com.
Friday on TR: Amalgamation process begins; NB returns to Level 2; First Nation asks for help finding missing woman
Today’s feature on Tantramar Report:
The province has appointed the facilitator who will oversee the amalgamation of Sackville, Dorchester and surrounding areas.
Chad Peters is currently CEO of a Moncton-based communications firm, and former manager with Southwestern Energy Resources, the company behind controversial fracking exploration in New Brunswick in the early 2010s.
Peters is also a former staffer in the Progressive Conservative legislative office, and ran for the PCs in a provincial by-election in Moncton East in 2007. He had announced his candidacy for mayor of Moncton in January 2020, but did not run in the 2021 election. Peters had his first meeting with Sackville staff and council this week.
CHMA’s Erica Butler called up Sackville Town Councillor Bill Evans, who has been a vocal opponent of amalgamation, to hear about the first meeting.
Also on Tantramar Report:
Missing woman from St. Mary’s First Nation
Saint Mary’s First Nation has asked for support in locating Erin Maureen Brooks.
The 38-year-old woman was last seen on Dec. 27 at St. Mary’s Smoke Shop in Fredericton, according to the Indigenous community.
She’s described as five-foot-two-inches tall and 115 pounds, with multiple tattoos, including the word “Boo” on the left side of her chest.
In 2018, Brooks shared a post on social media as part of a campaign for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, stating that if she ever went missing, “someone took me against my will or worse.… Continue
Security camera upgrades in Bill Johnstone Park, soon coming to other town properties
The town of Sackville has installed new facial recognition surveillance cameras at the Bill Johnstone Memorial Park Activity Centre.
On Monday evening, public works boss Dwayne Acton told council that the system is an upgrade from the previous cameras, designed to give more detail in the event of property damage or theft.
“The cameras that are there are kind of outdated, and the RCMP cannot utilize the cameras to give enough detail to explore or to take it any further,” said Acton. “One of the difficulties that we’ve had over the years is the amount of vandalism at the building, in the washrooms, around the park.”
“I know over the last year, the building has almost burnt down twice where the fire department has been called to put out a fire that was started in the washrooms,” said Acton.
In light of that and a recent spate of break and enters, Acton says staff reviewed their options and “felt it warranted that we would spend some operational money to upgrade those cameras to something a little more substantial, to be able to give us some facial recognition, or at least some details that the RCMP could use.”
Councillor Sabine Dietz raised concerns over citizens’ privacy with the use of cameras, but treasurer Micheal Beal assured council the cameras are not connected to the internet, data is erased after a period of time, and images are only viewed in case of an incident.… Continue
Sports subsidy program halfway through its pilot year, under budget so far
At Monday’s Sackville town council meeting, Councillor Allison Butcher reported on behalf of the town recreation department that just under $12,000 has been paid out to residents so far as part of the Recreation and Sports Subsidy program.
Families can get reimbursed up to $300 per child for fees paid to join Sackville Minor Hockey, the Sackville Skating Club, Tantramar Lacrosse, or the Sackville Swim Club, between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022.
Sackville town council allocated $65,000 for the pilot program in October, after a debate in which some councillors called the program unfair because it subsidized certain expensive youth activities such as hockey and skating, but ignored others with similarly high fees, such as music and dance.
Proponents pointed out that the program is a pilot, and could be expanded to other activities in future.
Sackville recreation director Matt Pryde says that so far, reimbursements have gone out for all sports groups but for Tantramar Lacrosse, which has a spring season.
About 70% of reimbursed fees have gone to families registering kids in Sackville Minor Hockey. About 22% of fees have gone for the Sackville Swimming Club, and just about 7% have gone for the Sackville Skating Club.
Pryde says that 5 skaters, 22 swimmers and 47 hockey players have applied, and that all applications have gone through once all information has been provided.… Continue
Monday on TR: Dietz on new climate report; Indu Varma on Sackville’s newest public art project; nurses ratify agreement
Listen to Tantramar Report for the following stories:
New federal report on climate change in Atlantic Canada
You may know Sabine Dietz from her role as a councillor with the town of Sackville. Elected this past May, the Sackville biologist and environmental educator is an active council member, always ready with questions about Sackville’s spending and policies. Shortly after her election, Dietz took on another big portfolio, leading ClimAtlantic, a new regional hub for climate services, funded for the next three years by the federal government. CLIMAtlantic itself came out of another project Dietz was working on, a report looking at the risks and responses to climate change in Atlantic Canada. That report was released last week, and so Tantramar Report called up Dietz to find out more.
Local artist Indu Varma brings a new Canada Council funded public art piece to Sackville
By next December, Sackville will have a new piece of public art, courtesy of local artist Indu Varma and the Canada Council. Varma presented her concept to Sackville town council in early December and recently received approval to go ahead with the ceramics project which will depict Sackville’s history in a tile mosaic in the shape of a ship. Tantramar Report spoke with Varma to hear about her inspiration and the plans for the project.
Rapid test kit pick up tomorrow in Sackville
Packs of COVID-19 rapid tests are available for pick up in Sackville on Tuesday at the Tantramar Civic Centre parking lot off Main Street.… Continue
Sackville makes a bid to avoid amalgamation, suggests an even larger one for Dorchester, Port Elgin
Tune in to Tantramar Report on Friday to hear interviews with Sackville Mayor Shawn Mesheau and Dorchester Mayor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell, as well as Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton speaking in the legislature about municipal reform in the Tantramar region.
After a last minute and closed meeting of council on Wednesday afternoon, the town of Sackville has proposed an alternative to Minister Daniel Allain’s plan for redrawing municipal boundaries in the Tantramar Region. In a letter approved by council, Mayor Shawn Mesheau recommends leaving the current town of Sackville boundary as-is, and suggests instead the amalgamation of the villages of Dorchester and Port Elgin, along with surrounding local service districts, to become a large municipality that would completely surround the town, and stretch from Dorchester Cape to Cape Tormentine.
“We have diligently evaluated alternative boundary locations for Sackville but cannot identify a geographical representation that would meet the criteria established in the Finn Report,” says the letter, referring to criteria from the 2008 report that calls for a minimum of 4,000 people or $200 million in tax base to justify a unique municipality.
The town of Sackville fits both requirements, with a tax base of over $660 million and a population of just over 5300. The suggested new amalgamated municipality would also meet both criteria, with a tax base of roughly $424 million and a population of about 4800.… Continue
Wednesday on TR: Mt A reports 5th case; a look at proposed new pedway project; the case for reviving NB Trails Association
Listen to Tantramar Report for the following stories:
Mt A reports five cases and cancels in person exams
Mount Allison University is reporting another case of COVID-19 in its off campus community, making five active cases currently at the school. In response to the recent cases and the arrival of the Omicron variant in New Brunswick, Mount A is making major changes to operations, including cancelling all in person exams scheduled for the rest of the week. Students planning to travel home for the break are being asked to do so as soon as possible. The library will move to online service, and the athletic centre and Owens Art Gallery are closed. Access to campus is being restricted to staff, students and faculty only. More at the web story here.
The latest on a $2 million pedway proposal
At Monday’s Sackville town council meeting, CAO Jamie Burke told councillors that town staff had already reached out to the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure regarding the recently revived proposal for a pedway over the Transcanada highway where it bisects the Transcanada Trail. Burke said the town’s plan is to consult the provincial department, and then come back to council for a formal endorsement of the project if necessary. Last week, the Sackville Footbridge Working Group told council they had secured a $1 million anonymous donation to go towards the construction of the pedway, about 50% of the projected cost.
Interview with former head of NB Trails Association, Jane McCulloch
Tantramar Report speaks with Jane McCulloch, the former executive director of NB Trails and national director of trails for the Trans Canada Trail, now working as a private consultant.… Continue