Sackville’s mayor says new Waterfowl Park Rotary Bridge helps tell environmental story

Posted on November 14, 2019 by brucewark

Ribbon cutting to open Rotary Bridge. L-R: Mayor John Higham, Rotary President David McKellar, MLA Megan Mitton, Waterfowl Park Advisory Committee Chair Sandy Burnett

About 50 people gathered today under a sunny, blue sky to watch the official opening of the $50,000 Rotary Bridge project linking Sackville’s 55-acre Waterfowl Park with a 20-acre park extension on land donated by the late Daniel Lund.

“Some time ago I used to walk along here and look across and say ‘what an opportunity we have to tell an environmental story,'” Mayor John Higham told the crowd just before helping to cut a green ribbon officially opening the bridge.

“People understand the marsh, but then right beside it is grassland and right behind that is the forest,” Higham added, referring to the Lund property.

“We’ve got a perfect environmental story which shows you how the environment works and how all the parts working together create what we have and create what we need to protect,” the mayor said.

“This bridge is the piece that links it all together.”

Community partners

Rotary Club President David McKellar

Sackville Rotary Club President David McKellar said the bridge represents the club’s policy of giving back to the community. He was referring to the $25,200 the Rotary Club donated to make the bridge possible.

“You’ll see small, but significant signs on the bridge saying that we’re a community partner and that’s why we’re here today,” McKellar added.

“Bridges seem to be a specialty of the Rotary Club of Sackville,” said Sandy Burnett, Chair of the Sackville Waterfowl Park Advisory Committee. “The bridge at the Swan Pond is another fine example.” He also thanked the club for helping with two observation towers in the Waterfowl Park.

Burnett, along with Al Smith, were founding members of the park, which opened more than 30 years ago.

“We really didn’t dream the degree to which the place and its trails would be adopted as a community gem and a community treasure,” he said.

Special place

Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton noted that the bridge opening was happening on a chilly, wintry day.

“This place is amazing to use all year round,” Mitton said, “and so we’ll be here and people will be able to use this bridge to go over to the Lund extension even when it’s wintry and stormy.”

She added that the large number attending the bridge opening ceremony shows how special the Waterfowl Park is to the people of Sackville.

Rotary Bridge crosses drainage ditch between the Lund extension and the main park. Note the bridge’s helical supports

Extra expenses

During its meeting on Tuesday, Sackville Town Council approved awarding an additional $18,481.75 to Sackville General Contracting bringing the total cost of the Rotary Bridge project to $50,881.75.

Town Engineer Dwayne Acton said the additional money was needed to cover unanticipated costs including an extra 48.5 metres (159 feet) of helical bridge supports needed to hit solid ground.

He agreed with Councillor Shawn Mesheau that helical supports for boardwalks in the park had to be sunk to greater depths than expected.

“It’s extremely difficult to predict exactly where you’re going to hit that solid point to get the load capacity that we’re looking for,” Acton said.

For coverage of the official opening of the Lund extension to the Waterfowl Park last June, click here.

Posted in Environment, Town of Sackville | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Artistic drawings on Sackville’s Sports Wall of Fame may not be scrapped after all

Posted on November 13, 2019 by brucewark

Deputy Mayor Ron Aiken

Sackville Town Council passed a unanimous motion Tuesday night asking for a delay in replacing the charcoal drawings on the Sports Wall of Fame (SWOF) with smaller 8 x 10 inch plaques.

The motion by Deputy Mayor Ron Aiken also asked the SWOF board of directors to re-consider making the change that council approved last month after being told that wall space is running out for the 13 x 18 inch drawings.

Aiken said that councillors had received what he called “considerable push-back and commentary” from members of the public about their decision, “and none of it was positive.”

He added that over the weekend, he visited the mezzanine at the Civic Centre where the charcoal drawings are displayed and his measurements showed that there is plenty of space for many more of them.

“There’s about as much room on the back wall of the mezzanine there as is currently devoted to the Sports Wall of Fame,” Aiken said, “so you could effectively double the size of it without making any changes.”

The deputy mayor said that the drawings themselves are unique and that he knew of nowhere else that has such a display of sports heroes and contributors.

“To me, it represents a nice overlap of the arts community and the sports community,” he said, adding that his motion calls on the SWOF board to give the matter some second thought.

“We have council representation on the board now and I think they are more than capable of conveying our sentiments to the board,” Aiken concluded.

Note: The council representatives on the SWOF board are Bruce Phinney and Michael Tower. The other members of the current board are: David Hicks, Gregor MacAskill, Steve Ridlington and Christine Gilroy.

Avoid social media, Black urges

Councillor Andrew Black

Mayor Higham was just about to call the vote on Aiken’s motion when Councillor Andrew Black indicated he had something to say.

He began by pointing out that town staff had received only two e-mails on changes to the Sports Wall of Fame, both from the same person and that as a councillor, he had received a total of three.

“If you look around the Internet, you see many, many comments about this issue from people in Sackville and beyond,” Black said. “I want to strongly urge citizens of our wonderful community to please reach out to the people who know about what’s going on in Sackville,” he added.

Black said the town’s website lists telephone numbers and e-mail addresses for staff and councillors.

“If you have a question or concern about something going on in town, whether good or bad, get the right information directly from the source,” he said, adding that such comments and ideas would get into the hands of people who could do something about them.

“Please don’t let yourself fall into the swampy mire of news blogs, improperly moderated social media sites or non-town affiliated Facebook pages that thrive on conjecture, misinformation, populist opinion and falsehoods,” Black said.

“Get your voice heard by the people who can make a difference, your elected officials and competent town staff,” he concluded.

Other councillors speak

Councillor Shawn Mesheau reacted to Black’s comments by saying that he had heard from several people about changes to the Sports Wall and had also seen comments online.

“I take to heart anything that is read online,” he said, “and I [also] take it with a grain of salt.”

Councillor Joyce O’Neil

Councillor Joyce O’Neil said that she ran into a lot of controversy over possible changes to the Sports Wall as she participated in 50+ aerobics classes at the Civic Centre.

She said people there know the sports figures depicted in the charcoal drawings and are pleased with the drawings.

“They’ve encouraged me to just ask that we take another look at things and hope that we can continue in the way we’re going,” she added.

Councillor Bill Evans appeared to agree with Black suggesting that it’s OK to disagree with what council does in online comments, but it’s not OK to be disagreeable.

“Everybody — people who are for and against the decision — want to do what they think is best,” Evans said. “We all want to honour the Sports Wall of Fame honourees. We’re only disagreeing about how best to do that, so let’s not impugn the motives of people.”

Councillor Michael Tower had the last word before the unanimous vote in favour of the deputy mayor’s motion.

Tower said that maybe we need to think outside the box and possibly create an additional Sports Wall.

“I don’t like to see these beautiful…pictures taken down,” he said. “It’s our sports history and we’re honouring them and I think we should keep them there as best we can.”

Posted in Town of Sackville | Tagged | 2 Comments

As plans move ahead for Sackville dog park, councillors learn it could cost $80K

Posted on November 8, 2019 by brucewark

Lexi, an 11-year-old mongrel, surveys site of Sackville dog park beside the TransCanada Hwy off the entrance road to Beech Hill Park

At their meeting this week, Sackville councillors learned that the town’s first dog park could cost about $80,000, more than triple the $25,000 available for it in this year’s budget.

As a result, town manager Jamie Burke recommended that council allocate funds in next year’s capital budget for two fenced-in parks — one for small dogs and another for larger ones.

The off-leash areas would be in a field beside the TransCanada Highway in Beech Hill Park, about six and a half kilometres from downtown Sackville.

Burke made the recommendation after consulting with Viridis Design Studio, a landscape architectural firm, and after talking with officials in Riverview and Amherst, which already have dog parks.

“Amherst, when they first started their park, they had two areas proposed,” Burke said, adding that for budgetary reasons, the town reduced it to one large, fenced-in dog park.

“Their primary advice to us was to build two separate areas,” Burke said.

He added that most of the money would be spent on fencing, but that other suggestions included structures for shade and seating, waste bins and running water, holding areas for dog owners to be able to release their pets safely, and large areas for wood chips or stone dust so that the dog parks don’t turn into a sea of mud.

Conceptual drawing showing dog parks off Beech Hill Park entrance road (R) beside the TransCanada Hwy (L)

Burke recommended that before building a separate parking lot for the dog park, the town should wait to see whether people need one, since Beech Hill’s main lot is nearby.

“Before we go out and suggest that we need a parking lot, we’d like to see how users behave in the area — whether they’re using the existing parking lot, whether they’re parking along the access road and how they’re getting into the area,” he said.

Burke suggested the town should also wait to see whether users would need a trail connecting the existing Beech Hill parking lot to the dog park.

Survey results on location (click to enlarge)

The decision to build the dog park in Beech Hill appears to fly in the face of the results of a survey the town conducted last summer. Of the 472 people who responded, 38% favoured a downtown location, while 29% chose Beech Hill.

However, during a council meeting in September, Burke argued it made sense to put the dog park in Beech Hill because of its ample parking and running water. He said that it would generate increased traffic to Beech Hill, encouraging more people to use its facilities while making the park safer. He added that a dog park could also be popular with tourists because of its proximity to the TransCanada Highway.

Burke acknowledged that while some of the properties the town acquired downtown for its flood control project could be used for a dog park, that land might still be needed if the Lorne Street project expands.

Meantime, at this week’s meeting, Councillor Bill Evans sounded enthusiastic about the prospects for a dog park next year.

“I don’t have a dog,” Evans said. “[But] one of the great things about this town is that we do something for everybody and this is a really big, nice thing, or will be I think, for a significant part of our constituents and so I think this is great.”

Posted in Town of Sackville | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Sackville councillors set to spend $210K to complete Phase II of Lorne St. flood control project

Posted on November 5, 2019 by brucewark

Council will be asked to approve clearing a drainage ditch seen here from the dike along the Tantramar River near the town’s main sewage lagoons

It looks like Phase Two of the Lorne Street political, financial and environmental roller-coaster ride is nearing its end.

Town councillors are expected to approve spending $210,000 next week to complete the $1.9 million project that so far has kept the once flood-prone Lorne Street dry during recent heavy rain storms while creating a new 40,000 cubic metre waterfowl pond surrounded by walking trails in downtown Sackville.

However, Phase Two also came with the discovery of about 14,000 tonnes of soil laced with toxic contaminants including petroleum, aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals that cost $525,000 to haul away.

At their meeting next week, councillors will be asked to approve a staff recommendation to spend the $210,000 that remains in the Phase Two budget to clear out ditches running across the industrial park to an aboiteau that drains into the Tantramar River near the town’s main sewage lagoons.

Town engineer Dwayne Acton said that money would also buy a heavy-duty, six-inch pump to lift water that the aboiteau can’t handle over the dike and into the river.

Town Engineer Dwayne Acton

Acton outlined several options for spending the remaining money at council’s meeting this week, but recommended that councillors approve clearing the ditches and installing the pump as the preferred one for now.

“It fits within the budget that we currently have,” Acton said, adding that clearing the ditches would allow more flood water to be stored before it’s discharged to the river.

“[It] will give us extra capacity, give us extra flow out to an existing aboiteau,” he said, “and it also meets budget.”

Acton acknowledged that instead, council could choose to apply the money toward building a 20,000 cubic metre flood water retention pond in the old Sackville quarry or it could invest in more pipes and culverts under Charles Street, but both projects would require substantially more money that the town would have to come up with on its own.

He pointed out that Phase Two of the Lorne Street project is jointly financed, with the federal government paying half the cost while the province and town each contribute a quarter.

Acton said council could also choose to do nothing, which would mean returning $105,000 to the federal government, $52,500 to the province and keeping the remaining $52,500 for other local projects.

Long-term plans

Jamie Burke, senior manager of corporate projects, said that the town hasn’t heard anything yet about its application for joint funding of a $4.6 million third phase of the Lorne Street project.

Phase Three could include a 20,000 cubic metre retention pond in the Sackville quarry as well as an additional 40,000 cubic metre pond behind the community garden on Charles Street along with deeper ditches and more piping to carry storm water through the industrial park to the provincially owned aboiteau on the Tantramar River.

The town is hoping that the province would agree to upgrade the aboiteau to allow it to handle the extra water.

Councillor Bill Evans

During Monday’s meeting, Councillor Bill Evans warned once again that Phase Three is needed to handle the increasing likelihood of a one-in-one-hundred year storm.

“The problem with what we’ve done is that we have enough capacity now to deal with the ordinary major weather event that happens once a year,” he said.

“A lot of people would look at it and say, ‘Geez, we had a hurricane and we’re OK, we don’t need to do this,'” he added.

“The decision that was made years ago was to build infrastructure to deal with a weather event that hasn’t happened yet,” Evans said.

He added that instead of using the remaining money to clear ditches and install a pump, perhaps the town should consider spending $500,000 to build a 20,000 cubic metre retention pond in the old quarry even without federal and provincial funding.

He acknowledged that would mean allocating nearly $300,000 from next year’s capital budget to supplement the $210,000 that is still available for Phase Two.

“I’m inclined to create a problem for our treasurer and say, ‘This may be our only opportunity to get this much more [water retention] capacity for this kind of price,'” he said.

To review a detailed timeline of the Lorne Street flood control project, click here.

Posted in Town of Sackville | Tagged | 1 Comment

Anger & regret: Former Sackville mayors speak about changes to the Sports Wall of Fame

Posted on October 31, 2019 by brucewark

Former Mayor Pat Estabrooks addressing Town Council in October 2017

Former Sackville Mayor Pat Estabrooks says town council’s recent decision to replace the charcoal drawings on the Sports Wall of Fame (SWOF) with smaller plaques shows that some local politicians are completely out of touch.

“I just disagree totally,” Estabrooks said during an interview this week.  “A plaque isn’t the same as a drawing and I think those drawings are wonderful,” she added. “That’s something that we as a community should be proud of and something that should be displayed publicly.”

At their meeting on October 15, a majority of councillors voted to accept a recommendation from the SWOF board to replace the 13 by 18 inch drawings of inductees with plaques that would be approximately 8 by 10 inches in size.

Estabrooks said that instead of voting to take the drawings down because wall space is running out in the Civic Centre foyer, local politicians should be searching for ways to keep them.

“I think that there’s sufficient space that these people could leave what’s already there,” Estabrooks said, adding that council could get advice from experts on how to show new drawings — perhaps as part of a digital display.

Moncton’s Sports Wall of Fame in the Avenir Centre exhibits plaques honouring sports achievers and contributors, but also displays photos of them on two TV screens as part of a digital slide show.

“That’s what I’m saying,” Estabrooks says. “There are ways you could do this without taking them [the drawings] down,” she adds.

“I’m not happy with this council, period,” she says.

“In my opinion, they have no idea of what else is going on in the world. It’s just all in that little, damn building down there and they don’t see beyond that building.”

‘Mixed feelings’

Former Mayor Bob Berry addressing council in June 2018

Meantime, former Sackville Mayor Bob Berry also says that he wishes some way could be found to keep the charcoal drawings on display at the Civic Centre.

“I understand the space problem because I’m in and out of that rink all the time,” Berry said during an interview this week.

“I realize they’re running out of room, but you can’t take away from that charcoal drawing that’s displayed on the wall. I have really mixed feelings.”

Berry adds that displaying plaques with pictures engraved on them would help even though he still thinks the larger drawings are better.

The former mayor, who has been a strong supporter of the Sports Wall of Fame from its beginnings in 1989, wondered if some drawings could be displayed on the foyer’s end wall where chairs and tables are stacked, but he also acknowledged that might not be possible.

“That end of the room would be the only place I could see them going with a couple rows of inductees,” Berry says, adding that, at the same time, he can understand that finding more space is a problem.

“I really like the charcoal drawings,” he says. “If they came down to me and said, ‘You want to see that bronze metal plaque, mahogany plaque up there, or that drawing,’ I’d have to say the drawings.”

Mesheau hopes board might reconsider

During the council meeting on October 15, Councillor Shawn Mesheau wondered if the decision to authorize the SWOF board to replace the charcoal drawings with plaques could be delayed to allow time for further thought.

He mentioned, for example, that a digital display of the drawings could solve the space problem.

Councillor Shawn Mesheau

Mesheau said during an interview this week that he started thinking about digital displays when he was trying to get an alumni group going at the Tantramar Regional High School.

He said he hoped the group might raise money for some sort of display of graduating classes that people could see on entering the school.

“When I went to the Avenir Centre for the first time after it opened, I saw the Sports Wall of Fame there and I thought, ‘Gee that’s a really great idea,'” he added, referring to the TV screens showing photos of inductees.

He said he was surprised at council’s lack of interest in his suggestion for such a digital display.

In the end, Mesheau and Councillor Andrew Black voted against authorizing the SWOF board to scrap the display of charcoal drawings with Councillors Bruce Phinney, Allison Butcher, Joyce O’Neil, Bill Evans and Michael Tower voting in favour.

While he says he accepts council’s decision, Mesheau adds that he’s hoping the SWOF board will take note of how people in town are reacting.

“Hopefully, the board will look at it and hear what councillors and the public were saying and come up with maybe something that goes beyond a plaque,” he says.

For coverage of the October 15 council meeting, click here.

Posted in Town of Sackville | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Mt. A. environmental conference hears about the ‘Indianness’ perspective on climate change

Posted on October 24, 2019 by brucewark

Noel Milliea of Elsipogtog First Nation

About 50 participants in an environmental conference at Mount Allison University got a lesson in the cultural meaning of making direct eye contact yesterday from Noel Milliea, an elder from the Elsipogtog First Nation.

Milliea told his audience of teachers, environmentalists and officials from the provincial departments of education and the environment, that Mi’kmaq children are taught to avoid looking directly into someone’s eyes.

“We believe making eye contact is looking at someone else’s spirit,” he said. “Mi’kmaq students who avoid eye contact are doing it as a deep sign of respect.”

Milliea noted, however, that non-indigenous teachers often interpret avoiding eye contact as a sign that a student is hiding something and therefore, can’t be trusted.

It was one example he gave of what he called “Indianness,” a perspective that considers the relationships among all things in an indigenous society that is matriarchal or mother-centred.

“We recognize the sacredness of Mother Earth,” he said, adding that people should treat the Earth with the same respect they show for their own mothers who gave them life.

Earlier, during an interview, Milliea said the indigenous perspective on climate change stresses the need for balance while a non-indigenous one sometimes values the immediate profits that can be made from exploiting the Earth and its resources.

“Climate change in an aboriginal perspective, it’s about sustaining what we have, not just short-term, but for seven generations,” he said.

He added that recent floods and wildfires are warnings of worse disasters to come.

“At the rate we’re going, there’s the inevitability of a major crisis happening,” Milliea said. “It’s something that we really can’t avoid if we don’t have really serious change.”

Climate curriculum

Grade 9 student Quinn MacAskill

The conference, sponsored by the New Brunswick Environmental Network, also heard from Quinn MacAskill, a grade nine student from Marshview Middle School who helped organize local climate strikes in March and September.

Millions of students from all over the world left classes to hold rallies and marches as they pressed their demands for governments to do more to fight climate change.

MacAskill received a standing ovation after her presentation in which she called climate change the defining issue of our time and spoke of the need for implementing a climate curriculum to teach students about it.

She said climate change could be taught and discussed in all school subjects, not just in science classes.

“Teachers have the ability to shape the future,” MacAskill added.

During an interview later, she reiterated her call for schools in Sackville to be more supportive of climate strikes.

“Teachers that I know have expressed their support as a person, but then as a teacher, they’re not allowed to encourage it,” she said.

“But there have been schools that have completely closed down and told the students to go out to the local climate strike or at least not penalized students for going to the strike, which would be really incredible if that could happen here,” MacAskill added.

Eco-anxiety

MLA Megan Mitton

Green Party MLA Megan Mitton told the conference we need to listen to young people about climate change.

She said that they have the most to lose because their futures are at stake.

Later, she said that in chatting with teachers at the conference, she heard that their students are increasingly feeling stress and anxiety because governments aren’t doing enough about climate change.

“It’s very upsetting for a lot of the youth because they’re wondering what does their future hold if we don’t take action and they’re not seeing enough action from adults,” Mitton said.

“There’s not enough mental health resources to support students and frankly to support the general public,” she added.

“I’m hearing that educators want support on a [climate] curriculum, but also on the mental health side, on the eco-anxiety side, so that we can be healthier as we’re trying to address these big challenges.”

Mitton said that the New Brunswick government should be doing more to fight climate change.

“I firmly believe that the Higgs government doesn’t have a strong enough climate plan and that they don’t understand the urgency of what the scientists are telling us,” she added.

Posted in Environment, Mount Allison University | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Sackville Town Council approves fence to hide ‘ugly stuff’ beside new flood control pond

Posted on October 22, 2019 by brucewark

New Lorne St. flood control pond viewed from walking trail

Sackville Town Council has voted to install a chain link “privacy” fence along the walking trail that runs between St. James and Crescent Streets on the western side of the new Lorne Street floodwater retention pond.

At its meeting last week, council awarded a $28,360 contract to Eastern Fence, a company with offices in Moncton.

Town engineer Dwayne Acton explained that black plastic will be woven between the fence links to form a visual and physical barrier between the walking trail and the debris-filled backyards of businesses on Lorne Street.

He said everyone agreed something needed to be done to hide the debris and besides, the businesses were complaining that the walking trail gives people easy access to their properties.

“There’s been a number of thefts of wheels, steel, aluminum, you name it, in the back of those facilities,” Acton said, adding that a chain link fence would deter this from happening.

One view from walking trail

Councillor Bill Evans heartily welcomed installing a privacy fence.

“Most people are thrilled with the fact that it’s a park and they’re enjoying the waterfowl and the wildlife that’s there,” Evans said. “The only negative comments are, ‘Can’t you do something about that ugly stuff?'”

Councillor Michael Tower agreed.

“It’s pretty darned ugly…walking by there,” he said, adding that when he showed the new pond to a couple from Brandon, Manitoba they were “super impressed,” but asked, “Why haven’t you done anything about that?” referring to the junk beside the trail.

Both Tower and Evans disagreed with Councillor Bruce Phinney who voted against awarding the fence contract partly on the grounds that the businesses on Lorne Street should pay at least some of its cost.

Evans said the town provides services that benefit everyone and that everyone pays for them while Tower referred to the fact that the federal and provincial governments are contributing three-quarters of the cost under the terms of Phase II of the Lorne Street flood control project.

Another view from walking trail

Posted in Town of Sackville | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Sackville Town Council approves a big change for the Sports Wall of Fame

Posted on October 19, 2019 by brucewark

1989 inductees into Sackville’s Sports Wall of Fame

Sackville Town Council has approved a major change to the Sports of Wall of Fame (SWOF) housed in the foyer of the Tantramar Veterans Memorial Civic Centre.

At their meeting on Tuesday, a majority of councillors voted to approve revising the SWOF board of governors’ guidelines to permit the replacement of the 13 x 18 inch framed charcoal drawings that appear on the wall now with plaques that will measure approximately 8 x 10 inches.

The change would reverse the present system under which SWOF inductees receive a plaque in recognition of their achievements and contributions to sports while the town displays a charcoal drawing at the Civic Centre.

Matt Pryde, Sackville’s director of recreation programs and events, told council at an earlier meeting on October 7th that the SWOF board was recommending the change because space is running out on the wall at the Civic Centre.

“The last three inductees from last year are kind of around a corner and hidden a little bit,” Pryde said, adding that the SWOF board was recommending replacing the charcoal drawings with smaller plaques.

“We’ll have to discuss exactly how we want to display those, if it would all be on one wall or spread out over a similar display as what we currently have,” Pryde said.

“But it would take up a lot less space and give us several years’ worth of room to be able to continue to add to the Sports Wall.”

$6,000 project

Pryde, who acts as a staff advisor to the SWOF board, said the existing drawings would be given to inductees, their families or other appropriate people and that it would cost about $6,000 to replace the present drawings with plaques.

He said that would be much cheaper than building a larger display for the drawings similar to the Sackville Arts Wall or the brick structure in Moncton that houses plaques.

“We did talk about a few different things, but something like that would be a $30,000 project,” Pryde added.

“We feel that with a small [$6,000] operational increase for the year that we could actually make a pretty nice looking display with a title naming what it is people are looking at — the Sackville Sports Wall of Fame — and make it look pretty good without breaking the bank.”

Some opponents speak out

At town council’s meeting on Tuesday, Councillor Shawn Mesheau noted he had heard from people who wanted to keep the charcoal drawings.

“There’s been comments about what about saving space with a digital presentation,” he said.

Senior town manager Jamie Burke said he had also noticed comments on Facebook and had received several e-mails about the change, but he added that the new plaques haven’t been designed yet, and they could include an image of SWOF inductees.

Burke agreed with Mesheau that there is still enough wall space for another year or two, but, he said, the SWOF board recognized that a change had to be made for the wall to continue.

When Mesheau suggested he was reluctant to vote for a change without seeing it first, Councillor Bill Evans said council was simply being asked to authorize doing things differently by saving wall space with smaller plaques.

“The nature of those plaques has yet to be determined,” Evans added. “We will have to think it’s better or we won’t vote to do it.”

Councillors Allison Butcher and Michael Tower agreed.

However, Councillor Andrew Black noted that the SWOF board’s recommendation for a 8 x 10 inch plaque was very specific.

In the end, only Black and Mesheau voted against Councillor Joyce O’Neil’s motion which read: “I move that council approve the changes to the Sackville Sports Wall of Fame governance guidelines as presented at the Special Meeting of Council on October the 7th, 2019.”

To read the revised governance guideline that council approved, click here.

Posted in Town of Sackville | Tagged | 3 Comments

Video surveillance cameras on Sackville streets? Maybe, maybe not

Posted on October 18, 2019 by brucewark

Ultramar co-owner Wendy Alder

The controversial and potentially costly idea of placing video surveillance cameras on Sackville streets came up for discussion at Tuesday’s town council meeting after a business owner urged councillors to consider installing cameras on all roads leading out of town.

During the public question period, Wendy Alder, co-owner of the Ultramar gas station on Cattail Ridge, said that in the last two months, the RCMP have asked to see surveillance footage from her business three times as they investigated the thefts of a wood splitter and dump trailer as well as damage to a motel room.

“There was also two other cases last December where there was a break-in on our corner as well — well, the Glowing Embers — and again, we used our video system to help to solve that,” Alder told council.

She also mentioned that the owners of a truck stolen on Queen’s Road wanted to see if that truck had driven past the Ultramar, but as it turned out, the stolen vehicle went through Dorchester.

Alder said that in her opinion, the police could gain valuable information to help solve crimes if the town installed cameras on routes leading out of Sackville including both Trans Canada highway exits, Queen’s Road and maybe King Street.

Deputy Mayor Ron Aiken, who chaired Tuesday’s council meeting, responded that when the town considered installing surveillance cameras several years ago, it turned out to be quite complicated and expensive.

“There’s lots of legal implications,” Aiken said. “It’s not just putting up a camera. You put one up on your business, that’s your business, but out on a public street, as I recall, there are other laws and considerations that come into it,” the deputy mayor added. “We can certainly take it under consideration.”

Councillors weigh in

Councillor Bill Evans

Councillor Bill Evans told Alder he was grateful for her question because he knows that police routinely use footage from closed circuit TV cameras (CCTV) installed in private businesses.

He said that while it could be expensive for the town to set up a CCTV system, times have changed since council last considered the issue.

“I was not as enthusiastic six or seven years ago; times have changed, so I don’t think it would be inappropriate for us to look at this again,” Evans said. “I’m really glad that the question [has been raised] to think about this again. Perhaps we should reconsider it.”

Councillor Bruce Phinney agreed with Evans that council should take another look at installing cameras.

“I think it’s something we should seriously look at now despite the cost because it’s something that I truly believe probably needs to be put in place,” Phinney said. “We can research to find out the cost and see exactly just how we could put it in, maybe we can get sponsorship from some of the companies as well.”

Councillor Bruce Phinney

Phinney said he recalled that Mount Allison Professor Michael Fox had generated a report concluding that it would be too expensive for the town to install a surveillance system.

The report, submitted to council in 2013, was researched and written by then Mt. A. student Emma Jackson and supervised by Professor Fox.

It warned that aside from legal considerations arising from privacy laws and the Charter of Rights, the estimated cost of installing and maintaining an eight-camera surveillance system in Sackville would come to at least $350,000 in the first year of operation.

The report, along with an opinion piece by Michael Fox published by the Sackville Tribune-Post, also pointed to research showing that surveillance cameras have limited effects in deterring crime.

To read the full report entitled Exploring the Potential for a Public CCTV Monitoring System in Sackville, New Brunswick click here.

At the conclusion of Tuesday’s meeting, Deputy Mayor Aiken said town staff would take another look at the pros and cons of installing surveillance cameras on Sackville streets.

Posted in Town of Sackville | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Liberal Dominic LeBlanc unable to campaign in Beauséjour while Trudeau focusses on neighbouring NS riding

Posted on October 16, 2019 by brucewark

Justin Trudeau with Lenore Zann in Amherst

Federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau rolled through Beauséjour riding yesterday on his way from a campaign appearance in Riverview to another in Amherst.

In the last few days before the election on Monday, Trudeau did not stop here where his friend Dominic LeBlanc hasn’t been able to campaign as he continues to recover in a Montreal hospital from the bone marrow transplant he received on September 18th.

Instead, the Liberals are focussing on the neighbouring Nova Scotia riding of Cumberland-Colchester where their candidate Lenore Zann faces a tough fight against Conservative Scott Armstrong who held the riding before 2015 when the Liberals won all 32 seats in Atlantic Canada including his.

Zann pointed out that Trudeau and his campaign team had visited the riding during her campaign kick-off in Truro and now, were visiting again less than a week before the election.

“I think that says that they really have a good feeling that I could win this riding and they want to try and help me do that,” she added.

So far, Elizabeth May of the Green Party is the only federal leader to have campaigned in Beauséjour — once on September 24th and again on October 11th — suggesting that the Greens think they have a chance in a riding where two Greens were elected to the provincial legislature last fall.

Green candidate Laura Reinsborough has been taking her message door-to-door and persuading voters to display her lawn signs since late June in her campaign to defeat LeBlanc who has held the traditionally safe Liberal riding of Beauséjour for 19 years.

CBC roundtable

Aside from being unable to campaign door-to-door, LeBlanc’s need to take time out for recovery, has prevented him from appearing at all-candidates’ forums including the roundtable heard on CBC Radio this morning.

One of the more interesting exchanges occurred after CBC Information Morning host Jonna Brewer asked: “With Mount Allison University in your riding, what would you say to students to convince them to vote for you?”

Conservative candidate Vincent Cormier said that in order to pay off their debts, students need opportunities to find work in the area, but the Liberal government’s multi-billion dollar deficits are detrimental to creating the strong economy that would generate good-paying jobs.

New Democratic Party candidate Jean-Marc Bélanger said an NDP government would save most students $4,000 immediately by eliminating interest on their loans and in the long-term would work toward getting rid of tuition fees for all post-secondary education.

Green candidate Laura Reinsborough said her party would cancel the federal portion of student debt, which averages $27,000, and work toward free tuition because of the economic benefits to society from a highly educated and skilled workforce.

People’s Party of Canada candidate Nancy Mercier said that the PPC would focus more on lowering taxes, encouraging students to open up their own businesses and to work in occupations that the PPC would bring in such as in the hemp industry.

To listen to the full CBC candidates roundtable, click here and scroll down to October 16, 2019: Beauséjour candidates panel.

Posted in Federal Election | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Sackville town staff recommend against supporting ATVs on the Trans Canada Trail

Posted on October 12, 2019 by brucewark

Town manager Jamie Burke

It appears highly unlikely that the Town of Sackville will support all-terrain vehicle users riding legally on the Trans Canada Trail that runs between Sackville and Cape Tormentine.

During last Monday’s council meeting, manager Jamie Burke said town staff were recommending against writing a letter to provincial officials asking them to lift restrictions on ATVs using the old rail bed that forms the Trans Canada Trail.

“Permitting motorized vehicles on the trail could displace some users,” Burke told council, adding that the southeast regional trail co-ordinator has research showing that could happen.

Poul Jorgensen, executive director of the NB Trails Council that has been overseeing the Trans Canada Trail, told Warktimes last month that ATVs would pose a safety hazard for other users including hikers and horseback riders.

“They also tear up the surface of a trail that we’ve invested a lot of money in,” Jorgensen said.

ATV Club requests

In making the recommendation against supporting ATVers using the Trans Canada Trail, Burke was following up on the local club’s request to council.

Paul Branscombe, President Tantramar ATV Club

Tantramar ATV Club President Paul Branscombe wrote a letter to the mayor and council in July explaining that ATVers were seeking to extend their trail network in southeastern New Brunswick.

Branscombe also appeared before council last month to explain his request for a formal letter of support from the town.

At the time, he acknowledged that he had met with Mayor Higham who told him “there would be zero support” from council for the Club’s request.

Judging from their discussion on Monday, it appears likely that at their meeting next week, Sackville councillors will reject supporting the ATV Club’s request.

Search for a new CAO

Also during its meeting on Monday, council authorized the town clerk to begin the process of finding a professional recruiter to search for a new chief administrative officer.

The present CAO, Phil Handrahan, has submitted his resignation effective at the end of February.

Mayor Higham said town council will act as the committee to hire his replacement, but will need help from a professional recruiter to draft hiring criteria, advertise the position, conduct screening and come up with a short list.

Councillor Bill Evans suggested that Handrahan be asked to advise the hiring committee, although he would not vote on the final decision.

“By all means, let’s get on with it,” Evans added.

The most recent information on salary scales posted on the town’s website shows that the CAO’s salary ranges between $96,367 and $128,489.

Posted in Town of Sackville | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments