[0:28] work and play in stere and we strive to

[0:31] uphold the spirit of respect and unity

[0:33] in our community. I'd like to call to

[0:36] order the committee of the full meeting

[0:38] for Thursday, July 23rd, 7:01.

[0:42] Uh we have two regrets for this evening

[0:44] from Mayor Glasser and Deputy Mayor

[0:46] Loots. Any approval or changes to the

[0:50] agenda as presented?

[0:51] » I'll uh approve the agenda for our

[0:54] committee the whole session for

[0:55] Thursday, July the 23rd as presented.

[1:00] Second.

[1:02] » Well, I guess you do. [laughter]

[1:05] » All those in favor?

[1:07] » I carry. Any disclosure of interest on

[1:11] the agenda items for this evening?

[1:15] the minutes from the committee of the

[1:17] whole from June 25th. Any changes?

[1:25] It is presented. There is no

[1:27] announcements or presentation this

[1:29] evening. No written petition. Oh, sorry.

[1:32] There is one written petition uh

[1:34] correspondence from Maggie's place.

[1:38] Yes.

[1:48] Any citizen comments?

[1:52] » You guys, please.

[1:55] » Uh, all right. My name is Lan Mumbold,

[1:58] uh, resident St. Andrews. Um, good

[2:02] evening, uh, mayor and absentee, uh, and

[2:05] council members. Um, I'm speaking

[2:07] tonight uh because I am deeply concerned

[2:11] by the decision to prohibit Audrey

[2:13] Armsworthy from attending town hall and

[2:15] public council meetings. Public council

[2:17] meetings exist so that residents can

[2:19] observe their elected representatives

[2:23] and stay informed and participate in

[2:25] local democracy. Excluding a resident

[2:27] from those meetings is an extraordinary

[2:30] step that should only occur when there

[2:32] is clear evidence of an individual

[2:35] presenting a genuine risk to the safety

[2:38] of others or is actually disrupting the

[2:41] proceedings of a meeting. The noticed

[2:44] issue to Miss Armsworthy refers to

[2:46] bitterallic and threatening posts on

[2:49] social media. Many residents have read

[2:52] Audrey's posts. They know, yes, that she

[2:55] is outspoken, direct, and often highly

[2:58] critical of council and town staff. She

[3:01] regularly shares information about

[3:03] bylaws, land use matters, and council

[3:05] decisions. And she challenges statements

[3:08] that she believes are inaccurate. Some

[3:11] people may disagree with her opinions or

[3:13] dislike her style of communication, but

[3:15] that is part of living in a democracy.

[3:18] Communication.

[3:19] Criticism is not the same as a threat.

[3:23] If a resident can be barred from public

[3:26] meetings because they are persistent,

[3:28] wellinformed, or outspoken in their

[3:30] criticism of elected officials, then

[3:33] every resident should be concerned,

[3:35] myself included.

[3:37] The issue before us is larger than one

[3:39] individual. It is about whether

[3:41] residents can question their government

[3:43] without fear of being excluded from the

[3:45] democratic process. Public institutions

[3:48] must be able to distinguish between

[3:50] speech that is uncomfortable and speech

[3:53] that is genuinely threatening. Those are

[3:56] not the same thing and they shouldn't be

[3:58] treated as though they are. Many

[4:01] residents rely on Audrey to explain

[4:03] municipal bylaws, summarize council

[4:05] decisions, and encourage public

[4:08] engagement.

[4:09] Whether or not one agrees with the

[4:12] opinion that she expresses is beside the

[4:15] point. The appropriate response to

[4:17] criticism is more transparency,

[4:19] transparency, more communication, and

[4:22] more accountability, not restricting a

[4:25] resident's access to public meetings. I

[4:27] respectfully ask council to reconsider

[4:30] that decision to ensure that any

[4:32] restrictions on residents participation,

[4:35] sorry, are based on objective evidence

[4:38] and due process and to reaffirm that

[4:41] robust criticism

[4:43] or or sorry, of elected officials and

[4:45] municipal administration is not grounds

[4:48] for exclusion from public life. A

[4:51] healthy democracy welcomes scrutiny. It

[4:54] does not silence it. Thank you.

[4:59] » Thank you.

[5:02] » Any other citizen comments?

[5:06] We'll move into 10A which is uh business

[5:09] the CIO report. Can I hand it over?

[5:12] » Okay. Thank you chair. Um just an update

[5:15] on the uh water work uh the water tank

[5:18] maintenance project was completed. Uh we

[5:22] have been working uh towards the roof

[5:24] replacement that we let uh council bill

[5:26] out in June. Uh we are ahead of schedule

[5:29] on that project. So we will be moving

[5:31] the project up from the end of a August

[5:33] uh or we had said end of August

[5:35] beginning of September. We will be

[5:36] starting that project on July the 27th.

[5:39] Uh we'll be having more information

[5:40] coming to the public uh in the next week

[5:42] or so. Um this evening uh council will

[5:46] in the council meeting discuss the uh

[5:48] water treatment plant design project. Uh

[5:51] if finalized uh by resolution this

[5:54] evening, we will move forward to uh

[5:56] awarding the design portion of the water

[5:58] treatment plant tomorrow. Uh and we'll

[6:01] start the uh kickoff meeting with the

[6:02] contractor and start moving forward with

[6:04] the uh planning of our new water

[6:06] treatment plant and our new water

[6:07] source. Um moving on to the high tide,

[6:10] low tide uh pump station replacement. Uh

[6:13] that project uh commenced on time and

[6:15] we're finished ahead of schedule. Uh we

[6:17] commissioned the new pump station on uh

[6:20] Tuesday of this week and uh it's

[6:22] completed and uh we're moving uh moving

[6:24] forward with closing out that project.

[6:27] Um as we reported the diesel generator

[6:29] project uh was completed as well. The

[6:31] maintenance uh was taken care of by

[6:33] Aaron uh and the public works team. Uh

[6:36] that is complete and uh everything seems

[6:38] to be operational and uh proceeding uh

[6:41] working as usual. Um

[6:44] Kitchener Street lift station. Uh we

[6:47] report to council there are two pumps

[6:48] that need to be replaced on Kitchener

[6:50] Street. Uh we are working through uh

[6:52] some valving issues. Uh and we will

[6:54] determine in the next week or so whether

[6:55] or not we need to take the two pumps uh

[6:58] and uh Kitchener Street offline to

[7:01] replace those two pumps. if we need to

[7:03] offline, uh we will put a notice out to

[7:06] the public and we will do that work

[7:07] between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 6:00

[7:09] a.m. to have as minimal impact on the

[7:11] community as possible. Uh so more

[7:13] information is uh forthcoming and water

[7:17] updates. Uh just an update for council

[7:19] that the water levels in the St. Andrews

[7:22] River have been low. Uh they did rise

[7:24] with the rains that we've had over the

[7:25] last couple of days. uh but the levels

[7:28] have been uh decreasing rapidly and

[7:30] we're expecting them to start decreasing

[7:32] uh as of tomorrow. Uh we have been below

[7:34] the ecological maintenance flow levels

[7:37] and the water uh intake in front of a

[7:39] gallery has been extremely low. So we

[7:41] have implemented our emergency action

[7:44] plan and we have applied to the

[7:46] department of fisheries and oceans and

[7:47] the province of Nova Scotia to dam the

[7:49] river in front of the gallery if needed.

[7:52] Uh we will have that in place and we

[7:53] will proceed to dam if required. uh and

[7:56] we will not notify the

[7:59] uh council and the public if that is uh

[8:01] required. We will continue to be on

[8:03] voluntary uh water conservation uh in

[8:06] the meantime. Um and um we'll update the

[8:10] public if we need to go to mandatory. We

[8:12] did last year have to go to mandatory. I

[8:14] believe it was the second week of August

[8:16] with the hot uh temperatures. We haven't

[8:18] reached those temperatures this year,

[8:19] but again the St. Andrew uh River has

[8:21] been extremely low. Um RCMP, we have uh

[8:26] notified them that speeding continues to

[8:28] be an issue in town along St. Anders and

[8:29] Kitchener specifically and they will be

[8:31] doing some additional radar traps uh in

[8:33] the area. So happy to answer any

[8:35] questions that council may have.

[8:37] » Any questions? Councor

[8:39] potholes.

[8:40] » Yeah. So update on potholes. Uh we have

[8:44] uh got word from public work staff

[8:45] they'll be moving to St. Anger Street

[8:47] next week. Uh and that should be done by

[8:50] the end of next week.

[8:51] » Next week.

[8:54] Barring any bad weather, I guess that'll

[8:56] be our next

[8:59] questions.

[9:03] » Um,

[9:04] the paving project for Kitchener Street.

[9:08] Um, there were a lot of comments when

[9:11] Riverside was paved. The people living

[9:14] on the street didn't exactly know the

[9:16] dimensions of the piece of work. Um, are

[9:19] we going to engage people on Kitchener

[9:22] Street that it's being paved to hear

[9:24] what they have to say? What are the

[9:25] implications so they don't have kind of

[9:27] that riverside discussion?

[9:30] » Yes. Uh, so good question. We will

[9:32] engage the public next year. So, uh, at

[9:34] the last meeting we discussed uh that

[9:36] the Kitchener Street project portion

[9:38] when we moved to next year, we're going

[9:39] to do a much larger piece. Uh, we will

[9:40] engage the residents on that. uh and the

[9:43] uh ask with if uh council resolves this

[9:45] evening will be awarded and we'll put

[9:47] that portion on the uh on the schedule

[9:49] for probably the next month or so.

[9:58] » Moving on to 10B which is an alternative

[10:00] development officer appointment.

[10:03] » I will briefly speak to that. Uh Jacob

[10:05] McFersoning our planner is here tonight.

[10:07] Uh Jason uh Fox is our uh development

[10:10] officer for the town. Uh in Jason's

[10:12] absence when he is either on conference

[10:14] or on vacation, uh it's a good idea to

[10:16] have a resolution in place to uh name a

[10:19] alternate development officer. Uh our

[10:22] request uh to council to consider uh

[10:26] naming Jacob the alternative uh

[10:28] development officer in Jason Fox's

[10:31] absence. So we would need a motion to do

[10:33] that if council like to do so. I'll make

[10:36] that motion that uh council recommend

[10:38] Jacob McFersonen as our alternate

[10:40] development officer. Okay. Councelor

[10:42] Osw.

[10:46] » All those in favor?

[10:49] » Motion carried.

[10:52] Nothing from town committee updates. Uh

[10:55] so we can move on to council updates.

[10:58] Councelor Rosmore.

[11:00] Um

[11:02] actually mine will be in the council.

[11:06] » No,

[11:08] » Nothing for me. No in camera this

[11:11] evening. So this portion of the uh

[11:14] council session is adjourned at 7:12.

[11:18] Take a fivem minute recess and move into

[11:20] the council.

[11:21] » You do have the option of taking a fivem

[11:22] minute recess

[11:25] or if you wish to proceed as council you

[11:27] can.

[11:27] » Do we need a recess? I have no

[11:30] [laughter]

[11:31] » I don't.

[11:40] » So we'll move right into the council

[11:41] meeting for Thursday July 23rd and we'll

[11:45] call that through order at 712.

[11:48] Again in attendance we have regrets from

[11:51] Mayor Glasser and Deputy Mayor Loots.

[11:54] Any approval or changes to the agenda as

[11:58] presented?

[11:59] » I'll make the motion to accept the

[12:01] agenda for our council meeting for

[12:03] Thursday, July the 23rd as presented.

[12:06] Moved by councelor Osborne.

[12:08] » Second by councelor.

[12:09] » Perfect. All those in favor?

[12:13] » Gary. Any disclosure of interest on

[12:16] agenda items?

[12:18] No.

[12:20] June 25th.

[12:22] uh and sorry June 25th and July 7th

[12:26] council meeting minutes any changes

[12:33] presenter

[12:35] no announcements no presentations no

[12:38] written petitions or correspondents so

[12:40] we need to citizen comments again have

[12:42] anything new

[12:47] business uh 10A which is the fireh hall

[12:50] land designation

[12:54] I'll uh I'll make that motion that uh

[12:57] council approve the land that was

[13:00] illustrated within the report that chose

[13:02] 11 Nova Scotia Highway number two,

[13:04] Stewie be designated as future home of

[13:06] the new Stuak fireh hall for the Stuak

[13:08] and District area volunteer fire

[13:11] department. And further that council

[13:13] approve that the StuAK district

[13:16] volunteer and area fire department be

[13:18] authorized to fund raise for the

[13:20] planning and construction of the new

[13:22] fire hall and further that council

[13:24] approve that town staff support the stew

[13:28] and district volunteer fire department

[13:29] as necessary.

[13:31] Moved

[13:31] » By councelor Osborne.

[13:34] » Second by councelor. All those in favor

[13:38] motion carried.

[13:41] 10B. Uh, it's AB tender.

[13:45] » Um, just to follow up on councelor

[13:48] Leblanc's point on that, I think, um, if

[13:52] I may, um,

[13:56] when we did Riverside, we did curbs and

[14:00] sidewalks. So, we actually expanded the

[14:03] road. So, I think, um, if I am

[14:07] understanding correctly, we're not doing

[14:08] that with this portion. We're just

[14:10] repaving the current section, correct?

[14:14] » Yes.

[14:16] The plan for the capital project or

[14:18] capital budget next year is for paving

[14:20] only. We can expand that and have the

[14:21] conversations with council uh for the

[14:24] capital budget next year um to add

[14:27] sidewalks and curves if council wishes.

[14:30] » I'm talking about the 27,000 that we're

[14:31] looking to approve right now.

[14:33] » Correct. So that portion is only for and

[14:35] that is not in in relation to any

[14:37] portion of kitchen. So it's just the

[14:40] entrance on assets. Correct.

[14:43] » That's correct. Kitchener is being moved

[14:44] to next year uh to encompass a much

[14:47] larger portion.

[14:47] » Okay.

[14:51] So, with that, I'll make the motion that

[14:53] council um approve the the 2026 paving

[14:59] report

[15:00] um awarding the tender

[15:05] under the 2627 capital budget that we

[15:09] award the paving tenders basin

[15:11] contracting limited in the amount of

[15:13] 27,000 plus HST and that we approve that

[15:18] the CAO be authorized to execute the

[15:20] necessary contract

[15:22] » By councelor

[15:25] blah. All those in favor.

[15:30] » Uh finally in business is C the water

[15:33] plant design and construction RFP.

[15:41] I'll make that motion that council

[15:44] approve

[15:46] the request for proposal for engineering

[15:48] design services and project management

[15:51] um for the water treatment plant and

[15:53] that report be received and that we

[15:55] approve the request for proposal

[15:58] STW-2026-02

[16:03] engineering design services and project

[16:05] management of Stuia water treatment

[16:07] plant design be awarded to the Dylan

[16:10] Consulting Limited in the amount of

[16:11] $1,45,220

[16:15] plus HST and further that council

[16:18] approve that the mayor and CAO be

[16:20] authorized to execute the contract on

[16:22] behalf of the town

[16:24] » Second moved by counselor Osborne second

[16:27] by counselor Lmark those in favor

[16:32] carried

[16:34] » 11 town committees uh planning advisory

[16:36] committee regarding R4 as assembly

[16:39] amendment first reading.

[16:44] [laughter]

[16:46] » You want me to keep going?

[16:48] » We we can keep going. U I just want to

[16:51] acknowledge the fact that Jacob

[16:52] McFersonson, our planner, was not here

[16:54] at the June meeting. Uh so should

[16:56] council have any additional questions

[16:58] regarding the amendment, we'd be happy

[17:00] to answer them. Otherwise, the process

[17:02] going forward is tonight will be the

[17:03] first reading. uh at which time we also

[17:05] set a public meeting which I'd recommend

[17:07] be before the next council meeting on

[17:09] September I believe it's the 22nd um and

[17:12] then the second reading would be the

[17:14] evening of the September 22nd uh and

[17:16] advertising um on either side first

[17:19] reading meeting tonight advertising

[17:21] would happen tomorrow and advertising

[17:23] would happen after the second reading in

[17:24] September

[17:26] » 24th

[17:33] So I will make that recommendation or

[17:35] sorry that

[17:37] that approval

[17:42] that we approve

[17:45] the first reading for the land use bylaw

[17:47] amendment

[17:50] and that council approve the outdoor

[17:53] event permit bylaw within that as per

[17:57] section two um schedule two. So,

[18:00] schedule one and schedule two. And then

[18:02] further that we set a public hearing

[18:08] for

[18:11] 7:00 or 6:30

[18:15] maybe 6:30 on September the 24th.

[18:24] Moved by Councelor Ross.

[18:26] » Yes. Oh, second.

[18:27] » Second by Counc. All those in favor?

[18:31] Motion carried.

[18:35] Uh part B, bylaw and policy. The first

[18:39] one is the sewer connection bylaw.

[18:45] Okay. Um sewer connection bylaw. I do

[18:48] have a question regarding the profit

[18:49] line and um the definition thereof. um

[18:54] in order for us to approve this um

[18:57] without any definition in it um

[19:00] should we be adding it now or I mean I

[19:03] don't want to belabor this one at all.

[19:06] So that would be to council's decision.

[19:10] Um it's hard for us to explicitly define

[19:14] where the property line is with a

[19:16] survey. Uh we have a vague idea based on

[19:20] uh easements and road ends. Uh we do

[19:23] have a pin locator to look at uh

[19:25] property lines if they are marked. Um so

[19:28] I do if council wishes to have a

[19:32] definition hinged

[19:34] by

[19:36] you can come back.

[19:41] I just want to read this just for a

[19:43] second about the connection and

[19:58] maybe 68 or

[20:02] you think you have 6 a.m.

[20:06] Six six.

[20:07] » Yeah. In the dialogue.

[20:09] It might cover what I'm looking for. The

[20:13] owner of a building the nearest part of

[20:14] which is not rather than 300 ft from

[20:17] shall be required.

[20:20] No, that's just

[20:23] » Yeah it does not define the property

[20:24] line. Um and what what we could rely on

[20:28] and perhaps Mr. of Pearson helping you

[20:31] know that GIS technician Amanda B for

[20:35] the town of Turo u can measure out from

[20:39] uh roadways or property lines that are

[20:44] in our GIS system and we should be able

[20:47] to to come up with measurements that

[20:48] define the property line but that

[20:50] doesn't define it within the bylaw that

[20:54] just gives us the measurement

[20:56] » The the main thing is um to measure

[20:59] based on the the data that our GIS

[21:02] technician has available. Um it's only

[21:04] approximate and so if you're depending

[21:06] on how important understanding exactly

[21:08] where that line is though I would say

[21:11] it's questionable. Yeah. Yeah. certainly

[21:15] do.

[21:15] » Is number eight covered

[21:19] all costs associated with the

[21:20] installation, connection, maintenance or

[21:22] repair of

[21:24] with the exception of the portion of

[21:25] connection from the property line to the

[21:27] main line

[21:29] which is the responsibility of the town.

[21:32] So, so that would cover it correct. So

[21:37] the property line no matter where the

[21:38] property line actually is from the

[21:41] property line to the main line is the

[21:43] tax responsibility. Correct. Correct.

[21:46] » I think the issue at hand is we just

[21:48] can't definitively pinpoint where the

[21:50] property line is right without a survey.

[21:53] Um but we'll be able to you know get

[21:55] very very close.

[21:56] » Yeah. But I think number eight covers

[21:58] what I'm what I'm looking for is the

[22:00] road portion sidewalk portion right or

[22:04] partial lawn or whatever. Yeah. Okay.

[22:07] All right.

[22:10] With that, I will make

[22:12] a motion that council

[22:16] approve

[22:18] the changing of the wording of section 8

[22:21] in the sewer connection bylaw

[22:24] T26-10.

[22:30] Uh moved by counselor Ros. Second by

[22:33] counselor LeBlanc. All those in favor?

[22:36] Motion carried.

[22:39] The second pylon policy we have this

[22:41] evening is the procurement policy.

[22:48] I'll make that motion that council

[22:49] approve

[22:51] the adding of the section of purchasing

[22:54] of equipment to the procurement policy

[22:58] number 2026-05.

[23:01] Moved

[23:02] » By councelor Osborne.

[23:04] Seconded by council in favor

[23:08] motion carried.

[23:10] Moving on to number 12 which is council

[23:12] updates.

[23:14] Councelor Rosmore I have a brief update.

[23:16] It's regarding my attendance for the

[23:18] FCM. Um I attended the FCM on behalf of

[23:22] the town in June. Um

[23:26] the FCM this year focused on a couple of

[23:28] things. Um it was about communities. It

[23:31] was about a lot about water and

[23:33] wastewater and it was about um stability

[23:36] within municipal government or the

[23:38] instability of municipal government. Um

[23:41] I took in a number of um sessions on

[23:46] social media bullying, intimidation,

[23:49] incivility

[23:51] um and tools on how to

[23:54] um cope with that. Um

[23:59] Nova Scotia isn't um the only province

[24:03] that's going through this. It's it's

[24:04] across the country. The other um session

[24:08] um that um was in particular interest

[24:33] I'm

[24:53] the CIO implied and it's very in the

[24:56] public but it takes a couple of case

[24:58] this way. We were uh first ones in the

[25:01] old saying goes first in first serve.

[26:28] Thank you, council.

[26:30] » Nothing.

[26:32] » I have nothing. We have no in camera

[26:35] session this evening and follow the

[26:37] meeting agenda at 7:27.

COTW & Council Meeting July 23 2026

Transcript