November 24, 2020; Liverpool, NS: Provincial funds received by Region of Queens Municipality will benefit local public transit organization Queens County Transit. At the November 24, 2020 Regular Council meeting, Region of Queens Municipal Council approved a motion to transfer $25,674 to Queens County Transit as required by Nova Scotia Safe Re-Start Agreement for municipalities.

“The effects of the pandemic have been felt here in Queens and across the province, and we are grateful to Nova Scotia Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing (DMAH) for the funding Region of Queens Municipality has received. Queens County Transit has been a valued service for many of our residents, providing deliveries of needed supplies during business closures, and a safe method of transport to appointments and shopping once restrictions were lifted,” said Darlene Norman, Mayor of Region of Queens Municipality.

DMAH recently announced that they would provide funding to all municipalities in Nova Scotia through its provincial Safe re-Start Agreement funding, which it received from the federal government. The allocation for Region of Queens Municipality was $590,735, with the intent of the funding to help municipalities bridge the COVID-19 lockdown of many municipal operations and services. Region of Queens Municipality’s largest financial loss was at Queens Place Emera Centre, with a projected financial loss of an estimated $300,000 in non budgeted revenue, as of the end of summer.

In addition to the $25,674 provided to local transit as mandated by DMHA, Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities (NSFM) and Association of Municipal Administrators (AMANS) will receive money from Queens. These two groups have been advocating for municipal units across Nova Scotia at the provincial and federal level for funding support to help mitigate the costs and lost revenues resulting from the pandemic. AMANS and NSFM have sent a letter of request to each municipality in Nova Scotia, requesting a small portion of the funds to help them remain solvent in these trying times. The amount requested and approved by Region of Queens’ Council was $2,020.15, to be equally divided between the two organizations.

The remaining $563,016 received from the Safe Re-Start program will be used by the Municipality to balance an expected deficit in its 2020/2021 annual operating budget, mainly due to loss revenue from Queens Place Emera Centre and other pandemic related revenue shortfalls and increased operating expenses related to COVID-19.

LEAF AND YARD WASTE PICK-UP

November 2 to November 6, 2020
and
November 9 to November 13, 2020

This year’s LEAF AND YARD WASTE roadside pick-up will be held during the weeks of November 2 to November 6, 2020 and November 9 to November 13, 2020 on your regular collection day.

The materials acceptable for pick-up shall include leaves, grass trimmings, and yard waste placed in clear or orange plastic bags. (No plastics, cigarette packages, cups, etc.) Branches and limbs will be accepted if individual branches do not exceed 7 cm. (2.5 inches) in diameter. These should be tied in bundles no longer than 1.2 m. (4 feet) and 20 m. (8 inches) in diameter.

Scott LeBlanc
Solid Waste Clerk/Safety Officer
902-354-3455

The Official Results of the 2020 Municipal Election have now been confirmed, as of Tuesday, October 20, 2020.  Following are the Official Council members for the 2020 – 2024 term in Region of Queens Municipality.

October 9, 2020, Liverpool, NS:  In a court decision released today, Justice Diane Rowe upheld the Municipality’s interpretation of its Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use Bylaw that prohibits multiple recreational vehicles (RV’s) and/or travel trailers on a property.

For more than a year, there has been an ongoing dispute between the Municipality and owners of a property in Labelle, Queens County, concerning whether or not they are allowed to use the property for multiple RV’s. Evidence presented before the court earlier this week noted that there have been times when more than 5 RV’s have been on the property in question leading the Municipality to enforce the provisions of its Land Use Bylaw which prohibit campgrounds in the Seasonal (R7) Zone.  

As a result of today’s decision, the Municipality will be obtaining an Order of the Court requiring removal of offending RV’s and travel trailers within 15 days of the date of the Order and restraining the owners from a repetition of the offence in the future. 

October 6, 2020, Liverpool, NS: More residents in Queens County will soon have access to recreational facilities at very little cost.

Region of Queens Municipality today announced the launch of its new #RecreationForAll initiative that will see increased access to municipal recreational facilities by lessening the financial burden on residents who may require assistance.

At the launch event at Queens Place Emera Centre in Liverpool, Queen County, Mayor David Dagley thanked Tim Potter of Dexter Construction for their initial sponsorship that paved the way for other businesses, community organizations, and individuals to step up supporting the program. The program will now begin to accept public donations to ensure the program is sustainable for many years to come.

As part of Dexter Construction’s sponsorship, the first recipients of memberships to Queens Place Emera Centre will be all Special Olympians in Queens County that are training for competitions. Mike Greek, President and CEO of Special Olympics NS was on hand to hear the news, “Our athletes were training hard for provincial, national, and international events until COVID-19 hit and now that we are able to start training again, today’s funding announcement lessens the burden on our athletes by removing the financial barriers to training so they can focus solely on being the best athlete they want to be physically, mentally, and socially.”

Dexter Construction Company Ltd., the construction arm of the Municipal Group of Companies, has a long history of support for physical activity in Queens County. The company was a major contributor to Queens Place Emera Centre, nearly 10 years ago.

In addition to Dexter Construction, other corporate and private donors like Bell Aliant are funding the program which now has the resources to immediately provide access to over 100 people to Queens Place Emera Centre.

“Council recognized that while there are programs in place to support children and youth registered in organized sports programs, there was nothing in place for adults or youths to assist them in accessing municipal recreation facilities to help them be more physically active, while improving their mental and social well-being” said David Dagley, Mayor of Region of Queens Municipality.

Council approved its Recreation for All policy in March of this year and covers Queens Place Emera Centre, North Queens Aquatic Centre, and Milton Centennial Pool.

Applications for support under the Recreation for All program are now available at Queens Place Emera Centre, municipal office, and on our website. More information about the application process can be found online: https://www.regionofqueens.com/municipal-services/recreation/grants-services/grants

Businesses, community groups, and individuals interested in contributing to the program can now complete a donor form available online at https://www.regionofqueens.com/municipal-services/recreation/grants-services/grants or pick one up at Queens Place Emera Centre or the municipal office. Charitable receipts are issued for donations.

 Region of Queens Municipality is seeking expressions of interest from members of the public who are interested in serving on the Planning Advisory Committee ( click here to read the pdf).

Representation sought for five of the Region’s electoral districts.

1. Electoral District 1 (East Port L’Hebert at the Shelburne County line easterly to Payzant Street in Liverpool, including Port Joli, Port Mouton, Southwest Port Mouton, Summerville Center, Hunts Point, Beech Hill Farms and White Point);

2. Electoral District 2 (comprising of streets northwest of, but not including Church Street, excluding properties on the eastern side of Union Street between Church Street and Waterloo Street, Parker Street, Old Pit Lane, Mill Lane, Old Port Mouton Road between Payzant Street and Main Street and all streets north of Old Port Mouton Road);

3. Electoral District 3 (Liverpool from Church Street southerly to Mount Pleasant, Mersey Point, Western Head areas);

4. Electoral District 5 (Bristol Avenue, Milton Road, Old Falls Road and Community of Milton north to Ten Mile Lake, including Ponhook Lake 10), and

5. Electoral District 7 (Pleasant River, North Brookfield, South Brookfield, Molega, Molega North, Wildcat 12, Caledonia, West Caledonia, Westfield, Harmony Mills, Whiteburn Mines, New Grafton, Albany New, Northfield, Kempt).

The purpose of the Planning Advisory Committee is to act in an advisory capacity to Council on such matters as: 

• Review and make recommendations on any proposed amendment to the Region’s Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use Bylaw;
• Review and make recommendations on all applications for development agreements;
• and Review and make recommendations on land use planning matters in general.

If you are interested in helping to shape the future of your communities by serving on the Planning Advisory Committee in this volunteer role, please forward a letter of interest, on or before October 23, 2020, to:
           Mike MacLeod Region of Queens Municipality P.O. Box 1264, Liverpool, NS B0T 1K0

           Or e-mail – mgmacleod@regionofqueens.com

Fibe Internet Ready to Connect in Parts of Central Queens

Phase One areas in Central Queens ready for Fibe connection through Bell Canada are outlined on this map, excluding areas in grey, which are awaiting final permits.  Once permits are received, those areas will be ready to connect to homes.

September 3, 2020; Greenfield, NS:  Reliable high speed fibre internet service is now a reality for more than 862 new properties in Central Queens starting immediately. Over the spring and summer, Bell Canada crews and their contractors have worked to install internet cables on poles in areas of North and Central Queens County that have had no internet or substandard internet speeds. Bell Aliant is now ready to connect the service to homes.  The first phase of Bell Canada’s “Fibre to the Home Footprint Expansion” was approved in February 2020 with funding through the Internet for Nova Scotia Initiative, a program of Develop Nova Scotia and the Province of Nova Scotia. Region of Queens Municipality has contributed $435,500 for this first phase which will now provide internet speeds of up to 100 Mbps in parts of Labelle and Buckfield. Today, 862 premises in Central Queens can connect to Bell’s high speed Internet service, with another 74 premises expected to be available for connection once provincial permits to run cables across waterways are approved.

“Today is the day we have been waiting to see for a long time. As of today, 1,273 new premises in North and Central Queens now have access to high speed internet with another 74 premises expected in the coming weeks for a total of 1,347 premises, which is more than originally planned for in Phase 1. These 1,347 homes and businesses can contact Bell Aliant immediately to be connected to reliable high speed internet service. Getting to this point has been a long journey, and Council of Region of Queens Municipality is grateful to have collaborated with Develop Nova Scotia, Province of Nova Scotia, and Bell Canada to bring fibre internet to our underserviced residents in North and Central Queens.” said David Dagley, Mayor of Region of Queens Municipality.

The Bell Canada Project will extend Fibre to the Home service to approximately 1,350 premises in this first phase with 411 in North Queens and 936 in Central Queens. In addition to the contribution of $435,500 by Region of Queens Municipality, Develop Nova Scotia contributed $487,000 through the Nova Scotia Internet Funding Trust for Nova Scotia Initiative, and Bell Canada funded the balance of the $1.9 million project. In 2019, Region of Queens Municipality also contributed $64,500 towards installing fibre backbone along Highway 210 in Central Queens and Highway 8 in North Queens to make today’s announcement possible. Without that initial investment last year by the Municipality, none of today’s announcement would be possible.

Residents in the Phase 1 communities interested in being connected to fibre internet service may contact Bell Aliant at 1-844-305-4228, visit the Bell Aliant store at MacPhersons at 37 Bristol Ave in Liverpool (or call them at 902-354-5054), visit the Bell Aliant store in the Bridgewater Mall, or visit www.bellaliant.ca, to learn more about the service and to schedule an appointment for installation and connection.

 * map added September 17, 2020 at 11:12 a.m.

* media release updated – Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020 at 2:50 p.m.

Fibe Internet Ready to Connect in Parts of North Queens

Phase One areas in Caledonia and area ready for Fibe connection through Bell Canada are outlined on this map.

September 3, 2020; Caledonia, NS:  Reliable high speed fibre internet service is now a reality for more than 1,250 properties in Central and North Queens starting immediately. Over the spring and summer, Bell Canada crews and their contractors have worked to install internet cables on poles in areas of North and Central Queens County that have had no internet or substandard internet speeds. Bell Aliant is now ready to connect the service to homes.  The first phase of Bell Canada’s “Fibre to the Home Footprint Expansion” was approved in February 2020 with funding through the Internet for Nova Scotia Initiative, a program of Develop Nova Scotia and the Province of Nova Scotia. Region of Queens Municipality has contributed $435,500 for this first phase which will now provide internet speeds of up to 100 Mbps in parts of Caledonia, West Caledonia, Westfield, and Harmony Mills. Today, 411 premises in North Queens can connect to Bell’s high speed Internet service.  

“Today is the day we have been waiting to see for a long time. As of today, 1,273 new premises in North and Central Queens now have access to high speed internet with another 74 premises expected in the coming weeks for a total of 1,347 premises, which is more than originally planned for in Phase 1. These 1,347 homes and businesses can contact Bell Aliant immediately to be connected to reliable high speed internet service. Getting to this point has been a long journey, and Council of Region of Queens Municipality is grateful to have collaborated with Develop Nova Scotia, Province of Nova Scotia, and Bell Canada to bring fibre internet to our underserviced residents in North and Central Queens.” said David Dagley, Mayor of Region of Queens Municipality.

The Bell Canada Project will extend Fibre to the Home service to approximately 1,350 premises in this first phase with 411 in North Queens and 936 in Central Queens. In addition to today’s contribution of $435,500 by Region of Queens Municipality, Develop Nova Scotia contributed $487,000 through the Nova Scotia Internet Funding Trust for Nova Scotia Initiative, and Bell Canada funded the balance of the $1.9 million project. In 2019, Region of Queens Municipality also contributed $64,500 towards installing fibre backbone along Highway 210 in Central Queens and Highway 8 in North Queens to make today’s announcement possible. Without that initial investment last year by the Municipality, none of today’s announcement would be possible.

Residents in the Phase 1 communities interested in being connected to fibre internet service may contact Bell Aliant at 1-844-305-4228, visit the Bell Aliant store at MacPhersons at 37 Bristol Ave in Liverpool (or call them at 902-354-5054), visit the Bell Aliant store in the Bridgewater Mall, or visit www.bellaliant.ca, to learn more about the service and to schedule an appointment for installation and connection.

 * Map added September 17, 2020 at 11:08 a.m.

* media release updated – Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020 at 2:50 p.m.