At tonight’s Parrsboro Town Council meeting, Mayor Lois Smith read a letter from the company explaining that the assembly of the first turbine and a deployment barge in Pictou has taken longer than expected. As a result, the company decided last week to wait until spring 2016 when weather conditions will be more favourable.
Cape Sharp Tidal, which is a partnership between the French-owned company OpenHydro and Emera Inc., parent company of Nova Scotia Power, had been planning to install its turbines before the end of 2015.
No turbines have been deployed at the FORCE site since November 2009 when OpenHydro and Nova Scotia Power lowered the first one into the water, but it was soon wrecked by the fierce Fundy tides.
Winter parking
Mayor Smith read a letter from the RCMP warning motorists to keep their vehicles off town streets from midnight to 7 a.m. beginning November 30 and ending April 15. The overnight parking ban is needed to allow for snow clearing.
Drivers are also warned not to leave their vehicles on town streets from one hour after a snow storm has started until two hours after it has ended. The letter warns that any vehicles left on the streets overnight or during storms may be towed at the owner’s expense.
Tissy leaving
Members of Town Council expressed regret that Tissy Bolivar has resigned as Recreation Co-ordinator effective January 29. She’ll be returning to her native Bridgewater to take up municipal recreation work on the South Shore.
“She’s from Bridgewater and she’s got a lot of family there,” Councillor David Harrison said. “She always said she was going to try to make it back there.”
“She will be missed,” said Mayor Smith. “She did a great job for us.”
Councillor Harrison said the town plans to keep offering the kinds of recreation services that Tissy Bolivar provided because they’re so well used by the public.
Upper Main St. sewer extension
Council has decided to wait for spring before beginning construction on the Upper Main St. sewer line. The new line will run from King St. to the Triassic Park Ball Field.
Homeowners on Upper Main, who do not choose to connect to the new line, will still be charged an annual fee of $50 to help pay for it.
Aboiteau boardwalk and gates
Town council has decided to ask Councillor Norm Rafuse to inspect the aboiteau boardwalk and to recommend repairs needed to maintain it until the province replaces the bridge. That replacement won’t happen before the 2019-2020 construction season, but councillors say they’ve been assured by the Department of Transportation that the bridge is perfectly safe.
“Anything we can truck into Parrsboro, we can truck across the bridge,” Councillor Rafuse said. He added that included any heavy equipment needed for tidal projects.
“If we can get it into here, we can take it over there,” he said.
Meantime, council has decided to wait until the bridge is replaced before installing new gates to prevent water from leaking out of the aboiteau. At present, water is flowing under the existing gates, but deputy mayor Lisa Ward said there’s no point installing new ones if the bridge is altered in four years time.
