[0:04] Good evening everyone and welcome to the town council meeting of March 16, 2026.

[0:10] I'll call the meeting to order and I'll ask the deputy mayor to read our land

[0:13] acknowledgement and our recognition of historic contributions, please.

[0:16] » Thank you, Mary McKay. The town of Wolffield acknowledges that we are

[0:20] located in Migmagi, the ancestral and unseated territory of the Migma people.

[0:24] As a town committed to reconciliation and respectful governance, we ask that

[0:28] all who live, work, and gather here do so with the seven sacred teachings in

[0:32] mind. Truth, honesty, love, courage, respect, wisdom, and humility. These

[0:37] teachings guide us in building community rooted in understanding, fairness, care

[0:41] for one another, and for the land. Please pause for a moment of reflection.

[0:45] How can we be good guests on this land?

[0:55] We also would like we also acknowledge the histories, contributions, and

[0:58] legacies of African Nova Scotian people who have shar shared these lands for

[1:02] over 400 years. And we acknowledge the shared ancestry of all people of African

[1:07] descent in Nova Scotia. >> Thank you, Deputy Mayor. Uh CA, there's

[1:11] no changes to the agenda. >> There are no changes.

[1:14] » Then the agenda will be approved as circulated. There are minutes uh from

[1:19] the town council meeting of February 17, 2026.

[1:23] Uh did anyone see any errors or omissions?

[1:28] Seeing none, those will be approved as circulated.

[1:32] Uh there are there any declarations of conflict of interest? If so, I'd ask

[1:36] that council declare so now. Seeing none, uh we'll move on to um our

[1:44] community events, occasions, and acknowledgements. So, this is a time

[1:46] where we take a few minutes and say what's going on in our community. Uh, it

[1:50] is March break and there's lots of camps going on. So, hope the kids and teachers

[1:54] are having a good break. I'm sure parents are equally as excited about the

[1:58] March break. No, maybe not. Um, today I believe Stage Profits tickets went on

[2:05] sale for Cinderella, which is happening in May. So, get your tickets early. Um,

[2:11] Soups and Sides, it was on tonight and is on again next Monday night. And next

[2:15] Monday night, we'll have people from Engage Nova Scotia to do the quality of

[2:19] life um survey. So if you want to come out and

[2:23] do that and if you don't know about that and you're not coming to Suits and

[2:25] Sides, that is on our Facebook link. Uh so a QR code. So uh it does gather

[2:30] information to help the province um inform its decisions on our quality of

[2:35] life. So we ask everyone to fill that out. Uh today our registration for our

[2:40] summer camps also opened up. Uh so those will be those are all listed on our

[2:44] website as well. So uh find those there. Tomorrow is St. Patty's Day. Joke? No

[2:51] jokes allowed. Uh so hope everybody has a nice safe uh celebration.

[2:57] Is there anything else that's uh happening in town that you'd like to

[3:01] acknowledge?

[3:04] » Oh, Howard. >> Well, simply two recent events. Yes. One

[3:08] of which involved counselor Butler. So he gave an

[3:13] excellent play.

[3:15] » Nice. >> And secondly, we were treated to Chris

[3:18] Norman >> at the weekend at St. John's Church and

[3:23] that was I'm forgetting. >> Oh, very nice.

[3:26] » Oh, thank you for that.

[3:31] » Oh, your mic. Just move it. Move your microphone over.

[3:35] We got to put you on stage so you'll know how to use the microphone.

[3:40] » Thank you for that. Um, and at this point in time, it is our time for public

[3:45] input. So, um, a reminder to all speakers that our town conducts our

[3:50] business with the seven sacred teachings in mind. Uh, the members of the public

[3:54] participating in public input will conduct themselves in a manner that is

[3:57] respectful to the public, council, and staff. Uh you'll have five minutes to

[4:01] provide your input and it'll be directed through the chair and responses will be

[4:06] provided after the meeting either via email or in person or may be included in

[4:10] a future report. Anything that relates to personnel, current or potential

[4:14] litigation issues, planning issues for which a public hearing has already

[4:18] occurred but no decision made by council will not be responded to. At this time,

[4:23] I would invite anyone who has anything that they would like to address.

[4:26] Council, please step to the mic and say your name. Please

[4:32] mic. You can go to the mic and state your name.

[4:39] You'll have five minutes. The CIO will record and let you know when your five

[4:43] minutes is nearly up. >> My name is Abdullah Hassan. I live in 35

[4:50] Sterling Avenue. I want to talk about the new uh proposed

[4:55] nursing home. Um and I just want to cover a few uh

[5:01] bits and pieces that are relevant to uh the nursing home and its impact on

[5:06] Sterling Avenue. Currently there are two nursing homes and a senior's apartment

[5:12] in Wolf. There is Wolf Elms and there is Wolf Nursing Home Limited which is

[5:18] undergoing expansion and renovation and there is the retirement complex at Wire

[5:24] Place which is currently advertising for seniors uh for occupying vacant

[5:30] apartment. There is also

[5:33] although my my information is not exact here that there is a complex being built

[5:39] in Maple Avenue with 48 departments, not all of which are dedicated to uh adults

[5:46] of my age. Um my question at the at the present

[5:51] that I would like to answer is do we need another nursing home in Wolfville?

[5:57] Probably not. And in my humble opinion, I'm going to give you a few reasons why.

[6:03] Wolfville has a population of 5,200 and 200

[6:11] residents. 4,000 citizens. Of the 5,200, about 22% are all to the age of 65. I'm

[6:21] a general surgeon. I'm retired. I have built all my life, 47 years with nursing

[6:26] home residents, and I have visited many. There will be about 1144 residents who

[6:33] are um eligible to go to into a nursing

[6:39] home, myself included. Um there is at the present we have

[6:43] plenty of space for all of those who want to go there.

[6:49] Therefore, in my humble opinion, we do not need a nursing home, a new nursing

[6:53] home, especially with the urgency it is being done. A new nursing home placed in

[6:59] tight proximity to Sterling Avenue will bring

[7:05] uh many changes and I have taken these from current zoning guidelines. There

[7:10] will be noise of construction which will take a year maybe two. The car park

[7:15] noise which is going to be continuous plus the noise coming from the nursing

[7:18] home itself. It is not going to be in harmony with existing dwellings in

[7:23] Sterling Avenue and those in the western part of the current nursing home which

[7:28] include uh the municipality of Granch. It will devalue our homes. It will

[7:34] disturb the peace and quiet which is an important advantage of living uh in

[7:39] Sterling Avenue. I've been living there since I semi-retired about nine years

[7:44] ago. The residents of Sterling Avenue are mostly professionals. Most many of

[7:49] them teach in the university. I know of four physicians. Only one is retired and

[7:56] their opposition uh to the highrise in our backyard is

[8:01] boom by the signatures we're going to present to you and I have previously

[8:05] presented to Morrison. There will also be pressure on

[8:09] infrastructure. We met with Mark

[8:15] Frederick's on the 2nd of September and I arranged the meeting. Uh it would be

[8:21] another statement to say that we got any satisfactory answer

[8:29] by redefining the bed unit into three. three beds will be equal to a one

[8:35] dwelling which happened I believe on the 24th meeting 24th February meeting of

[8:41] the council. Um this in my opinion represent a concession to the developers

[8:48] and >> you have one minute remaining sir. One

[8:52] minute remaining on your comments. >> Sure.

[8:56] In the meeting that we discussed uh the nursing home, we were not given any uh

[9:02] information about the number of employees, any increase in traffic and

[9:06] in the increase in the amount of construction and the financial impact

[9:10] nor I would like to say finally there is no

[9:14] immediate dressing need for a nursing home of Wilville may be required in

[9:18] other areas of Kings County. Um, I suggest that the council should buy the

[9:24] land back from the developers and leave it as a green belt as Michael McCarthy

[9:29] intended it initially to be uh to help developers finding another site either

[9:36] in Wolf or outside it and use the fund the accelerator fund for

[9:46] other areas. >> Your time has elapsed sir. Thank you.

[9:51] Thank you very much for your input.

[9:59] Yeah, certainly just leave that there. Thank you. Appreciate that. Is there

[10:04] anyone else who would like to contribute to public input this evening?

[10:11] Yep. Then come on up and say your name and your address, please.

[10:16] [clears throat]

[10:26] Keep coming towards me. Yeah, here you go. There I go. [laughter]

[10:34] Thank you so much for the opportunity for your community and the time to be

[10:38] heard tonight. We appreciate it very much. My name is Dr. Christianne

[10:41] Rushton. My pronouns are she and her. I am professor of classical voice and

[10:45] currently the director of the school of music at Acadia. I share my home on

[10:49] Sterling Avenue with my husband, our two children, my mother-in-law, and our

[10:54] annoying dog, Rudy. We wish to begin with a note of thanks.

[10:59] The latest information that came to our home indicates that you as town council

[11:04] as well as potential developers are listening and we're grateful for that

[11:08] and we encourage this type of community engagement as we are grateful and

[11:12] continue to be grateful for the chance to share the lingering pervasive and

[11:17] concerning issues for Sterling Avenue. If town council votes to accept this new

[11:23] development, this vote will be in essence a vote against your neighbors. A

[11:27] vote against their peace, their health, their well-being, and a vote to alter

[11:32] their financial security. A vote that will reduce your neighbors ability to

[11:36] have safety, security, and sanctuary. Aren't we dealing with enough? The world

[11:42] feels already very hard. Challenges nationally and internationally have

[11:47] threatened our sense of calm. Recent cuts in arts and culture are our for our

[11:52] underserved communities and our outside world have caused pain. We're all

[11:57] affected by these nonsensical and hurtful budget changes.

[12:02] Now on our campus, 31 positions have been cut. Families reduced incomes,

[12:07] pain, and hurt within friendships programs in peril. Our community feels

[12:12] fractured with so few things within our choice. With so few things that we can

[12:18] control, our options in the midst of this are to

[12:23] protect one another. Our peace, our sense of safety and calm. Our homes are

[12:28] sanctuaries. Our need for wellness has to be found somewhere. This is your

[12:34] choice. This is your decision. This decision is not the only option. Of

[12:40] the many things I've learned in leadership, it's that separating the

[12:43] problem from the solution can be very helpful. For example, currently we are

[12:47] discussing the potential development as a solution to the ongoing issue of aging

[12:51] population. I remind council this development that solving this in this

[12:57] way is not the only way forward. We own property in a town where beauty,

[13:04] quiet, solitude, and privacy was and is a part of Wolf charm, culture, and

[13:09] commitment. We encourage town council to protect and honor this.

[13:14] Recently, we've heard thousands begging for reversals of provincial budget cuts.

[13:20] Programs that provided peace, respit, sanctuary, and financial aid. They were

[13:25] cut. The government did not listen. We urge you to not do the same.

[13:30] We've been here before for eight months. I've watched and witnessed town council

[13:34] listen. I've watched the emails, the letters, the meetings. Um I was at the

[13:39] one of the very first meetings this summer when I was a brand new homeowner

[13:41] on Sterling Avenue. We really don't want to continue to have to beg town council

[13:46] to listen. This is where we find our peace and our solitude.

[13:51] We're asking you as our town council to respect your friends, to hear your

[13:55] neighbors, and act on behalf of those who will feel this effect most greatly.

[14:01] Please protect our peace by saying no to the development that will fundamentally

[14:05] change your neighbor's home life, their experience, their property values.

[14:11] Thank you for listening. >> Thank you.

[14:17] Is there anyone else who would like to provide input at this time?

[14:28] No. Sorry.

[14:38] We've been having some te technical difficulties. So, I've been told that if

[14:41] we take a break for a minute, we can start, stop, and start again. and then

[14:45] maybe five to get it back online so that people can at home can watch it. So,

[14:50] we're going to take just a couple of minutes and Kaden's going to stop and

[14:54] start so that those that are at home can live frame.

2026 03 16 Town Council MeetingPart 1

Transcript