[14:07] Good evening and welcome to Municipal
Council meeting of Tuesday, September
[14:12] the 8th. It's 6:00 and I'll call the
meeting to order. We begin our meeting
[14:17] by acknowledging that we are in
Migmagghi, the ancestral territory of
[14:21] the Migma people and we are privileged
to share the land with them.
[14:26] Are there announcements,
acknowledgements, or recognitions from
[14:30] any council members?
Oh, that's unusual.
[14:36] We uh will move next to public input,
and we allow 15 minutes at the beginning
[14:41] of each of our council meetings for the
public members who may be in the gallery
[14:46] to speak. We do have a presentation at
6:15, but I understand we do have one
[14:50] person that would like to speak. if
you'd like to come forward um and adjust
[14:56] the mic as required to uh so we can hear
you. And we ask I'll just go through a
[15:03] little bit of an outline of what we what
happens during public input. We we ask
[15:08] that you provide your name and your your
civic address for the record. And if you
[15:14] have questions um or concerns that can
be addressed tonight um we try to manage
[15:20] that. If not, uh, we refer it to our
staff who then, uh, come back at a f a
[15:29] subsequent meeting with a report on the
on your question or concern and, uh, it
[15:35] becomes part of the public record
because if you have a question,
[15:38] inevitably there are others that have a
similar question or concern. So, it
[15:42] becomes part of the public record. Um,
we ask that you be respectful of all
[15:46] members of the of the of the uh council
and staff and that any questions are
[15:51] directed through myself as as the chair
for the meeting. So, um, we'll turn it
[15:56] over to you.
>> Um, is this a good height, I guess. So,
[16:00] all right. My name is Pamela McDormund.
I'm at 838 Lower Branch Road in Lower
[16:04] Branch. And, um, my concern tonight is
regarding some aerial spraying that is
[16:12] been announced. um not announced um made
made aware to certain residents in
[16:18] various communities across the county
and I do understand that um the
[16:24] governance on aerial spraying is a
provincial matter. However, I still
[16:28] wanted to bring it to attention because
I feel like there's still a role for
[16:32] municipal counselors to play in taking
the concerns of residents to those
[16:38] provincial governing bodies. Uh some of
the communities that have been mentioned
[16:43] in letters that are sent to adjacent
residents are Midville Branch,
[16:47] Nukemville, Greenfield, West Calonia,
Northfield, and possibly four other
[16:52] communities. The information out there
is really it's it's hard to find. Um I
[16:57] think that's a recent change that the
province has made where they no longer
[17:02] tell you where they're going to spray.
And um I can't even find out much about
[17:06] this. Some people have said this is
possibly on private property. Um, but
[17:13] there's not really a lot of private
property if you're spraying something
[17:16] from an airplane because we have
something called wind. And I don't know
[17:20] how far these things will travel in the
wind um once they get into water
[17:26] sources. Again, I don't know I don't
know that this is really going to be
[17:30] limited to one person's property. Um
the pieces of land that are slated to be
[17:38] sprayed are, you know, in the numbers of
like 500 acres. So there's pretty big
[17:42] pieces of land. Um I'm just looking at
my notes here. I just put this together
[17:47] today. There was um some other people
that I thought might attend tonight, but
[17:50] maybe they're watching from home. Um
the spray that has been mentioned is um
[17:57] a product that contains glyphosate,
which you've probably heard of in the
[18:02] news. Um, Health Canada still says that
it's safe. However, there's a problem
[18:07] with a lot of the safety studies because
a lot of the information we have about
[18:10] them being safe comes from the very
companies producing this stuff and
[18:15] they've not released their data because
they say it's proprietary. Um,
[18:21] I also have a map that someone shared
today and I can't again verify the
[18:24] accuracy of this. Um, I don't know if I
if I hold it up. Can anyone see this? It
[18:28] shows a place in Midville Branch um that
is slated to be sprayed that's
[18:33] immediately adjacent to a lake uh which
may or may not break some rules about um
[18:41] spraying near waterways. It's next to
Little Wilds Lake. Um,
[18:47] I have printed off I have printed off
some studies and I I didn't print off
[18:52] the entire study because I find um I
usually start with just reading this
[18:56] first page to get the kind of background
information. All of these are available
[18:59] online and you could find them um there
as well. Um
[19:07] there's hang on I have more notes back
here. Some of
[19:14] Here we go. Some of the people who've
raised concerns um on social media have
[19:20] mentioned they grow organic gardens in
the area or they have beehives that they
[19:25] use to produce honey that they sell. All
of these things could be negatively
[19:29] impacted. Of course, water, drinking
water, water ecosystems in the
[19:34] environment. Um potential health effect
effects. Um
[19:39] some of the things that they found so
far uh specifically cancer um non-hodkin
[19:44] lymphoma fertility issues gut microbial
health cytotoxic and genotoxic effects
[19:50] liver inflammation and despite it having
a short shelf life it quickly breaks
[19:56] down into another product with that has
some of the same health risks. So they
[20:00] might be able to say, "Oh, well, it
breaks down quickly, but it breaks down
[20:03] into another product with additional
health risks. Um, and can actually stay
[20:07] in the soil for up to 12 years. It
actually binds to the soil molecules.
[20:11] Um, in addition, it's sometimes used as
a desicant. So that may increase
[20:17] wildfire risk. It's not really clear.
There's not a lot of studies on that
[20:20] one. I've tried to find some. Um, but
that is obviously I think wildfire risk
[20:26] and water risk that's that's not just
limited to your own land. That's
[20:30] something that is going to go beyond
your 500 acre piece of land. Um, so I
[20:38] don't know if it would be useful for me
to leave these here for members to look
[20:42] at. I've highlighted some of the um
the relevant points. Um, a lot of these
[20:48] studies are more recent. They talk about
harm that is has been shown to various
[20:54] species of animals, plants, um, people,
and I think it's really important even
[20:59] though, like I said, I understand this
is a provincial matter as well, and I'm
[21:02] going to be talking to Becky Drew next
hopefully in an email. Um, I think
[21:06] there's still a role for council members
to play in helping us bring this out and
[21:12] and protect ourselves, our food, our
water, the environment around us.
[21:19] Um, all right, that's it. Thank you.
>> Thank you, um, Miss McDorman for that.
[21:24] And I can tell you that a number of
counselors, including myself as mayor,
[21:29] have received communication about this
from a number of residents and in the
[21:34] two I think our two counselors that are
in the areas that are uh, you've
[21:40] suggested have received a lot of of
email and messages on social media about
[21:47] this. and one of our counselors,
councelor Hubli, is going to bring
[21:50] forward a resolution tonight later in
the meeting. We're going to add it as an
[21:55] agenda item because we've had so many um
comments in the last few days and and
[22:01] calls here to the office. So staff have
already been handling this. I will tell
[22:06] you that it is as as you have said and
rightly so, it is beyond our
[22:11] jurisdiction.
The way that I think we will position it
[22:14] this evening is that it's important that
residents are well communicated with and
[22:20] that the that there's good transparency
about what's happening because what the
[22:27] complaints we've heard have been not
only about the sprain but that's that's
[22:32] for another department to another level
of government to make a a determination
[22:36] on that. But what we can do is advocate
for better communication and
[22:40] transparency around the information so
that people are well aware in plenty of
[22:44] time to know and respond and to find the
right people to respond to because that
[22:50] that has definitely been an issue that
we've heard. So um you're welcome to
[22:55] stay for the rest of the proceedings of
our meeting. This won't go on till the
[22:58] end of the meeting, but we are live so
you can watch at home if you don't want
[23:02] to stay for that. But um we're going to
um it'll be proposed that it go on our
[23:07] agenda and I I think our council will
agree um that that we can put it on our
[23:13] agenda tonight. Normally we don't add
items at our meeting, but because of the
[23:17] large number of of inquiries and
concerns that have been raised, we're
[23:21] going to add it uh we're going to allow
it to be proposed tonight. Okay.
[23:25] » Thank you very much.
>> Yeah. Thanks.
[23:29] Uh with that, that was a good
introduction to uh approval of the
[23:34] agenda and maybe councelor Hubli, you
want to to speak about the agenda?
[23:40] » Just ask for support around the table to
add uh a 13.1 to the added items for the
[23:45] vegetation management notification that
went out to residents um in the area of
[23:51] the spraying. I'd like to have that
added if everybody could support that.
[23:57] Do we have general support around the
table for it? I'm seeing all nods. So,
[24:01] um, we can add that item. And then could
we have a motion then to approve the
[24:06] agenda with that item added?
>> I have one more quick change.
[24:11] » Oh, okay.
>> Um, I I would propose that item 12.1,
[24:14] the MJSB update, uh, be deferred to the
next council meeting following our MJSB
[24:21] uh, meeting in September. Uh the last uh
there was a special meeting of the MGSB
[24:26] but it was almost entirely in camera. So
the update would be uh that it was in
[24:31] camera.
>> Okay. Okay. With that uh could we have a
[24:35] motion to approve the agenda? Moved by
councelor Dong and seconded by councelor
[24:40] Hubli. All in favor signify by raising
your hands. Motion is carried
[24:44] unanimously. And I should say councelor
Moore is joining us by teams. So, we'll
[24:49] we'll watch for your hands, Kathy, as
the meeting progresses.
[24:54] We'll move then with uh with the agenda
approval, we'll move then to the
[25:00] approval of the minutes from the council
meeting of July 28th, 2026. Are there
[25:06] any additions or changes, corrections to
be made on those minutes?
[25:11] Hearing none, I'll approve them as
circulated. on the minutes from the
[25:16] public hearing of July 29th, 2026. There
was a a c uh revised set of minutes
[25:23] distributed this afternoon. One of the
uh speakers at the meeting was his name
[25:30] was incorrectly recorded in the minutes.
Um it was Mar it was recorded as Mark
[25:36] Hogan and it's Mark Holdley and that was
corrected. So with that change, are
[25:41] there any other changes anyone noticed?
I'll approve those minutes as circulated
[25:47] with that correction. Special meeting of
July 29th. Are there any
[25:54] corrections there?
Seeing none, I'll approve those as
[25:58] circulated. And special council meeting
of August 14th or August 4th. Are there
[26:03] any changes there? Hearing none, I'll
approve those as circulated. We are just
[26:09] at 6:13 and I know our our presenter is
here. So I'm going to move down to um
[26:16] the presentation and then we'll go back
to number six. So uh we'll move to
[26:22] presentations at 8.1 which is a business
hub upscaling. And I'm sorry David I I I
[26:29] don't want to butcher your name. If you
if you speak if you speak French um I
[26:34] would say it's Bier.
>> Okay. Welcome to our meeting and u we'll
[26:39] turn it over to you. Thank you everybody
and good afternoon. Um I'm very honored
[26:46] to be here with you and to present uh to
you this this work. Um
[26:52] so today I want to encourage you as MODL
representatives uh to unleash our
[26:58] ambitions for the community hub and to
give it uh the tools it needs to support
[27:05] our desire economic growth. Um first I
will tell you who I am quickly then I
[27:10] will present three potential business
hub project and finally I will conclude
[27:15] that the community hub needs a business
hub coordinator alongside the hub
[27:20] coordinator to successfully lead forward
thinking business development oriented
[27:26] projects.
[27:32] So first um I am a former secondary
school teacher uh who taught in
[27:39] competitive innovative international
schools before immigrating to MODL. Uh
[27:44] for two years I have been running
innovative project on the social shore.
[27:47] I first launched a tourist uh startup
developing augmented reality solution
[27:53] for cultural itineraries.
I taught
[27:57] here.
He taught me how challenging it is to be
[28:02] heard when you innovate and how
challenging the email inbox wall is.
[28:09] Then I lead a development project with
an innovative community oriented design
[28:16] in block house. Uh we are actually
working on extending this concept to
[28:20] other development projects in the
country.
[28:24] Meanwhile, since last year, uh, with the
support of Flee LC, I have been running
[28:30] the Atlantic Drone Academy where we
teach youth about flight science,
[28:34] electronic design, and drone piloting.
We run a program that involve youth in
[28:40] community service by designing and
piloting professional level drones.
[28:45] Therefore, I would like to share my
vision as a project manager specializing
[28:50] in knowledge transmission for the
community hubs business hub. And to do
[28:55] so, I would like to start with an index
dot
[28:59] as an active member of the Bridgewater
Chamber of Commerce. I intend I attended
[29:04] a tourism development event six months
ago.
[29:08] As we discuss how to develop the tourism
industry on the Southshore, a major
[29:13] concern was the lake of professional
training for our workforce and the need
[29:18] to improve our workforce capacity.
[29:23] Therefore, to support the local economic
growth, we need to provide professional
[29:28] development opportunities.
Many online courses are useful, but none
[29:34] replace real world experience. We can
design a professional design uh
[29:38] professional professional development
system where workers can have their
[29:42] skill developed and certified and work
on an agreement for local company to
[29:47] reward them with higher wages in a
win-win agreement.
[29:57] I spent a couple of years of my career
teaching at a food and beverage industry
[30:02] vocational school in France. I have seen
the por of a culinary training center
[30:08] where learners where learners can pro uh
p practice service and cooking in
[30:13] professional training sessions with real
customers. The community hub provides a
[30:19] perfect setting for that kind of
effective training. But it requires a
[30:23] strong instructional plan supported by
specific educ educational skills.
[30:29] With such a professional training
center, we can have a decisive impact on
[30:33] the local on the local food and beverage
industry and improve reception,
[30:40] service management, and in room
services.
[30:45] We could design cooking training where a
chef offers a cooking class while the
[30:50] service learners practice their skills
with clients in the event room.
[30:56] These classes could also serve as an
exch as an exchange opportunity for our
[31:01] local chef to discover and practice new
techniques, leaving us with a hope for
[31:07] new inspiring menus in our local
preferred restaurants
[31:12] for new production methods to adapting
to from new production methods to
[31:17] adapting to new regulations and adapt
and adopting new technologies. Other
[31:22] industrial fields will also benefit from
this training center.
[31:28] Organizing session of professional
training tailored to our local industry
[31:32] needs and leverage local expertise will
be the first part of an ambitious
[31:38] business hub program.
[31:45] The second part of this business hub
program will be an incubator program.
[31:52] An incubator is uh an enterprise
incubator is a collaborative program
[31:57] that helps new and growing companies by
providing workspace mentorship
[32:02] and business support services.
We know uh we now support the foundation
[32:10] of business development production R&D.
This incub incubator program will
[32:16] support small food businesses looking to
grow production capacity and hire
[32:20] employee or start businesses
or starting businesses that need a
[32:25] professional kitchen to experiment.
We all know small businesses that could
[32:31] begin become bigger businesses. Some
need a professional kitchen to scallop
[32:36] and hire a couple of employees
[32:41] or to experiment with a recipe in a
professional setting.
[32:46] Some needs the maker space to provide
their creation and improve
[32:52] uh yeah to prototype their creation and
improve the look of their technology
[32:56] product with 3D printed element.
[33:01] Some just need introduction to decision
makers to launch our activity.
[33:07] But the investment, the design and the
business plan are already maintains to
[33:11] climb for a sle proprietorship startup.
If on top of the help
[33:17] they will they find within the business
development agency of the community hub.
[33:23] they find a facilitator to guide them
through the professional kitchen and the
[33:27] maker space and to introduce introduce
them to the local network. We will
[33:33] provide crucial support to help them
move forward and create employment.
[33:39] Finally, as a local entrepreneur and a
volunteer in project aiming to provide
[33:44] an affordable drone for our fire
department, the fear group, I would like
[33:49] to develop disruptive industry. Uh sorry
I would like to underline the crucial
[33:54] role a dedicated maker space navigator
can play in helping develop disruptive
[34:00] industries on the southshore.
To offer full support a maker space need
[34:05] to be reliable so well-maintained
available so pre-booked for last minute
[34:11] needs
and guided by a knowledgeable
[34:14] technician. So user don't have to learn
a new machine manual for each task.
[34:20] To deliver its full economic development
potential, the community hub needs a
[34:25] full-time dedicated technician to run
the business hub and guide user on the
[34:29] equipment.
[34:33] Finally, the most ambitious part, the
flagship of this business hub project
[34:39] consists of building a technology
innovation cluster. By launching a
[34:44] collaborative cutting edge project, we
can bring together some of the largest
[34:48] companies and many smaller ones and
support that growth by providing
[34:54] development and communication
opportunities.
[34:57] One of the hottest topic today loudly
asking for an innovative
[35:04] response is a mobility challenge
with tariffs and wars affecting our
[35:10] transportations.
We all we are all looking for an
[35:13] affordable reliable solution. The social
as companies that can play a decisive
[35:19] role in answering this challenge and the
business hub can bring them together.
[35:25] That is why I want to promote an
ambitious project toward light electric
[35:30] vehicles.
[35:35] Many companies around the world have
already jumped on the LEV train and are
[35:39] sharing updates of on their prototypes
and first commercial models. China is
[35:45] leading the way as you can guess.
[35:50] But eur European brands are also using
proxies to invest in this emerging
[35:56] market with innovative models breaking
the old school design of lighter
[36:00] vehicles.
[36:03] Another example is in Canada where an
innovative company use offtheshelf parts
[36:09] to offer an everyday individual year
round two-wheel mode of transportation.
[36:17] These examples show you how close we are
to witnessing an important evolution in
[36:23] the individual transportation industry
and the opportunity that is represent
[36:27] that it represents for the social shore
to become an an attractive industrial
[36:33] basin taking its place in the national
effort to adapt to climate change and
[36:38] international tensions.
[36:46] By providing by providing a professional
training program, an intensive extensive
[36:52] incubator program and an innovative,
symbiotic and collaborative project. The
[36:58] business hub would unlock the
communities hub full potential as an
[37:02] economic driver for our country.
This project can be ready for public
[37:07] presentation for the community hub
opening in October.
[37:11] The legal social could be a private
public private partnership.
[37:15] The budget could mainly be funded by
federal and provincial grants allowing
[37:20] uh alongside private sponsorship.
The launch f
[37:27] would consist of designing a workflow
with a community hub coordinator,
[37:31] consulting local enterprise to audit the
needs for professional training and
[37:35] creating a detailed budget for the
professional training center. designing
[37:40] the incubator program with the business
development agencies and communicate
[37:46] communicating with entrepreneurs to
share the new possibility offered by the
[37:50] community hub facility.
Meeting with the local company to
[37:54] evaluate their interest in investing in
the emerging lev market and their
[37:59] willingness to participate in the
technology innovation cluster.
[38:03] The budget need for this launch phase
will be around $10,000.
[38:08] MID Studio which I represent here uh and
is willing to partner with MODL will
[38:15] fund half of this amount leaving only
5,000 for MODL to launch this initiative
[38:20] and ambition project
[38:25] as we have seen this business project
needs an in instructional designer to
[38:30] create meaningful tailored professional
training opportunity
[38:34] a technician to guide startups and
entrepreneurs through the facility and
[38:38] materials. A representative recognized
by local industries uh enterprise to
[38:45] break through the wall the email wall
and provide the startups the networking
[38:49] start they need and an innovator to
manage a technology innovation cluster.
[38:56] We can organize this project through a
piece structure and with a small budget
[39:00] chair with partner we will refine this
concept and unlock the business hub full
[39:05] potential.
Thank you for your attention. Please let
[39:10] me know if you have any questions.
>> Okay. Are there questions? We have time
[39:14] for a few questions.
[39:18] The the one thing I will respond to is
that the the municipality has invested
[39:25] in the well tide building as you know
and created the community hub and then
[39:30] we've partnered with the library to
actually manage the space. And so my
[39:36] suggestion is that what you've proposed
is a proposal that that should likely be
[39:41] given to the library staff because
they're the ones that are going to do
[39:45] the programming there. And our budget
for the the the building has gone to
[39:52] them to uh manage and and
um hire the staff that they need and
[39:59] create the programming around uh what
they see as needed in the community. So
[40:05] I I would my suggestion would be that
this this kind of presentation and
[40:09] programming might be a fit with what
they're thinking. I don't I don't know
[40:13] what that is but we have partnered with
them to manage the programming and
[40:18] manage the space. Our responsibility was
in uh fitting up the building which was
[40:24] not was not an insignificant amount of
money $3 million three plus I think more
[40:29] than three and a half I think. I'm
looking back at our director of economic
[40:33] development. um and and then we provide
a budget to the library for the the
[40:39] operation of it. So I would think at
this stage we really um we we wouldn't
[40:45] make any decision on funding anything
tonight anyway, but my sense is we've
[40:49] made a very significant commitment to
the to the building and to its operation
[40:54] through the partnership with the
library. So, I would encourage you to
[40:59] talk to the library about what you're
proposing as an option for how some of
[41:05] the space might be used there. I uh
understand and I hear you and I will do
[41:11] that. Um
I have been in touch with um what I
[41:17] would like to underline is uh this is um
a full-time job uh because we need I
[41:23] think we really need a second
um person to be in the community hub. Um
[41:30] managing coordinating the usage of
different room and the facility is
[41:36] already a work that it will be taken on
by the hub coordinator. Um and I need he
[41:43] will he she will need someone to uh run
the business hub. That's the main point
[41:49] of my presentation today. Um and on the
other end if we want to um
[41:57] if this program is run under the social
public library it will not present the
[42:02] same way as if it's a program run by as
a partnership with MODL. Um, for
[42:09] example, if I uh go to see tomorrow
Mishlan and uh propose them to uh work
[42:14] on a large project like that, um
do I propose them to work with the
[42:21] social public library or do I uh tell
them that they can partner with a
[42:26] independent initiative uh that can grow
and uh and be
[42:33] bigger than just what uh uh social
public library can provide. Um and on
[42:41] the other hand, this
um it needs it create a need for a very
[42:48] specific skills and uh I don't know um
if the social public library can provide
[42:55] these skills.
>> These become operational discussions. Uh
[43:00] and that's not what what we're what we
do. Um, so that's why I'm encouraging
[43:05] you to have that conversation with the
library about the programming because
[43:09] then they may find other partners that
could work on this that would take it to
[43:13] the to the realm you're talking about.
But these are internal things. When
[43:18] we've partnered with the library, we've
given them the responsibility for
[43:21] programming and and they will work
within what what proposals they have.
[43:29] And that's why I'm encouraging you to to
talk to them and uh to see how this
[43:34] might fit with what they see in terms of
how they can program and what other
[43:39] opportunities in terms of finding
another community partner that might
[43:42] work with you or someone else on on the
things that you're proposing. So I thank
[43:48] you for your presentation and we
appreciate that you've taken time and
[43:52] welcome to Lunberg County even though
you've been here for a couple of years.
[43:55] Um, we're glad uh we're always glad that
we have newcomers that come and find a
[44:00] home here and are prepared to invest
ideas and time and resources in our
[44:05] community. So, thank you very much.
>> Thank you for your attention and I hope
[44:09] to have your support in my discussion
with social public library. Thank you
[44:14] very much.
[44:17] » We will move back to business arising
from the minutes which is number six.
[44:24] » Um, yes. So, we did have some public
input at uh previous council meeting. An
[44:30] individual came forward with concerns
because they had a project ready to go
[44:34] for a clean energy financing project. Uh
we've since worked with clean who have
[44:39] been able to remove some of the folks
who had um incompleted or stalled
[44:44] applications and so there was financial
capacity to address uh that resident and
[44:48] move along some other files that were
waiting for financing.
[44:56] Thank you for that update. We will move
then to awarding of tenders and RFPs.
[45:01] 7.1
snow removal services on municipal
[45:06] properties.
Mr. Burgess and Mr. Richardson.
[45:20] Good evening, Mayor Council.
Um,
[45:34] oh boy.
[45:38] Municipality of Lunenburgg and district
maintains numerous municipally owned
[45:42] facilities and wastewater
infrastructure. These municip municipal
[45:46] properties require maintenance during
the winter months to ensure they can be
[45:49] used safely by tenants, residents, and
staff.
[45:56] » Oh, okay. I was I was hearing it.
>> Councelor Mo wasn't hearing it.
[46:03] » Yeah, I understand. Sorry, Kathy. Um
this work includes plowing of snow on
[46:10] both gravel both paved and gravel
surfaces with the application of salt
[46:15] and sand. Ensuring this work is complete
prompt promptly following winter weather
[46:20] events allows for safe continued use of
properties and infrastructure throughout
[46:25] the winter.
[46:28] This tender was issued on August the 6th
and closed on August the 20th at 2:00.
[46:35] One submission was received by the
tender deadline. The submission is some
[46:40] the submission was from a Gearhart
property improvements.
[46:44] The snow and ice removal services for
property for municipal properties were
[46:49] included in the 2627 operating budget.
The estimated cost of the Gearhart
[46:55] property has submitted is within MODL's
council for approved operating budget.
[47:04] This tend the tender snow removal
services for municipal property closed
[47:09] August 22nd received one submission by
the tender closing date and the
[47:13] estimated cost of the submission is
within the municipal operating budget
[47:18] which I just said. Council authorized.
The recommendation is council authorized
[47:23] staff to award the tender TW 20261001
[47:28] snow removal services for municipal
properties
[47:32] to
um
[47:36] 305138
Nova Scotia Limited Gear Hart Property
[47:40] Improvement for the estimated cost of
$346,97487
[47:47] including net HST.
[47:51] Are there any questions? Uh, councelor.
>> Yes. I'm just wondering who was doing
[47:56] the work before with its and I'm
assuming we're very satisfied with their
[48:03] work that they've been doing.
>> We are. We have them trained very well
[48:07] now.
[48:11] » Councelor Oracle, do you want to put
this motion on the floor?
[48:14] » Certainly.
To Mayor Mlan Wild and members of
[48:18] council, I move that municipal council
award tender 20261001
[48:24] snow removal services for municipal
properties 2026 to 2029
[48:31] to 3051389
Nova Scotia Limited Ghart Properties
[48:36] Improvement for the estimated cost of
$346,97487
[48:43] including net HST. I so move
>> and a seconder for the motion. Seconded
[48:48] by deputy mayor Venino. Is there
discussion on the motion?
[48:53] All those in favor signify by raising
their hands. Motion is carried
[48:57] unanimously.
We'll move to 7.2 which is the award of
[49:02] tender 265004
Mushamush Road upgrades.
[49:08] Good evening mayor and council. Uh Jamie
and I are here filling in for uh Steven
[49:12] Pace, director of engineering and public
works. um for the request for decision.
[49:16] Tender 20265004
Mushmush Beach Park Road upgrades.
[49:23] Uh tender 2026 05004 Mushmush Beach Park
upgrades was issued on July 29th, 2026
[49:29] and closed at 2 p.m. on August 12th,
2026.
[49:32] Five submissions were received by the
tender deadline. Uh only three
[49:36] submissions were compliant of those
five. The compliance submissions are
[49:39] summarized in the table below. Um the
2026 2027 capital budget includes the
[49:45] project this project with a total
capital budget amount of $250,000.
[49:50] The lowest submission of $555,346
for this work exceeds the total budget
[49:56] amount approved by council.
Uh due to the nature of of the road
[50:02] work, access to the park will be
interrupted during construction and will
[50:05] require notification to park users and
residents of a municipal park regarding
[50:09] any closures.
[50:14] Uh, as a possible recommendation, um,
council to not award tender 20265004
[50:21] Mushmush Beach Park Road upgrades
project and that council direct staff to
[50:25] explore other methods of upgrade of
upgrading the Mushmush Beach Park Road
[50:30] utilizing internal resources and service
providers on the municipal general road
[50:34] maintenance tender.
>> Thank you. Do we Oh,
[50:40] » Mr. Burgess, did you want to add
anything? No, I think I'm good with
[50:43] that.
>> Okay, if you just turn your mic off.
[50:45] » Sorry.
>> Uh, are there questions? Councelor
[50:48] Smith,
[50:51] » I'm just wondering um why the um why the
lowest tender is is, you know, double
[51:00] the amount that we estimated. Is it
um
[51:06] Yeah. Did we underestimate the costs or
um or are these are these bids um
[51:14] I don't want to say inflated but overly
large? Um and do we think that we
[51:22] do we then think that we can do it for
the 250,000
[51:29] um through other means?
[51:34] So um as you can see a key factor in
these bid pricing is their variability.
[51:42] Um so we have a huge range between the
um the value of work according to the
[51:49] different biders. Um
we have uh completed some work in the
[51:55] past uh capital budget cycles where our
own staff has have acted as a general
[52:00] contractor and use things like our road
maintenance um contracts to get that
[52:05] work done and it has always been
significantly cheaper than when we um
[52:10] procure the whole thing. Um so this is a
a case where it appears that the
[52:16] variability in the public bidding
process is not providing best value for
[52:21] the municipality. So we should proceed
with a alternative approach.
[52:30] follow-up question and um uh it may be
recreation staff that's better suited to
[52:36] answer this one, but we had been looking
at some um some means of closing off um
[52:45] uh ATV access into the park after hours
or um through other means other than um
[52:53] vehicle access other than through the
main road. uh is will that also be put
[52:59] off until um this road work is um is
done
[53:08] or because I my understanding was that
it was all going to be done at the same
[53:13] time. Um, will we be moving forward with
um any um measures around gates before
[53:21] the road work is done or can I still
expect that they'll be done at the same
[53:25] time?
[53:31] It would be our intentions to have uh
Andrea, our parks manager, to work with
[53:36] engineering to see if we can come up
with a solution for the gates at the
[53:39] same time as the road because it does
make sense to try to pull it all
[53:44] together. Just waiting on the direction
of council's decision tonight around the
[53:50] parks road.
Other questions?
[53:55] Would someone propose the motion then?
Councelor Smith.
[54:02] » To Mayor and members of council, I move
that municipal council not award tender
[54:08] 20265004
Mashamash Beach Park Road upgrades
[54:13] project and further that staff explore
other methods for upgrading the
[54:18] Mushamash Beach Park using internal
resources and service providers listed
[54:22] in the municipal general road
maintenance tender.
[54:27] Seconded by councelor Bell. Is there
discussion on the motion?
[54:32] All those in favor signify by raising
their hands. Motion is carried
[54:36] unanimously. Thank you.
7.3 which Mr. Waters award of maker
[54:44] space equipment for the community hub.
[54:52] » Uh thank you worship and council. The
memo is from Mark, but he's off this
[54:56] week, so I am here for Mark. Um, it's,
uh, the memo is in relation to some of
[55:02] the maker space equipment. Uh, we did a,
uh, scope with CDW, which is under the
[55:09] kinetic GO uh, agreement that we have
for purchasing. Uh, we have a list of
[55:14] items that we're able to get from CDW.
Uh if you wish I can go through the
[55:20] items but the total is 35,49,000.
[55:24] Uh it fits within the budget that was uh
set uh to do those items. I will say
[55:31] that we were successful in a grant
through AKOA to cover most of the cost
[55:37] for the items uh in the maker space. So
we will be using the AKOA grant to help
[55:43] offset those expenses. Um, and if you
have any questions, I'm happy to try to
[55:50] answer.
>> Any questions? Oh, councelor Hubley,
[55:56] » do you have an amount on the grant?
>> Let me take uh
[55:59] » No.
>> No. Okay, good.
[56:04] I was going to say not really yet, but
Tom said no.
[56:08] » Okay,
>> other questions.
[56:13] Would
[56:20] someone put the motion on the floor?
>> I'm just wondering if we should say why
[56:24] we can't say
>> because we've made an application and
[56:27] that until the that can be announced, we
can't speak about it.
[56:30] » Okay. Yeah. Because I'm sure somebody
that was listening is like, well, why
[56:34] can't they? So, thank you very much for
saying the reason why. Thank you.
[56:39] » Would someone put the motion on the
floor, please?
[56:42] Moved by councelor Hubley, seconded by
the motion.
[56:47] » Yes, you read the motion first. I was
>> Thank you.
[56:50] » I was already skipping. No.
>> To Mayor Mlan While and members of
[56:54] council, I move that municipal council
award the purchase of the community hub
[56:58] maker space equipment to CDW Canada,
Inc. using the Connecticut GPO system in
[57:05] the amount of $35,49
[57:10] excluding HST.
and a seconder for the motion. Seconded
[57:15] by councelor Burns. Is there further
discussion on the motion?
[57:19] All those in favor signify by raising
their hands. Motion is carried
[57:24] unanimously. Thank you.
We will move along. There is no
[57:29] correspondence for consideration this
evening. We'll move down to an
[57:34] recommendations from committees and
boards. Planning advisory committee
[57:37] 10.1.1.
Miss Young and Mr. Merrill.
[58:08] Good evening, mayor and councel. My name
is Rosemary Young and I'm a planner one
[58:12] with the municipality of the district of
Lunenburgg. Today I'm presenting
[58:16] proposed amendments to the Osprey
Village secondary planning strategy and
[58:20] land use bylaw affecting PID 66310009.
[58:27] The presentation will provide some
background on the proposal, summarize
[58:30] public stake and public and stakeholder
feedback, review the planning analysis,
[58:35] and conclude with staff's
recommendation.
[58:40] In short, staff are seeking council's
approval of the proposed secondary
[58:44] planning strategy and land use bylaw
amendments and direction to schedule a
[58:49] public hearing as the next step in the
process.
[58:52] As a reminder, CA council initiated this
amendment process in April 2026.
[58:58] Following council's direction on April
14th, 2026, staff conducted public
[59:02] engagement, consulted with internal and
external stakeholders, and presented the
[59:07] proposed amendments to the planning
advisory committee.
[59:10] On July 23rd, 2026, the planning
advisory committee recommended that
[59:15] council approve the proposed amendments.
If council chooses to proceed with the
[59:20] motions and conduct first reading today,
the next step would be a public hearing
[59:24] followed by a consideration of second
reading.
[59:28] So the subject property is PID 66310009,
a municipally owned parcel located
[59:35] within Osprey Village. The site is
currently designated residential and
[59:39] zoned for highdensity residential within
the Osprey Village secondary planning
[59:43] strategy and land use bylaw. It is
located near existing institutional and
[59:48] commercial uses including the center
scaler darif sud. The property is
[59:54] currently vacant.
The primary reason for the amendments is
[59:58] that the planning assumptions for the
property have changed. When the property
[1:00:01] was zoned for highdensity residential,
it was anticipated that municipal water
[1:00:05] and sewer services would be extended to
the area. Those serving servicing plans
[1:00:10] at the time of the report are no longer
being pursued. So without central
[1:00:14] services, it is unlikely that the site
could support the densities required by
[1:00:18] the existing highdensity residential
zone. Staff are therefore of the opinion
[1:00:23] that the existing zoning no longer
aligns with the servicing realities of
[1:00:26] the property and that a more flexible
planning framework is warranted to
[1:00:31] enhance development potential. The
proposed amendments would permit a wider
[1:00:35] range of uses while also retaining a
portion of the property as open space.
[1:00:41] So this slide summarizes the amendments
being considered. At a high level, the
[1:00:45] proposal would redesate the property
from residential to enterprise and
[1:00:50] community designations and reszone it
from highdensity residential to general
[1:00:54] commercial and open space.
The amendments would also include sight
[1:00:58] specific exemptions permitting
development with on-site services and
[1:01:02] removing the minimum residential density
requirement that currently applies in
[1:01:06] the general commercial zone. staff
believe these amendments better reflect
[1:01:10] the property servicing constraints while
preserving flexibility for future use
[1:01:15] and as mentioned uh retaining open
space.
[1:01:19] So this slide illustrates the proposed
amendments to the generalized future
[1:01:23] land use map. Under the proposal, a
portion of the property would be
[1:01:27] redesated to the enterprise designation
to support uses permitted within that
[1:01:32] designation while the remainder would be
redesated to community to facilitate
[1:01:36] open space uses.
Similar changes are proposed to the
[1:01:41] zoning map. The highdensity residential
zone that applies to the property would
[1:01:45] be replaced with the general commercial
zone and the open space zone.
[1:01:51] And this zone highlights uh what's
permitted in the general commercial
[1:01:55] zone. So it does permit a wide variety
of commercial and residential uses as
[1:01:59] well as institutional uses. Importantly,
develop in this development in this zone
[1:02:04] is subject to site plan approval and
site plan approval requirements address
[1:02:09] matters such as landscaping, buffering,
parking, pedestrian movement, and storm
[1:02:14] water management. There are also
architectural controls in the general
[1:02:18] commercial zone. So, these requirements
provide an additional layer of review
[1:02:22] and help address many of the concerns
that were raised during public
[1:02:25] engagement that were cited in the
report.
[1:02:29] It's also worth noting that residential
development remains a permitted use
[1:02:32] within the general commercial zone.
While the proposed amendments would
[1:02:35] allow commercial uses, they do not
eliminate the possibility of housing on
[1:02:39] the site. Rather, they establish a more
flexible zoning framework um that can
[1:02:44] accommodate a wider range of future land
use opportunities.
[1:02:49] And the open space zone is intended to
preserve land for recreation,
[1:02:52] conservation, and community oriented
use. The zone significantly limits
[1:02:56] future development and ensures that a
portion of the property remains
[1:02:59] dedicated for open space purposes.
So, as mentioned, staff conducted public
[1:03:05] engagement and received both verbal and
written feedback. Residents raised
[1:03:09] concerns about wetland production,
drainage, community character, and the
[1:03:13] potential form of the future
development. Concerns were also raised
[1:03:17] regarding the amount of green space
retained and the long-term implications
[1:03:21] of developing the site. It is worth
noting that many of the comments from
[1:03:25] the public focused on the potential
future development outcomes rather than
[1:03:28] concerns about the pros land use
amendments themselves.
[1:03:33] Staff al also consulted with a range of
internal departments and external
[1:03:37] agencies. Key concerns focused on
traffic and school safety, environmental
[1:03:42] impacts, compatibility with nearby uses,
and uncertainty regarding future
[1:03:46] development. At the same time, several
stakeholders identified other
[1:03:50] considerations, including the adequacy
of fire protection services, the absence
[1:03:55] of municipal servicing costs, and the
value of retaining a portion of the
[1:03:59] property's open space. These comments
helped inform staff's overall analysis
[1:04:04] and recommendation.
So after reviewing the proposal against
[1:04:09] the applicable planning policies and
considering public and stakeholder
[1:04:14] feedback, staff are satisfied that the
proposed amendments make sense from a
[1:04:18] planning perspective. The existing
zoning no longer reflects the serving
[1:04:22] assumptions that informed its adoption
and the proposed zoning framework is
[1:04:26] more practical and flexible while
continuing to provide development
[1:04:29] controls through the site plan approval
mechanism and through architectural
[1:04:33] controls
um as well as through rem remaining
[1:04:37] retaining open space and in addition
identified wetlands are subject to
[1:04:41] setback requirements that provide
further uh protection.
[1:04:46] So in conclusion, planning staff are of
the opinion that the amendments reflect
[1:04:49] current service servicing realities,
provide a more appropriate land use
[1:04:54] framework for the property, and balance
development flexibility with the
[1:04:57] retention of open space. Accordingly,
planning staff recommend that council
[1:05:01] approve the proposed amendments and
schedule a public hearing. Um, thank you
[1:05:06] and happy to take any questions.
>> We'll open it up for questions before we
[1:05:11] move to putting the motion on the floor.
Are there questions?
[1:05:18] Councelor Smith.
[1:05:23] » Um during the land use planning process,
we made some changes to some properties
[1:05:29] in the area, the proposed zoning for um
areas that were uh designated as RU2.
[1:05:39] And then we said, well, actually these
are likely to get servicing. So, we
[1:05:45] changed them to mixeduse service
servicing zone. And so, I'm just
[1:05:51] wondering if you can help me understand
like why did we why do we
[1:05:57] why do we um assume that those
properties will get servicing but this
[1:06:02] one won't? I'm just trying to understand
um
[1:06:08] kind of the future of our
infrastructure, how we're thinking about
[1:06:13] it because it feels like that conflicts
a bit, but maybe not. I would just like
[1:06:17] to hear
um
[1:06:22] why it appears to conflict, I guess.
>> Yeah. So, uh
[1:06:29] the um
agricultural uh stuff that we looked at
[1:06:34] in like draft three of the municipalwide
plan, uh those zones didn't impact into
[1:06:42] Osprey Village because there's already
land use planning there. Uh but we
[1:06:47] looked at a report for um uh like we
have a water uh report that shows where
[1:06:56] uh the central water can be serviced. Uh
which
[1:07:01] you know central sewer is really at the
end of the day up to the municipality
[1:07:05] and how much funds that the municipality
would like to spend to service certain
[1:07:11] areas. Uh we've got you know what has
changed when this was originally uh set
[1:07:18] up that for the zoning changed to
highdensity residential the thought was
[1:07:23] that it would be able to be serviced
with the central uh sewer and water. Uh
[1:07:31] but you know after looking at uh the
cost of servicing uh you know doing an
[1:07:39] additional phase to our sewer system uh
it's more cost effective if we invest in
[1:07:45] another uh system in another
municipality that we get much more much
[1:07:53] a lot more units um for the money that
for the same amount of money that you
[1:07:59] would spend to upgrade grade here. Uh
but in the other areas, the difference
[1:08:03] is the central water um component
is really what drove the the servicing
[1:08:10] in the municipalwide planning document.
[1:08:18] » So just to clarify, so no waste water um
is sewer no sewer services. That's
[1:08:24] that's kind of the the um the difference
is that there might be water available
[1:08:32] but not sewer.
>> Yes, there there might be water but in
[1:08:35] our when we looked at um the the phasing
and what parcels are in which phases?
[1:08:43] This parcel was in a future phase which
would require
[1:08:48] Tom can correct me if I'm wrong, but
this was a additional 20 million
[1:08:54] $25 million investment um to our current
$20 million upgrade.
[1:09:11] » Are there Is that clear, Councelor
Smith? You still
[1:09:18] » Yeah. Yeah. I I That's That's fine.
Thank you.
[1:09:22] Are there other questions?
Would someone put the motion on the
[1:09:27] floor?
[1:09:32] » Put one the one mo motion number one
because I believe there are two. To
[1:09:36] Mayor Mlan Wild and members of council,
I move that municipal council accept the
[1:09:41] recommendation of the planning advisory
committee and give notice of its intent
[1:09:46] to approve bylaw 020H
amendments to the Osprey Village
[1:09:52] Secondary Planning Strategy 2026 and the
bylaw 021J.
[1:09:58] Amendments to the Osprey Village land
use bylaw 2026 amending bylaw 2020 020
[1:10:06] excuse me and bylaw 021 both dated
August the 20th 2025 and I so move and a
[1:10:15] seconder for the motion seconded by
councelor Burns. Is there discussion on
[1:10:20] the motion?
All those in favor signify by raising
[1:10:24] their hands.
Motion is carried unanimously.
[1:10:28] Could we have the second motion?
Councelor Okel, would you like to bring
[1:10:32] that forward?
>> Sure, I can continue. Um, to Mayor
[1:10:35] McLean, Wild and members of council, I
move that municipal council set a date
[1:10:38] and time for the public hearing on
October the 13th, 2026 at 5:30 p.m.
[1:10:45] regarding its intention to approve the
proposed amendments to the Osprey
[1:10:49] Village secondary planning strategy
bylaw 20
[1:10:53] bylaw 020
and the Osprey Village use bylaw bylaw
[1:10:59] 021 dated August the 20th 2025
and a seconder for the motion councelor
[1:11:06] Burns. Is there discussion on the
motion? All those in favor signify by
[1:11:11] raising their hands. Motion is carried
unanimously. Thank you.
[1:11:19] We will move then to staff reports
11.1.1
[1:11:25] which is designated community fund the
Lunenburgg yacht club. Miss Payne.
[1:11:36] » Yes. Good evening Mayor and council. Uh,
as council can recall this year, uh,
[1:11:41] you've approved an application under the
designated community fund for the
[1:11:45] Lunberg Yacht Club providing them the
ability to purchase additional
[1:11:50] participant and coaches boats for their
learn to sail program. So, recently we
[1:11:55] have received 21 donations totaling
$59,550.
[1:12:02] Um and staff are recommending that uh
the municipality grant the Lunberg Yacht
[1:12:08] Club 55 59,445
of the funds that we received. Um $15
[1:12:16] would um stay with the municipality as
we do charge a slight administration fee
[1:12:21] through the designated community fund.
Um just a little bit of reminder, the
[1:12:25] designated community fund project or
project fund was established by council
[1:12:30] some time ago to support groups um in
their fundraising efforts who uh cannot
[1:12:36] uh award charitable tax receipts. And so
this is one of those uh policies or
[1:12:42] methods that the municipality has put in
place to support community um in doing
[1:12:47] the great things that they do.
>> Okay. Okay. Are there questions,
[1:12:53] Councelor Dong? No. You You want to put
the motion on the floor? Thank you.
[1:13:00] » Uh to Mayor, members of council, I move
that municipal council grant the Lunberg
[1:13:05] Yacht Club $59,445
as per the criteria outlined in policy
[1:13:11] 048 designated community project fund. I
move and a seconder. Seconded by
[1:13:17] councelor Bell. Any discussion on the
motion?
[1:13:21] All those in favor signify by raising
their hands. Motion is carried
[1:13:25] unanimously. Thank you.
[1:13:30] We will move to administration and
11.2.1 which is a service agreement
[1:13:37] regarding animal control services and
impound facilities.
[1:13:42] » Mr. Kennedy.
>> Thank you madame mayor and councel. Um
[1:13:45] so before you was uh the renewal for the
animal control services with the
[1:13:50] municipality and district of Chester um
with uh Ocean K9 Resort as the the key
[1:13:56] component to that. Um Chester put out
their bids and they were the only
[1:14:02] proponent that put the proposal in. So
so there was no review process. They
[1:14:06] were given the award through Chester. So
this is just um another five-year
[1:14:10] extension of our current um agreement
that we have with Chester. So, uh, we
[1:14:15] had this same company for the last 5
years prior to this. It ran out in, um,
[1:14:20] January of, uh, this year, and this,
this project would go until 3031, uh,
[1:14:25] 2031. So, they're looking for $4,000 per
month exclusive of HST and 10% admin
[1:14:33] fee.
[1:14:37] » Questions on this?
Deputy Mayor Venino,
[1:14:43] » with the monthly cost of 4,000 per
month, does that ever go up depending on
[1:14:47] the level of service that's needed from
modal or no matter what, it's always
[1:14:52] 4,000 whether they respond to zero calls
or 50 calls?
[1:14:55] » Yeah. So, currently it's a $4,000 a
month for that 5year term. So, it won't
[1:14:59] go up in the month or it won't go down.
So, we're we're the bulk of the service
[1:15:04] for that right now. There was 115 calls
for service for modl and 45 I believe it
[1:15:10] was for Chester. So we're the biggest
chunk of the user.
[1:15:15] » Councelor Dong
and just on that thread if if we are the
[1:15:20] biggest user uh why why is it operated
through Chester uh and not
[1:15:27] » that's a very good question. Um so
there's a few answers to that. one, we
[1:15:31] do not have our own impound or facility
uh with staffing to operate that kind of
[1:15:37] operation. So, he has um a pretty large
facility down there that um that is
[1:15:43] staffed and you know they look after
animals that are impounded and things
[1:15:46] like that. Um we don't have such a
availability in our district right now.
[1:15:52] Um plus you need bylaw enforcement
officers and we have none of those right
[1:15:56] now either. So there'd be um
considerably more cost involved if you
[1:16:00] had to put all those different things in
place to make it a viable operation.
[1:16:07] » Other questions?
So councelor Bell.
[1:16:14] » So what we're actually approving is
$240,000
[1:16:20] over five years. For the purposes of
transparency, I would like that figure
[1:16:26] spoken about today.
I have no discussion about it, but I
[1:16:31] feel that the motion should have that in
brackets.
[1:16:35] » Fair point.
[1:16:40] » Councelor Bell, do you want that
recorded in the in the in the motion or
[1:16:45] is it having publicly stated it? Is that
adequate? just publicly stating it. I I
[1:16:52] I know people are watching from home. I
also know that uh individuals refer to
[1:16:59] these minutes. I just want the true
figure known and that's fine with me.
[1:17:08] » Would you like to propose the motion?
>> I can.
[1:17:14] » Thank you.
[1:17:18] to Mayor Mlan Wild and members of modl
council.
[1:17:24] I move that municipal council enter into
a service agreement with the
[1:17:29] municipality of the district of Chester
for the provision of animal control
[1:17:35] services and impound facilities
for the period of August 1st, 2026
[1:17:44] to July 31st, 2031
at a cost of $4,000 per month exclusive
[1:17:54] of HST
plus an administration fee of 10% and
[1:18:00] authorize the execution of same. Thank
you.
[1:18:06] » And seconder for the motion
seconded by councelor Dong. Um I just
[1:18:12] have one just a clarification. So the
10% covers if a dog is impounded
[1:18:20] is that 10% does that cover the cost of
keeping that dog? Like I I'm from
[1:18:28] reading them the the the background to
this. I wasn't sure whether that was
[1:18:32] part of the 4,000.
>> My understanding is when it's when a dog
[1:18:35] is impounded that that um fee is is put
over to the owner to pay that impound
[1:18:40] fee, but I could be wrong. the the
administrative fee is Chester's cost for
[1:18:46] administering the contract. So, you're
entering into an agreement with Chester
[1:18:50] to provide the service. Chester takes
care of all of the procurement work and
[1:18:54] the contract management. So, there as we
do with other services that we're
[1:19:00] involved in where we're the host unit,
we usually charge some administrative
[1:19:03] amount.
I it it just wasn't clear when I was
[1:19:07] reading it and I may not have read it
well enough uh to understand what that
[1:19:12] 10% covered. I I I expected there would
be administrative fee because they
[1:19:17] tender for things and maintain the
contracts, but I didn't know how the
[1:19:20] animals are managed and they find places
for them and make sure that that's done
[1:19:26] and that's
>> their their contractor has those
[1:19:30] facilities.
>> Okay, I'm clear now. Any other Deputy
[1:19:34] Mayor Venino?
>> And just on to that, I noticed in the uh
[1:19:38] agenda package, it says that the fee
does not cover any emergency medical
[1:19:42] care or euthanization or other fees. So,
would we be build separate for that at
[1:19:48] the time or does that come at the end of
the contract?
[1:19:53] » Um I don't really have a 100% answer for
that, but I would I would have to look
[1:19:57] into that. But I would say that they
would be build as required uh when they
[1:20:02] if that has to happen.
I can't see them putting them off and
[1:20:06] and Alex unless you have something
further to that.
[1:20:08] » I believe that's the the fees that you
were speaking about which are charged to
[1:20:13] the animal owner. So those aren't
incurred by the municipality.
[1:20:20] » Anything else anyone wants to ask?
Uh we have um do we have it on the
[1:20:28] floor? Do we have it moved and seconded?
>> Yeah.
[1:20:32] » All those
[1:20:36] second.
>> Yeah.
[1:20:40] » It's a lot of motions tonight. Is there
any other discussion on the motion
[1:20:45] hearing? None. All those in favor
signify by raising their hands. Motion
[1:20:50] is carried unanimously. Thank you.
>> Thank you for that.
[1:20:55] We'll move on to uh JClass Road
subdivision street paving Darby's Head
[1:21:00] Road tender cost approval. This should
be short and sweet.
[1:21:05] » Uh thank you mayor. Yes, it uh it should
be both short and relatively sweet. Um
[1:21:11] so the uh the province has provided us
with notice of an increase in the cost
[1:21:15] of the paving for Darby's Head Road. The
original estimate was $200,000. The
[1:21:20] tender amount is 242,000.
Our new cost share amount is 121,000 up
[1:21:26] from 100,000. And before they can
proceed, the um province requires us to
[1:21:32] indicate that we are okay and consenting
to the increased cost. Uh and if council
[1:21:39] is in favor of that, we would ask for
motion to be passed and then the mayor
[1:21:43] um would execute the um the very short
letter that the province has provided
[1:21:48] for us. We would return that to um Miss
Cunningham at the Department of
[1:21:53] Transportation Public Works and the
province will continue with the uh the
[1:21:56] plan paving of Darby's Head Road.
>> Deputy Mayor Vino, would you like to
[1:22:01] move this please?
>> Happily. Yes. To Mayor Mlan While and
[1:22:06] members of council, I move that
municipal council accept the new cost
[1:22:10] share amount of 121,000
for the paving of Darby's Head Road as
[1:22:17] per cost share agreement 2023-015
[1:22:22] Jclass subdivision street paving project
and authorize the execution of same and
[1:22:29] I so move and a seconded by councelor
Dong. Is there discussion on the motion?
[1:22:35] All those in favor signify by raising
their hands. Motion is carried
[1:22:39] unanimously.
We'll move on to policy 109, closure of
[1:22:43] public streets. PID number 60742368
[1:22:49] and PID number 60742376.
Mr. Merrill.
[1:22:55] » Yes. And can Tina, can you put the my
computer up on the screen?
[1:23:06] All right. So, the two uh road reserves
uh are undeveloped. Uh they're in the
[1:23:13] municipality. There are in the Meldrum
Concordia Drive area uh shown on that
[1:23:19] circle. There's it zoomed in a little
bit further and it's the two areas
[1:23:26] outlined in this red square boxes. Uh so
these are
[1:23:31] uh were acquired. So under our
subdivision bylaw when uh subdivisions
[1:23:36] happen, our subdivision bylaw has a
clause that requires adjacent
[1:23:43] uh access every 400 meters along uh a
road and that's to uh get access to
[1:23:51] adjacent properties for future
development.
[1:23:54] Uh
back in 2018, the municipality
[1:24:00] revised their subdivision bylaw and
council uh decided to no longer take on
[1:24:06] new public roads. And if you take on new
public roads that you would review them
[1:24:11] on a case-byase basis, looking for, you
know, the financial sustainability of
[1:24:17] owning and maintaining those public
streets.
[1:24:21] uh because once you take them, you have
them for a long time. Uh these are
[1:24:27] currently undeveloped. Uh the adjacent
property owner, so the large I don't
[1:24:32] think you can can't see my mouse on
that, but it's the large one on my left,
[1:24:38] your right when you're looking at that.
Uh
[1:24:43] yes, your left as well. Sorry.
uh the large parcel the property owner
[1:24:48] is uh interested in doing a development
there uh and is interested in acquiring
[1:24:55] the properties from the municipality and
developing them as uh private uh roads
[1:25:01] that would be constructed uh that will
enable them to subdivide their property.
[1:25:07] Um
if they're not private roads to
[1:25:10] subdivide, then it has to be public,
which means we would have to build and
[1:25:15] uh maintain those roads. Uh the
policy in front of you today, we're
[1:25:23] looking for council to give uh municipal
council 7 days notice uh to approve the
[1:25:30] policy. So, uh, this policy, uh, would
allow you to close, uh, these two
[1:25:38] undeveloped street reserves under the
municipal government act. You can do
[1:25:43] that by policy. Uh, you can do it
without a public hearing when the
[1:25:49] municipal engineer has declared the
parcels surplus and that their value is
[1:25:54] less than $50,000.
Uh so in this case both of those parcels
[1:25:59] have been declared surplus by our
municipal engineer and their value is
[1:26:03] estimated at less than $50,000.
Uh
[1:26:09] once this policy passes uh that would
enable the municipality to devest of the
[1:26:14] parcels which you do have a policy for
land devestature
[1:26:19] um which would would require you to
declare uh council declare the land
[1:26:25] surplus uh and also decide on the method
to devest of those properties. uh which
[1:26:32] there is a policy or a clause in that
policy that allows council to sell land
[1:26:38] uh to abuing land owners uh pursuant to
section 51A of the municipal government
[1:26:43] act and that section of the MGA
basically states where a municipality
[1:26:49] holds land that is of insufficient
size or de dimensions to be capable of
[1:26:55] any reasonable use in the opinion of
council all or part of the land may be
[1:27:00] sold to the owner of any abuing uh land
owner. Uh staff's proposing that uh when
[1:27:09] you adopt this policy that you then
devest of the parcels uh using that
[1:27:15] section of the municipal government act.
Uh
[1:27:21] yeah, so staff recommends you declare
the lands surplus uh dispose of them per
[1:27:27] the policy. Uh so your first step would
be to give seven days notice that you
[1:27:33] will consider this uh this policy at
your September 22nd
[1:27:38] 2026 council meeting.
>> Okay. Are there questions on this?
[1:27:51] Would someone put the motion on the
floor then please?
[1:27:58] Councelor Burns
>> to Mayor Mlan while and members of
[1:28:03] council. I move that municipal account
municipal council approve policy 109
[1:28:08] closure of certain public streets PIDs
60742368
[1:28:14] and 60742376
as presented and give 7 days notice of
[1:28:20] its intention to approve the policy at
the September 22nd, 2026 council
[1:28:25] meeting.
Is there a seconder for the motion?
[1:28:31] Seconded by councelor Hubley. Is there
discussion on the motion?
[1:28:37] Hearing none. All those in favor signify
by raising their hands.
[1:28:41] Motion is carried unanimously. Thank
you.
[1:28:47] We will move then to planning and
development reports and activities and
[1:28:53] 11.3.1 which is energize together
regional energy navigation service
[1:28:59] agreements a B.
[1:29:09] Good evening uh mayor and council. Um
the report before you today is about the
[1:29:15] energize together essentially regional
home energy navigation service that we
[1:29:19] are hoping to establish in partnership
with our neighboring municipality town
[1:29:23] of Bridgewater.
Um the purpose of the service is to
[1:29:27] provide uh one local point of contact
and make it easier for residents uh to
[1:29:32] understand what home energy programs are
available out there uh what financing
[1:29:36] incentives may be available and help
them navigate through the process. uh
[1:29:41] should they need assistance. A little
bit of a background. So the service
[1:29:44] builds upon the navigation model um
through town of Bridgewater's own
[1:29:49] energized Bridgewater home upgrade
program which was funded through federal
[1:29:54] smart cities challenge uh funds. The
project itself concluded in March of
[1:30:00] 2026. Um and as part of this transition,
town and MODL, town of Bridgewater and
[1:30:06] MODL have been working together to adapt
the navigation model and create it into
[1:30:10] a regional uh navigation service uh that
could be available to residents of both
[1:30:16] municipalities. Uh the federal funder
has approved the use of remaining smart
[1:30:21] cities challenge funding to support this
transition uh including funding for the
[1:30:26] regional navigation service as well as
additional home energy upgrades. uh
[1:30:30] Bridgewater Council uh authorized their
CEO to execute the three agreements um
[1:30:37] attached to this report uh on August
10th uh as staff uh now are now seeking
[1:30:44] the same authorization from MODL
council. How the service will work? Uh
[1:30:48] basically MODL will administer the
regional service through our existing
[1:30:53] climate action corner which is Skila
sitting beside me. uh she will serve as
[1:30:57] the energy navigator role uh and will
guide the residents. Uh so navigator
[1:31:02] essentially will be the primary contact
point of contact for residents and
[1:31:06] depending on their circumstances the
navigator will help identify the
[1:31:09] appropriate programs explain eligibility
requirements for different programs um
[1:31:14] documents gathering uh assisting with
the applications and explain um how to
[1:31:20] go around and navigate the process and
residents will not uh need to know which
[1:31:25] program they qualify in advance or
before contacting us. uh this is an
[1:31:30] important part of the service. They can
uh essentially reach out to us and uh
[1:31:34] the navigator will then help them uh
understand their options. Uh the three
[1:31:38] agreements uh attached to the report
before council establish the service
[1:31:43] delivery program coordination and the
supplemental incentive arrangements that
[1:31:47] is required to um establish this service
and launch uh energize together. Uh the
[1:31:53] first agreement uh is the intermunicipal
service agreement that is between MODL
[1:31:58] and town of Bridgewater. Uh that
establishes MODL as the administrative
[1:32:03] lead for the service and sets out the
service staffing funding reporting and
[1:32:09] oversight arrangements. Uh the
navigation agreement runs until March uh
[1:32:14] 31st 2028. Uh the second agreement is
the program coordination agreement with
[1:32:19] efficiency 1 or E1 in short. Uh this
establishes how the navigator,
[1:32:24] municipalities and E1 will coordinate
applications, information sharing uh
[1:32:29] file progression and reporting. Uh and
it is also very important to emphasize
[1:32:34] that energize together is not intended
to replace efficiency uh one. Uh the
[1:32:39] residents can still continue to apply uh
their programs directly and eligibility
[1:32:44] decisions still remain uh with
efficiency one. uh our role is to help
[1:32:49] residents navigate and access those
programs.
[1:32:53] Uh the third agreement is the
supplemental home upgrade incentives
[1:32:57] agreement that is between uh clean
foundation and two municipal units. Uh
[1:33:01] this establishes how the additional
funding will be used to support eligible
[1:33:05] home upgrades uh that may not be fully
uh addressed through existing programs.
[1:33:11] Um there is also a separate uh so the
supplementary actually the home upgrade
[1:33:15] incentives uh there's a separate
agreement that has been signed between
[1:33:19] town of pitchwater and clean foundation
uh which is around $410,000 that is the
[1:33:24] remaining funds that uh through their
smart cities challenge fund that will be
[1:33:29] made available as uh part of this uh
program and it will be provided as a
[1:33:33] supplemental uh home energy upgrades
incentives for eligible residents for
[1:33:38] both municipalities.
Um, in terms of financial implications,
[1:33:43] no additional MODL funding is requested
through this report. Uh, Town of
[1:33:47] Bridgewater will provide $100,000
towards the navigation services over the
[1:33:52] 2-year period. Uh, it will also provide
additional $25,000 for advertising,
[1:33:57] promotion, and outreach. Uh, over the
same period. Um in terms of
[1:34:02] communication um following the execution
of the agreement staff will complete the
[1:34:07] remaining launch activities. Uh they
will coordinate with town and program
[1:34:11] partners on service delivery and public
communications.
[1:34:15] Um in terms of alternatives, council
could uh defer authorization of one or
[1:34:21] more agreements pending additional
information. uh council may decline to
[1:34:25] authorize one or more of the agreements
and council may provide other direction
[1:34:29] as deemed appropriate. Um in conclusion,
energize together uh we are hoping to
[1:34:35] make it easier for our residents to
access u available home energy
[1:34:39] efficiency programs, financing and
supports. Um and by helping residents
[1:34:44] navigate through the process, overcome
uh any of the administrative barriers or
[1:34:49] challenges. Uh the three agreements have
already been undergone uh through legal
[1:34:53] and insurance review uh and staff
recommend that council authorize uh our
[1:34:58] CEO to execute the agreement so that we
can proceed with the um establishment of
[1:35:04] the regional uh navigation service and
I'm happy to take questions.
[1:35:09] » Questions from council.
Councelor Smith,
[1:35:15] thanks so much for the presentation.
There's so much work behind this. It's
[1:35:19] pretty incredible. All the agreements
and the details of the relationships.
[1:35:26] Um, one thing I'm wondering is about the
2028
[1:35:31] closeout.
Um, is there and pardon me if if this
[1:35:37] was already addressed. Um there's a lot
of detail here, but are we looking are
[1:35:42] we hoping to continue a joint navigator
service together
[1:35:48] um past that date? Because that's only
it's only two years. And sometimes it
[1:35:54] seems like once you get a program like
this up and running, you barely know
[1:36:00] what the potential is. Um
you know, and then and then uh it's
[1:36:07] finished. So I'm I'm just wondering
about the future past 2028 or when those
[1:36:13] funds um are used up.
Um so I think the intent was for the
[1:36:19] time being to have that data based on
the available funding through to um as
[1:36:24] for MODL yes the service will uh
hopefully continue without um or like we
[1:36:31] don't really need as such a date March
of 2028 through MODL the navigation
[1:36:35] service could continue but should town
also um would wish to continue to offer
[1:36:42] the service to their residents it's it
will be contingent on uh should they be
[1:36:47] willing to continue funding. So it will
it'll be up for discussion once we reach
[1:36:52] that point. Uh but there are provisions
in place uh in the agreements uh for
[1:36:57] continuous continual
continuation of the agreements uh should
[1:37:02] there be appetite.
>> Yeah, it would become a budget
[1:37:06] consideration as we go into that
following that the following year. Yes.
[1:37:12] My question uh while others may be
thinking about it, what do we have
[1:37:16] information on what the average size
grant that was provided through the town
[1:37:21] of Bridgewaters program? Like I'm just
looking at the 400 418,000 or whatever
[1:37:27] it is like how much will that support?
>> I thought that's a good question. Um so
[1:37:34] the home warming program essentially
there's no cap as such. It's a free home
[1:37:38] upgrade program for all the residents.
Uh the program that is being offered
[1:37:42] through efficiency Nova Scotia. Uh so it
is income based program. So whoever uh
[1:37:48] is eligible uh under their income
thresholds, they get free upgrades like
[1:37:52] installation, windows uh up to a heat
pump. This $410,000
[1:37:57] actually uh part of the smart cities
challenge fund that is made available
[1:38:03] through the federal grant that they had
received. uh but it wasn't really
[1:38:07] necessarily being used towards uh home
upgrades because the program that they
[1:38:12] had uh had other components uh as well
like they were developing um MS like a
[1:38:18] home energy tracking system and they
were also funding was being used for a
[1:38:22] bunch of other components but as their
program winds down and we established
[1:38:26] this regional energy navigation service
we thought a good use for that
[1:38:31] supplementary funding could be to
provide supplementary uh funds to
[1:38:35] homeowners
and the funders agreed uh like of our
[1:38:40] approach. So what that additional
400,000 essentially is the base what the
[1:38:46] home warming program already provides
like the free insulation windows uh heat
[1:38:51] pump on top of that we could complement
with an additional heat pump or an
[1:38:55] additional enabling upgrades. Uh there's
no cap set for those how much um funding
[1:39:02] could be used. will be case by case
basis that clean foundation will assess
[1:39:06] how much uh funding could be used for.
Uh we have thresholds set within the
[1:39:11] agreement. Uh for example, we have a
supplemental home or supplemental heat
[1:39:17] um pump package that is established in
the agreement which has a total maximum
[1:39:22] cap of $10,000. How it uh works is like
if it is a standard home standard heat
[1:39:28] pump package uh clean foundation could
spend up to $10,000 um and they only
[1:39:35] probably need to notify uh us or
municipalities should they need to go
[1:39:40] beyond that. They need to get a return
approval from us. Uh but if you're
[1:39:44] specifically looking for how much that
funding could uh essentially support
[1:39:48] number of homes
um I think the straightforward or simple
[1:39:52] answer would be like it's difficult to
difficult to say because we don't really
[1:39:56] know uh how much on an uh average per
home is going to use. Some homes could
[1:40:02] use less money. Some homes could use
more than $10,000. Um but we'll have to
[1:40:07] see probably as we implement the
program. The only reason I asked the
[1:40:11] question was I I didn't I I wasn't
familiar with how it was all used within
[1:40:15] the town of Bridgewwater and I thought
if they had a a record of what of what
[1:40:21] that grant might have provided and the
number of homes how many it actually
[1:40:24] reached but just further to that then
there is there are some income
[1:40:28] thresholds to determine what level of
funding's available to people that's
[1:40:32] built into this program.
>> Yep. So the efficiency Nova Scotia's
[1:40:37] home warming program has built-in income
thresholds
[1:40:41] uh based on which the uh they uh
determine the eligibility for their
[1:40:46] programs. Um but like our navigation
service will also guide or provide
[1:40:53] support for residents uh who may not
really be accessing the home energy or
[1:40:58] like home warming program but they maybe
are looking for uh other programs. Uh so
[1:41:03] our navigation support will still be
able to guide them through uh but the
[1:41:07] for the specifically home warming
program. Yes, there are income
[1:41:10] thresholds uh which determines the
eligibility uh for their program that
[1:41:16] helps. Yeah.
>> Counselors with other questions.
[1:41:20] Councelor Dong.
[1:41:28] So,
how did this um how did this come
[1:41:32] together? Like Bridgewwater came to us
and said we have leftover federal money
[1:41:38] on the table and we need help using it.
Is that what happened?
[1:41:43] So uh no I think there was uh initial
discussions started happening I believe
[1:41:49] sometime in the fall last year where
their council had um expressed interest
[1:41:55] of uh establishing a regional program
because their program they were running
[1:42:00] out of timeline. um they were time bound
of until when they had to use up their
[1:42:06] federal funds and so they had reached
out to our council, our staff uh to see
[1:42:11] if there's an opportunity to create a
regional program where they would also
[1:42:15] not only help benefit both municipal
residents but also leverage some of
[1:42:21] those remaining funds. Uh that's how the
conversation started up and then it came
[1:42:26] up to council discussions during
budgets. That's how the directions were
[1:42:30] given and that's we started working on
developing the agreements and now we are
[1:42:35] here at uh bringing the agreements for
approvals.
[1:42:39] » Yeah, thank you. I wasn't Yeah, I wasn't
here for those discussions so I
[1:42:43] appreciate the uh the background there.
Uh just following up on that. This is
[1:42:50] this agreement is backdated to last
April. That's what's the reasoning
[1:42:55] there?
>> I think the same. Um so the council
[1:42:59] approval
was to start working on establishing the
[1:43:02] service but the federal agreements that
they had town of Bridgewater uh is
[1:43:08] because of that. So they had to um for
example the funding agreement that they
[1:43:13] have with clean foundation they had to
transfer the funds remaining within uh
[1:43:17] starting this fiscal year. That's why
all the agreement dates are backdated.
[1:43:21] So the clean foundation agreement that's
already been executed with between town
[1:43:26] of Bridgewater and Clean Foundation
regarding that $410,000 federal funding
[1:43:32] uh had a start date for a April. That's
where the other corresponding agreements
[1:43:36] had to back date so that our service uh
would still apply for homeowners who may
[1:43:42] have enrolled in for example efficiency
novas Nova Scotia's home warming
[1:43:47] program. they may have started the
process with E1 uh but once our service
[1:43:53] become live they could still benefit
from the supplemental
[1:43:57] uh funding that is coming through the
federal grant so they won't be cut off
[1:44:02] um in that sense if that makes sense so
that's why all the
[1:44:09] uh corresponding agreements between
different parties uh had to effective
[1:44:13] start date from April so that the funds
that are available through feds the
[1:44:18] $410,000
people who may have started their
[1:44:21] applications with E1 independently could
also benefit like our resident could
[1:44:26] also benefit from that additional
supplemental uh funding if that makes
[1:44:31] sense.
[1:44:36] » Yep. Go ahead. I
>> think something that we want to make
[1:44:39] sure is not lost in the details here is
that the $410,000 was not money that
[1:44:45] MODL had access to. it wasn't something
that we could have applied to and this
[1:44:49] is a really excellent example of the
town looking at what would be a regional
[1:44:54] benefit uh and happily sharing that
benefit for our residents. They said the
[1:45:00] money is there for improving energy
efficiency. We don't care if it's
[1:45:04] happening in this side of the boundary
or that side of the boundary. We want to
[1:45:08] see this program succeed. So I think
that they should be commended for coming
[1:45:12] forward and making that offer.
>> Absolutely. It's uh it's a good example
[1:45:17] of of thinking about the region as
opposed to just our individual units.
[1:45:22] So, I know it is it is complicated
because of all the agreements and uh um
[1:45:28] anyway, we'll we'll work through them as
you've done all the work. We just have
[1:45:32] to say yay or nay tonight. So, so thank
you for that. Um is there other
[1:45:37] questions that people have? Councelor
Smith.
[1:45:40] » Uh the eligibility for um for that
funding
[1:45:46] um my understanding is that the their
program was meant to address energy
[1:45:51] poverty and so is it tied to income the
eligibility for the supplemental
[1:45:58] » is it this is it tied to the same uh
eligibility as the home warming program?
[1:46:04] » Uh no. So the supplemental um
incentive is also actually to complement
[1:46:11] it's not really income tied in a way
because it will be eligible to people
[1:46:16] who are already eligible for home
warming. So technically in a way maybe
[1:46:21] yes but the how it works out to be it's
they look at the energy assessment
[1:46:26] profile of a home to determine what
upgrade would make sense to further
[1:46:30] complement uh this uh home. Um so that's
why they don't really have any income
[1:46:36] because technically if it is coming
through a home warming room it is
[1:46:41] already income tested. Uh but they look
at more so case by cases like now that
[1:46:46] they have already gone through home
warming upgrades what other supplemental
[1:46:51] u funding could help them bring more
benefits. So maybe an additional heat
[1:46:55] pump could bring them more benefits.
They look at that from that lens. What
[1:46:59] more upgrades could bring them more
energy savings per se.
[1:47:05] There are three motions here. So, um, if
someone would start with proposing the
[1:47:11] first one.
Deputy Mayor Veno.
[1:47:16] To Mayor Mlan While and members of
council, I move that municipal council
[1:47:21] authorize the chief administration
officer to execute the intermunicipal
[1:47:27] service agreement energized together
navigation program between the
[1:47:31] municipality of the district of Lunberg
and the town of Bridgewwater. And I so
[1:47:36] move
>> and a seconder for that motion. Seconded
[1:47:40] by councelor Hubli. Further discussion
on the motion. All those in favor
[1:47:44] signify by raising their hands. Motion
is carried unanimously. And the second
[1:47:50] motion, Deputy Veno or Deputy Mayor
Veno, do you want to do the second one?
[1:47:55] Sure. To Mayor Mlan and members of
council, I move that municipal council
[1:48:01] authorize the chief administration
officer to execute the third the
[1:48:06] three-party program coordination
agreement energized together between the
[1:48:11] municipality of the district of Lunberg,
the town of Bridgewater and Clean Nova
[1:48:16] Scotia Foundation. And I so move and a
seconder for the motion
[1:48:22] seconded by councelor Burns. Discussion
on the motion. All those in favor
[1:48:26] signify by raising their hands. Motion
is carried unanimously. And the final
[1:48:31] one
[1:48:35] to Mayor Mlan Wy and members of council.
I move that municipal council authorize
[1:48:40] the chief administration officer to
execute the service agreement energize
[1:48:46] together supplemental home upgrade
incentives between the municipality of
[1:48:51] the district of Lunberg, the town of
Bridgewater and Clean Nova Scotia
[1:48:56] Foundation. And I so move
>> and a seconder for the motion seconded
[1:49:01] by councelor Reinhardt. Discussion on
the motion. All those in favor signify
[1:49:05] by raising their hands. Motion is
carried unanimously. Thank you. And
[1:49:10] there'll be lots of uh communication
required to let our residents know about
[1:49:15] the availability of the program and
congratulations on the new work that uh
[1:49:20] that you'll undertake and um we'll look
forward to hearing more about it as it
[1:49:24] unroll as it rolls out. Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[1:49:29] » We will move then to mayor, deputy
mayor, and councelor matters. And we've
[1:49:33] deferred the MJSB uh update till uh I
think probably our next council meeting.
[1:49:40] Then uh 12.2, which is the CEO
evaluation process update. Council
[1:49:45] Reinhardt.
[1:49:48] Thank you. Uh yeah, I just have a brief
update for everyone. Um, we're moving
[1:49:53] along with the CO AO evaluation.
Uh, and just a bit of background from
[1:49:59] the last time I presented. Uh, we're
going to use three, uh, different
[1:50:03] feedback streams to produce a thorough
and balanced evaluation of the CAO's
[1:50:08] work during the evaluation time period.
Uh, one is a self-evaluation from the
[1:50:14] CAO uh, which has been completed. Uh
number two is senior staff evaluations
[1:50:20] from each of the five directors and
deputy CEO and those have also been
[1:50:24] completed and compiled into a report
and the last piece is council feedback.
[1:50:32] Um so that's the one missing piece.
Um so the CAO as I said has provided a
[1:50:40] self-evaluation
uh with feedback on project goals
[1:50:45] um whether they've been completed and
the outcome of the goals uh and also
[1:50:51] includes information on training and
professional development undertaken over
[1:50:56] the evaluation period.
Uh the senior staff portion of the
[1:51:02] evaluation uh included senior staff
providing feedback on the following
[1:51:08] topics. Uh one, communications and
transparency.
[1:51:12] Two, organizational management. And
three, problem solving and crisis
[1:51:17] management.
Uh all members of senior staff provided
[1:51:22] a written response that was followed up
with a brief interview.
[1:51:26] They spoke to strengths and areas for
improvement in each competency.
[1:51:32] Uh so uh the last piece which you should
have received today was uh a feedback
[1:51:37] form uh for you to complete uh and
return to me. Uh I ask within a week by
[1:51:44] September 15th, 2026
uh so that the committee can meet
[1:51:49] compile all of the different streams of
feedback into a final report and uh
[1:51:55] present that on September 20 22nd 2026
and I believe that would be an inc
[1:52:02] camera presentation.
[1:52:06] If anyone has questions, feel free.
>> Any questions? Just remember the 15th to
[1:52:12] get your form back to to Council
Reinhardt. Thank you um for leading
[1:52:17] this, Council Reinhardt. This is a
really important process and we the
[1:52:22] committee spent quite a bit of time
under your leadership revising it and
[1:52:27] working with uh our CEO to to create a
document that works both for his benefit
[1:52:33] and for us as a council to be
responsible for ensuring that uh that
[1:52:39] that we're happy with the performance.
So I think and it provides a good
[1:52:43] ongoing discussion because we meet on a
quarterly basis to to discuss issues
[1:52:47] that may that will come up and uh I
think it is a more robust system that
[1:52:52] that you've led us uh into. So thank you
for that
[1:52:57] deputy mayor and mayor's update.
You know, while we may break in August
[1:53:03] from official meetings, there's
certainly no shortage of community
[1:53:06] events that happen throughout the month
of August, as I'm sure everybody around
[1:53:11] the table has participated in all night
long. So, I'm not going to go into
[1:53:16] specific details on all of those. But in
my role as deputy mayor, I did attend
[1:53:20] the Millerpoint launch event and the
Princess Area Inlet uh assoc association
[1:53:27] annual general meeting and as well um
the the bills still come in. So there
[1:53:34] was check signings to do. Those don't
wait uh for September and the agenda
[1:53:38] briefings with the mayor uh continued.
And thus ends my update.
[1:53:44] » Thank you. Any questions for Deputy
Mayor Veno?
[1:53:48] I'll try um I have a long report. It
shows that it was summer and uh we
[1:53:54] didn't have any meetings. So I will try
to be brief because we still have some
[1:53:58] uh items for discussion. But as the
summer comes to an end and we're moving
[1:54:03] into our third year of our mandate, it's
a good time to reflect on how much we've
[1:54:07] accomplished together and to look ahead
to the work that remains. We have made
[1:54:12] significant progress on some very
important initiatives. The municipal
[1:54:16] planning strategy and land use bylaw
process continues to move forward and we
[1:54:21] are now much closer to having a planning
framework that reflects the communities
[1:54:25] we serve and we're waiting for final
approval from um the provincial
[1:54:29] government municipal affairs. We have
also made substantial investments in our
[1:54:34] parks and trails. Some of this work is
already complete including Indian Falls
[1:54:39] and Miller Point Peace Park. Other
projects are underway and will be
[1:54:43] completed later this fall, including
Masha Mash Beach Park. Uh, and work will
[1:54:48] continue on Saw Pit Warf and the Mark
and planning will begin uh and public
[1:54:54] consultation which starts next week for
Wilds Lake Park with construction
[1:54:58] anticipated in the 2027 2028 budget
year.
[1:55:03] We will soon see the opening of a new
pickle ball court and we are getting
[1:55:07] closer to establishing our new community
space in the Well Tide Building in
[1:55:12] partnership with the Southshore Public
Library. For many people, the demolition
[1:55:16] of the former building at center, the
former school has been a bittersweet
[1:55:21] ending to a place filled with memories.
At the same time, it represents an
[1:55:25] opportunity to take a building that has
become an eyes sore and a cost to the
[1:55:29] municipality and turn it into a very
useful space for those that come to
[1:55:35] enjoy soccer and outdoor activities on
that site. We continue to work on public
[1:55:40] transit and I hope we will soon be in a
position to provide more details about
[1:55:45] what this will look like for our
communities. Our largest infrastructure
[1:55:49] project is also on time and on budget.
The $24 million Cookville wastewater
[1:55:55] project will provide wastewater
treatment for the area and is a
[1:55:59] significant investment in recognizing
the growth and expansion of the
[1:56:02] Cookville community.
Another important area of work is a
[1:56:07] development of a new community model uh
community development model. We are
[1:56:11] working toward an approach that
recognizes the initiatives and ideas
[1:56:15] that already exist in our communities
and build builds relationships and
[1:56:20] projects around the work being
undertaken at the community level. This
[1:56:24] is something that we were already doing,
but we're embedding it in a way that is
[1:56:29] more comprehensive. Staff resources and
organization will be restructured to
[1:56:33] support this approach. It will
strengthen our support for the volunteer
[1:56:37] sector and recognize the important role
volunteers play in preserving the
[1:56:42] integrity, vitality, and character of
our communities throughout the district.
[1:56:47] This will be a comprehensive approach to
community de development, bringing
[1:56:51] together recreation, economic
development, housing, and our volunteer
[1:56:55] organizations
uh in a much more coordinated way. And
[1:57:00] we'll be talking a lot more about that
as we go through the fall. Those are
[1:57:04] some of the highlights of the work we
have accomplished together. And I would
[1:57:07] also like to take some time to reflect
on the summer and to recognize the staff
[1:57:12] effort that went into helping us
accomplish those things. It's perhaps
[1:57:16] easy for us to sit at the table. Um, but
then we may give the direction and our
[1:57:21] staff are required to go and and do the
do the hard work and I want to recognize
[1:57:26] them for their work in this.
One of the things about the summer uh
[1:57:31] that I really enjoyed is after 38 years
of working every summer, I actually got
[1:57:36] to go to some activities in our
community that I'd never attended
[1:57:40] before. So um if nothing else, being
mayor has given me that opportunity.
[1:57:45] Um one of in late July I attended the
opening of the paliotative care beds at
[1:57:51] Fisherman's Memorial Hospital. Once
you've experienced dedicated paliotative
[1:57:55] care or supported someone you love
through their final days, it leaves an
[1:58:00] indelible impression on how you view end
of life care. Uh my own experience has
[1:58:07] given me a deep understanding of some of
the weaknesses in the system and has
[1:58:13] reinforced for me um as one of the
leaders in our community the importance
[1:58:17] of both hospital-based paliotative care
and hospice care in our region. With
[1:58:24] these beds that are now open, I believe
there is an opportunity to take the next
[1:58:29] sign significant step and work toward
building a hospice. I am confident based
[1:58:35] on the people who have already stepped
forward to champion this initiative that
[1:58:39] there is tremendous community support
and that the funds for construction can
[1:58:44] be raised. The next challenge will be
securing operating funding and the
[1:58:49] necessary approvals from the provincial
department of health and wellness. So I
[1:58:54] would encourage all of us to take
whatever opportunity we can to champion
[1:58:59] this and to advocate for this which is
well needed in the Lunberg Queens area.
[1:59:05] Together with councelor Smith, Reinhardt
and Dong, I met with Claudia Chender,
[1:59:10] leader of the official opposition to
discuss several issues important to
[1:59:14] council including cell phone coverage,
fire service reform, and policing. We've
[1:59:20] received a similar request from the
Provincial Liberal Party and that
[1:59:23] meeting will be scheduled following the
sitting of the legislature later this
[1:59:27] fall.
Summer is also a time when provincial
[1:59:31] and federal representatives make a
special effort to meet with constituents
[1:59:35] and the Bridgewater and Area Chamber of
Commerce hosted a session with Karina
[1:59:39] Ghoul, MP and chair of the Federal
Finance Committee. I raised several
[1:59:44] issues on behalf of MODL including cell
service, the impact of federal
[1:59:49] immigration policy and the reduction in
the allocation of immigrants to Nova
[1:59:53] Scotia and what that means for employers
and our workforce here in the region. I
[1:59:59] brought opening remarks at the Lunberg
Folk Harbor Festival now in its 41st
[2:00:03] year. It continues to be an important
draw for the area and equally important
[2:00:08] provides opportunities for local
musicians to develop their skills and
[2:00:12] showcase their talents.
Several of our community associations
[2:00:16] including Princess Inlet and Kingsburg
held their annual meetings over the
[2:00:20] summer. These meetings are particularly
important because this is the time of
[2:00:24] the year when the largest number of
property owners are in our community.
[2:00:29] Deputy Mayor Veno and I attended the
Princess Inlet meeting where
[2:00:32] representatives from the Department of
Natural Resources and Renewables
[2:00:35] presented a made a presentation on the
fires smart initiative and it generated
[2:00:41] a great deal of discussion. Kingsburg is
the first community in our district to
[2:00:46] receive fires smart community
designation. They have also installed a
[2:00:50] dry hydrant to serve their community and
that was reported at their annual
[2:00:54] meeting and they worked with the
Riverport and District Fire Department.
[2:00:58] Both meetings were extremely well
organized in Kingsburg. All of the
[2:01:02] participants in the reporting portion of
the meeting followed a carefully crafted
[2:01:06] script. We could all learn a a few
lessons from them. The Friends of Cherry
[2:01:12] Hill Cemetery hosted their annual dry
stone wall workshop. This is the sixth
[2:01:16] year that volunteers have worked to
establish a dry stone wall around the
[2:01:21] cemetery. Facilitators came from Ontario
along with local instructors to teach
[2:01:26] others the art of stoning. This is the
second year I've turned my hand and my
[2:01:31] back to moving stones for the fence
along with counselor Reinhardt. Next
[2:01:35] year there are plans to host an
international conference on dry stone
[2:01:38] walling. And I'm smiling because I can't
believe I'm saying that I actually
[2:01:42] helped build a a stone wall with stones
after all that I have picked in my life
[2:01:47] and put off a field so we could plow it.
The reopening of Miller Point Peace Park
[2:01:53] was another important step in
recognizing and sharing the indigenous
[2:01:56] history of the area and providing
accessible access to to the river. The
[2:02:03] feedback on both the accessible trail
and boat launch have been very
[2:02:07] encouraging.
Several events took me to Bell Island
[2:02:10] this summer, including crossing the
newly constructed and paved bridge
[2:02:15] connecting the mainland to the Lehave
Islands. A weekly coffee hour brings
[2:02:19] permanent and summer residents together
to visit, catch up, and exchange
[2:02:23] stories. A few days later, I returned to
Bell Island for the Seafarers memorial
[2:02:28] service at the Anglican Church. August
6th marked the hundth anniversary of the
[2:02:34] August Gale when two ships were lost off
Sable Island, taking the lives of 51 men
[2:02:40] from the surrounding communities. It is
a sobering reminder of the risk that
[2:02:44] people who work on the water take each
time they leave the safety of the shore.
[2:02:49] The regional emergency operations center
opened in Liverpool this summer and I
[2:02:54] was pleased to attend this important
step in the roll out of the province's
[2:02:58] expanded emergency preparedness model.
Our Remo staff will work closely with
[2:03:03] this office as they did last week with
uh the breach of the dam in Lunenburgg
[2:03:09] to provide a coordinated service during
emergencies. Queens County has recently
[2:03:14] asked to join our shared emergency
response model and we will be
[2:03:18] considering that request in the near
future. Councelor Smith and I had an
[2:03:23] opportunity to take a boat tour of
Sherbrook Lake. We viewed from the water
[2:03:27] the piece of land owned by modal as well
as other sites that were considered when
[2:03:31] this property was purchased 10 years
ago. It was a useful opportunity to look
[2:03:36] at the property from a different
perspective because I had visited from
[2:03:39] land and to consider its potential. The
mayors of the town of Bridgewwater, the
[2:03:44] region of Queens, the town of
Lunenburgg, and the town of Mahon Bay
[2:03:48] met to discuss the regional need to
advance economic development. We will
[2:03:53] continue that discussion later this
month when we received the consultants
[2:03:57] report on this topic. Along with our
CEO, I attended a meeting with the
[2:04:02] Department of Justice where we were
provided with an outline of the cost to
[2:04:05] modal under the province's new costing
formula. A full presentation will be
[2:04:10] made to council at the policy and
strategy meeting next week.
[2:04:16] As we move into the third year of our
mandate, there is much to be proud of,
[2:04:19] but also much more to do. What I've
enjoyed most about this summer is being
[2:04:24] reminded that the work of council is
ultimately about people and communities.
[2:04:29] The projects and investments are
important, but it is the people who
[2:04:33] volunteer, organize, create, advocate,
and simply show up for their communities
[2:04:39] who give the District of Lunberg its
great character. It's been a busy
[2:04:44] summer, and I am looking forward to
continuing the work together as we move
[2:04:48] into the fall. And I am sorry it's a
long report but you need to know what I
[2:04:53] do in my spare time.
Um we have one added item and we will
[2:05:01] move to that now. Councelor Hoopley.
>> Okay. Uh thank you for allowing the
[2:05:06] addition to the agenda. I know it's
getting late. Um I just want to say I
[2:05:12] share the health concerns of Pamela and
wish the spring was controlled at the
[2:05:15] municipal level. Um, we're in a time
where we demand people to wear bicycle
[2:05:20] helmets and masks during COVID, but
we're risking our health by aerial
[2:05:24] spraying of glossabate.
Um, it's contradictory to say the least.
[2:05:29] I follow the same social media pages and
I encourage residents to contact their
[2:05:33] MLA if we ever want to see an end to
this. What I would like to see us do as
[2:05:38] council
is write a letter outlining the concerns
[2:05:42] around the lack of information available
to our residents. Um, as Pam stated and
[2:05:48] I found the same, uh, to find
information on this, like good, accurate
[2:05:55] information is almost impossible. Um,
residents are just they're wanting the
[2:06:00] information. They want to know their
families are safe. They want to know
[2:06:02] their children are safe. So, I think to
stay within what the municipality
[2:06:07] is in control of is to maybe ask for
some
[2:06:10] clear information.
>> Um, and I think you have a motion that
[2:06:14] you'll bring forward. So that will help
focus our discussion around um what we
[2:06:19] can actually take control of. So
>> okay, to Mayor Mlan and members of
[2:06:24] council, I move that municipal council
write the minister of environment and
[2:06:28] natural resources and copy local MLAs to
convey our concerns about aerial
[2:06:32] spraying of glyphosate
in the municipality of Lunberg and
[2:06:36] further request better transparency and
availability of information regarding
[2:06:40] the spraying and I so move.
>> Do we have a second? Seconded by
[2:06:45] councelor Burns. Discussion on the
motion.
[2:06:51] Councelor Smith.
I I will say I have had some uh
[2:06:56] residents reach out to me as well. Um
and
[2:07:01] um
one was um very close to um a spray site
[2:07:07] and they had received a letter and um I
was they had actually asked me to come
[2:07:12] and um and view their property and where
the spray was going to happen. Um, but
[2:07:19] just before I went, uh, the company had
contacted them, uh, and talked to them
[2:07:24] about the sprain and they were actually
okay with the information that they
[2:07:29] received and no longer wanted to pursue
it. That said, I've had other residents
[2:07:35] who've contacted me and were very um,
eager to have us do something about
[2:07:40] this. But I I think that that the
concern that's been outlined around
[2:07:45] communication and information that's
available is key because people are
[2:07:50] getting these these letters
um as individuals and there seems to be
[2:07:57] no real public information available
um for everyone to um look at where the
[2:08:03] sprain is happening and um and consider
the impacts and give give feedback. I
[2:08:10] don't know uh if if if this if these um
uh you know applications to spray went
[2:08:18] through any kind of public input but um
perhaps um the letter could
[2:08:25] um
just address as you say the need for
[2:08:30] more communication and and public
information. Thank you for bringing it
[2:08:34] forward.
>> Any other comment? Councelor Dong.
[2:08:41] Um, when is the spring supposed to be
taking place?
[2:08:54] I'm sorry. Uh, just let me check
something here from a resident. I have a
[2:08:58] copy of the communication that went out.
It was like a two week time frame. So,
[2:09:04] it can happen anytime during that time
frame.
[2:09:09] Um, shoot.
Is Abby still here? He had it, too.
[2:09:18] » Oh, okay. Can she approach with the
dates?
[2:09:22] » I'll take it.
>> Can I do that? Y
[2:09:35] » uh it is from September 14th to
September 30th depending on weather
[2:09:39] conditions. It it never gives a specific
day that you should keep your kids or
[2:09:44] yourself inside or your animals. It's
vague.
[2:09:50] » Just a followup.
Yeah, it has been documented that
[2:09:54] glyphosate does act as desicant and dry
out our woodland even more and I agree
[2:10:00] that the health concerns are
yeah so I will be supporting this.
[2:10:07] So the the the motion relates to
communication around the issue uh to
[2:10:13] residents and transparency and adequacy
of information uh to uh residents.
[2:10:20] That's um something that we can actually
advocate for. Um any further discussion?
[2:10:27] All those in favor signify by raising
their hands.
[2:10:31] Motion is carried unanimously. We'll get
that letter off uh tomorrow.
[2:10:36] » Thank you.
>> We have some uh one item to deal with or
[2:10:43] no two items to deal with in camera. So,
we're going to take a 5m minute break
[2:10:48] while people just regroup and we'll ask
uh the staff uh and visitors to to leave
[2:10:54] while we deal with an uh two in camera
items. Thank you.
[2:10:59] » We need a motion.
[2:19:15] We've returned uh from our recess and we
need to we need a motion to go in
[2:19:20] camera. We have two items to discuss.
Councelor Veno will shut the door,
[2:19:25] please.
Would someone make the motion to go in
[2:19:28] camera, please? Councelor Okel. Moved by
Councelor Burns.
[2:19:34] Yeah. All those in favor signify by
raising their hands. Motion is carried
[2:19:38] unanimously.
[3:20:28] We have concluded our inc camera session
and we are resuming our meeting and we
[3:20:35] have a motion to come forward. Would
someone make the motion on the t
[3:20:41] awarding of tender for culvert
replacement in voggler cove? Councelor
[3:20:46] Reinhardt
to Mayor Mlan and members of council. I
[3:20:50] move that municipal council award tender
2026-05-00005
[3:20:57] Voggler's Cove Culver Replacement to
Dexter Construction Company Limited for
[3:21:03] 68,788.91
[3:21:07] including contingency and net HST
and a seconder for the motion seconded
[3:21:14] by councelor Burns.
Is there any discussion on the motion?
[3:21:19] All those in favor signify by raising
their hands. Motion is carried
[3:21:24] unanimously.
And the second motion uh to deal with
[3:21:29] tonight is contract negotiations under
section 22 of the MGA. And would someone
[3:21:36] make the motion? Councelor Bell.
[3:21:42] To her worship, Mayor Mlan Wy and
members of MODL Council, I move that
[3:21:48] municipal council approve the terms of
the agreement between the Nova Scotia
[3:21:53] Power Incorporated, Town of Bridgewater,
and Municipality of the District of
[3:21:59] Lunberg regarding the industrial
substation at exit 12A
[3:22:06] and authorize the mayor to execute the
agreement on behalf half of MODL. I so
[3:22:14] move
>> and a seconder for the motion seconded
[3:22:17] by councelor Burns. Is there any
discussion on the motion? All those in
[3:22:21] favor signify by raising their hands.
One, two, three, four, five, six. Those
[3:22:28] opposed,
Reinhardt, Dong, and Smith are opposed.
[3:22:34] Motion is carried. We have no further
business on our agenda. Uh, sorry. More.
[3:22:41] Yes, more. Yeah.
>> So, it's seven. Seven. It's seven. Yeah.
[3:22:45] » Thank you.
>> Um, I have there's no further business
[3:22:48] on the agenda. The meeting is adjourned.
Thank you everyone.