Councillor’s Column – March, 2009

Four months into this new term and the main question as I travel around is “How are you enjoying it so far?”. I can honestly tell you that I am enjoying it even more than I had expected. I go to wonderful events, meet many outstanding people and I see positive enthusiasm throughout our District. I am thrilled that we have been able to accomplish so much in such a short time, generating even more enthusiasm.

February was a busy month with many happenings in our District:

Two weeks ago, we officially stopped the sale of the old Fire & the old Rec. Centre properties in Fall River . We received assurances both will be referred back to the Fall River Vision Committee, which is already consulting with the community for future uses of these properties.

Due to lack of community consultation, I had previously held the moving of the Cenotaph in Windsor Jct. I requested members of the Waverley Legion Executive and LWF Ratepayers Association to form a committee to give everyone a chance to voice their opinion. Last week an open Public Meeting at the Waverley Legion was held, with approximately 50 in attendance. The decision to move the Cenotaph was overturned by overwhelming choice. It will be repaired and remain at its current location.

I would personally like to thank the Cox family for being so helpful in allowing it to stay at its current spot in the yard of the Windsor Jct. School of Performing Arts.

I receive many emails and calls regarding extending water services. A Public Meeting was held in January at Ash Lee Jefferson with over 130 in attendance. As a result, a recommendation will be put forth to Council to extend the water boundary in Fall River. This is one small step in a long process. I will provide updates as we progress.

Extending the boundary in the Monarch/Rivendale area is another project underway. Again, this is the first step in a process. Residents will be given opportunities to voice their opinions.

Congratulations to the new Beaver Bank Recreation Committee, formed to re-vitalize the BB Commons (Ball fields & Park).

In January, they hosted a “Fun Nite at the Ball Park” event. There were games, hot chocolate, etc. but the main attraction was flooding the ball field and turning the big lights on, allowing evening skating. It was a huge hit with over 300 people taking part. As a result, the fun has continued on each Saturday night since.

We have slipped into March and hopefully a long difficult winter is almost over.

Two weeks ago, local Councillors again met with Public Works supervisors to update our efforts on snow and ice removal. It has been an exceptionally difficult year especially with all of the ice. The HRM had exceeded its total use of salt and sand for 4 of the past 5 years. Specific and general concerns were addressed as we strive to provide the best service possible.

This past Friday, for residents of Wellington, Grand Lake and Oakfield, I met with MLA Mr Paris and a resident of Acorn Drive to discuss ways of improving conditions for the balance of this year and next. We must not have another year like this one. We agreed the snow removal and ice sanding for the last two storms was much better than earlier in the season. We attribute this to the many calls we and you have made to DOT.

Everything of course is not all work. I have had the privilege of attending many great events this past month.

• School fundraisers like the Wine Tasting put on at Ash Lee Jefferson, where the set up and decorations were fantastic.
• The Kids Fun Day last week-end at Oakfield Elementary. Every classroom and bit of hall space was turned into games and functions. Outside, cars were parked as far as you could see. Special thanks goes to RCMP Officer Earl Dalphy for his fun participation.

A huge thanks to Cathy Nearing and the teachers & staff of the Holland Road Elementary school for inviting me to take part in the Grade 4 reading on “bullying”. Afterwards, we had a great discussion with the students.

• Thanks to the Beaver Bank & Fall River Lions Clubs for their open invitation to Friday evening suppers.
• Thanks to the Fall River Fire Dept for the honour of attending this years Banquet & Awards Ceremonies. Special congratulations to the award winners.
  I appreciated the warm hospitality extended by all, especially by Chief Mosher and Chief Currie. I know you all join with me in thanking all the men and women of our local Fire Departments for being there for us.
• A huge appreciation to Kathy Fougere and her group from the Woodbine Family Association, who rallied around one of our own who lost everything in a fire. The community stepped forward in so many ways. Kathy and her group worked tirelessly to organize and prepare a day of dinners, then worked well into the evening cooking, preparing and cleaning up. They raised over $2,000.00. All the while, being very polite and kind as MP Peter Stoffer and I stumbled around trying to do the serving.

I would like to acknowledge and thank all those who work so hard on behalf of our Churches. I am slowly getting around to each of them. Please feel free to let me know of any upcoming events. This past month I visited St Thomas Anglican with MP Mr Stoffer and MLA Mr Paris for a special kids event. I have attended a number of special birthday presentations at the St Johns United Church. I look forward to the monthly breakfasts at the Open Gate Church and was thrilled last night to see a packed Waverley Legion for the St Rose of Lima Annual Auction.

I would also like to thank the members and Executive of the Waverley Legion for allowing me to join and for doing the Swearing In Ceremony this past Thursday. I am very proud to be a part of an honoured organization.

I would be remiss if I didn’t pass on some general items for our area:

• We will making a formal announcement in approximately a month but I am very
  happy to tell you the Waverley Sports Park is now officially under way. We will begin construction of a new ball field there later this summer. There will be more information forthcoming.
• I have meet with many Departments and HRM staff on various road projects for the upcoming year. This week, I received the “planned” list that identifies the items that will be subject to upcoming budget discussions. I was very happy to see all of the planned projects for our District. Guard rails for Fletchers Lake and Windgate, more sidewalks for Beaver Bank, bridge repairs and road paving and repairs. I will provide more information as we progress.

I would also like to touch on one example of the terrific work being done behind the scenes on our Committees.

Over the past 3 months our HRM Grants Committee has worked with DASC Industries in Burnside on obtaining HRM lands in the Burnside Park, allowing them to build a
much larger and more modern building. This should eliminate the waiting list of clients and build hope for all that need it.

The mission of DASC, in association with its community, is to provide opportunities for adults with an intellectual disability and support them in realizing individual potential.

I am very pleased the Committee accepted my Motion to donate 70% of the land costs, which will allow DASC to purchase the needed land and begin construction. This item is going before the full Council this Tuesday night.

I would like to update everyone on the new Fall River Rec. Centre. There are still significant challenges to get everything working properly. Progress continues to be made and yes the clock will be fixed.

Security cameras have gone thru tender and will be installed.

A fence will be installed between the playground equipment and the fire bays.

Crosswalk traffic counts will take place in the Spring.

All items inside are being worked on.

The issues of lack of water from the wells and that they do not pass quality levels will not be solved easily or soon but they are being addressed.

There are many community events coming up and again too many to list them all, but here are a few:

• Thursday, March 5th 7:00 Public Information Meeting on Development request for Lost Creek – Beaver Bank Kinsac Rec. Centre
• Saturday, March 7th 1 – 4 pm Adult Crib Tournament – LWF Community Hall
• Saturday, March 7th 7 – 10pm Pre-Teen Dance Grand Lake Community Hall
• Wednesday, April 1st 7:00 Beaver Bank Kinsac Town Hall – BBK Rec. Centre
• Wednesdays 12:00 – 2:00 Seniors Academy LWF Community Hall
• Fridays, 11:30 – 12:45 Fish & Chips Waverley Legion
• Tuesdays 12:00 – 1:00 Seniors Lunch Brown Hall – Woodbine Family
  Assoc

EVENTS COMING SOON:

• Adult Table Tennis Nights – LWF Community Hall (watch for sign out front)
• Outdoor Ball Hockey League – coming this Summer
• LWF Minor Baseball Registration – end of March/early April
• March 29th – Pt Pleasant Park, Halifax Trek for Tourette’s (see separate article on district2news.com)

There is too much going on to include in this column, so I will list the various Committee’s that I attend (HRM & local) in the next one.

So much is happening throughout our District and in all of our communities, due to the incredible work our many volunteers undertake on our behalf. Did you know that a National magazine ranked Nova Scotians as having its citizens volunteer more hours per capita than anywhere else in the world? We are truly blessed to live where we do.

I do appreciate your patience. I acknowledge that I am normally behind in answering phone calls and emails, but you will get a reply. Please feel very free to pass along your concerns and thoughts. My contact numbers and emails are listed in these publications and can also be found on the HRM website.