Tantramar council gave the green light for town staff to move forward on two longstanding requests from community members on Tuesday. Staff will now start discussions with the provincial government about a land use agreement for the Trans Canada Trail within town boundaries, and also start to pursue additional funding for a pedway to re-connect the trail where it is bisected by the highway. In addition, council asked staff to form a committee with local groups to work on planning and funding a new multipurpose facility that could serve as a permanent home for the Sackville Farmers’ Market.
Both motions came from Councillor Josh Goguen, who was visibly pleased on Tuesday. “I’m glad that my fellow councillors saw the value in what I was bringing to the table,” said Goguen. “And for wrapping up my first year on council, I think it’s a win.”
Trail motion ‘not promising anything’
While the vote on Goguen’s first motion was unanimously in favour, one of the selling points seemed to be that it didn’t commit the town to any specific agreements or projects. Here’s the motion as read by Goguen:
“I move that council request staff to engage with the provincial government to discuss a land use agreement for the existing Rails to Trails system within the Tantramar boundary, and explore capital funding for a proposed new pedway over the Trans Canada Highway, leveraging the $1 million donation.”
The $1 million Goguen refers to is an anonymous donation secured by a group of citizens who have been working on the pedway project for about 15 years. In a presentation in June, Christina DeHaas and Jeff MacKinnon told council that in addition to the $1 million donation, the group also has a commitment from Algonquin Bridge, a division of the AIL Group, to build the project at cost, which had been estimated at about $3 million in 2022.
Councillors Barry Hicks and Matt Estabrooks both spoke positively about the need for a pedway from a safety perspective, due to the fact that many walkers and bikers cross the divided highway now, in order to avoid the considerable detour using the congested exit 504 overpass. Hicks said he was concerned about the town taking on management of the trail before a pedway is built because of the potential liability it would take on.
That’s when Mayor Andrew Black reminded council that Goguen’s motion committed the town to explore options, but not to sign any agreements.
“I want to make it clear that this motion is to start a conversation,” said Black. “It is not promising anything. It’s not promising that the trail system would become a pedestrian trail system. It’s not promising that the pedway will be built. But it will start that conversation.”
Black’s reminder seemed to work for councillors like Bruce Phinney, who said he didn’t want to commit to anything, but was “willing to sit down and discuss it.”
Estabrooks told council that he supported a pedway, but was concerned about the town taking over management of the whole trail. “The other thing that I struggle with is what parts of this trail would be pedestrian traffic only, and what would be motorized vehicle,” said Estabrooks, “because we always pride ourselves on being an inclusive community and finding middle ground for all.”
‘We can make this building a gem’
Goguen’s second motion of the night addressed longstanding requests from the Sackville Farmers Market, asking for help with establishing a permanent location. Here’s the motion:
“I move that council form a committee with local groups and municipal staff on a permanent multi-use facility for the purpose of housing multiple activities and community groups, including a permanent, full time location for the Sackville Farmers Market.”
The idea of a multipurpose centre that could be used by the market has been explored before. In November 2021 staff presented then-Sackville town council with a class D construction estimate of $3.4 million for a new 11,000 square foot multipurpose building. But there wasn’t much mention of potential cost on Tuesday, with councillors focussing instead on their affinity for the market.
“The Farmers Market is too important to us,” said Councillor Mike Tower. “And we also need a building that will help other groups, youth or adults, whatever… The Farmers Market is a gem, and we can make this building a gem.”
Deputy Mayor Greg Martin said he spoke with community members from his ward and other parts of the municipality at the market last Saturday, and he’s heard from residents that they would like to see the Farmers Market “take the next step.”
Councillor Matt Estabrooks also chimed in to say he thought it was a good initiative. “And to put a bug in the ear of whoever will be looking at this further… In the spirit of recycle and repurpose, I’d love to see the old train station worked in there somehow.”
Goguen says he doesn’t have specific expectations around what will come of the two initiatives. “I really don’t have a magic eight ball that I can tell what the future will hold,” says Goguen. “It’s going to be whatever they come back with in the report from staff, and whatever my fellow councillors decide to do at that time.”
