On Wolfville, Digby, and other Towns

AGAR ADAMSON: Wolfville clear, status quo won't do

Published on January 19th, 2011
Published on January 18th, 2011
Agar Adamson Topics : Acadia University , Annapolis Royal , Wolfville council , Wolfville , Nova Scotia , Switzerland BY AGAR ADAMSON

Kings County Advertiser/Register

For many years, smaller communities in Switzerland and certain American states have had a tradition of holding an annual town meeting, at about this time of year, to plan the communities’ governmental program for the coming year. There is much to be said for this form of direct democracy as there is for the initiative, referendum and recall.

Wolfville is on the threshold of direct democracy but, unfortunately, given the town’s and the province’s traditional conservative political culture, it won’t cross over.

Wolfville, like many other towns in Nova Scotia, is an artificial and historic community enriched by traditions - some of which have outlived their usefulness- not based on geographic, nor geological structures. Compare, for example Bridgewater: built at the end navigation for ocean-going sailing ships. Wolfville or, as it once was, Mud Creek; grew up around Acadia University, much as Timmins did around gold mines.

Nothing is static in this world, with the possible exception of death and taxes. Wolfville is not in the best of health, and the taxes (reputed to be the third highest in Nova Scotia) are too high to restore the town to health. Wolfville is not alone: Lunenburg, Kentville, Berwick, Annapolis Royal, Shelburne, Digby and Springhill, to name but seven other examples; are all facing similar situations. Every province and territory is facing the same issues.

One might note Liverpool is not on that list. Some years ago, the residents of Queens County, including the towns, examined their fiscal situation and decided to amalgamate. Now, Kings County and its towns may not be directly comparable to Queens County, but Queens may have taken a lead others may follow.

While Gwen Phillips was mayor of Wolfville, there existed a roundtable of representatives from the towns and the county, plus several non-elected individuals (one of whom chaired the meetings); to examine procedures for working together for the betterment of the entire county. Because of certain difficulties that arose between the county and a town, this attempt at co-operation collapsed.

The advent of the shopping centre, with its “big box” stores and entertainment centres with free parking, improved roads and public transportation; more fuel-efficient automobiles, Sunday shopping, fewer filling stations and fewer full-service banks; and school consolidation have all pushed growth centres like New Minas, Bridgewater, Bayer’s Lake and Dartmouth Crossing. The consolidation of health services in communities like Kentville and Bridgewater has also had a negative impact on surrounding communities. The downloading of services onto towns by various provincial governments over the past decade, without adequate compensation, can be added to this list.

Wolfville council, led by Councillor Keith Irving, has produced, Navigating the Fiscal Challenges Ahead. This report concluded “Wolfville is not fiscally sustainable on its current path.” The first public meeting to discuss this report had to be cancelled because of a lack of electricity. The meeting was rescheduled to January 6, when many citizens where still dealing with various aspects of the Christmas/ New Year’s festivities.

The report contains 19 recommendations. Some of these are, perhaps, questionable. Number #1, for example: “That council develop and implement an action plan to stabilize and then increase the commercial assessment in the Town of Wolfville, beginning in fiscal year 2011/12.” What commercial establishment, other than a boutique or another fast food outlet, is going to open in Wolfville when taxes are lower in the county?

Recommendation #4, on the other hand recommends “Council increase the annual capital budget... to reverse the decline in asset condition and reduce the infrastructure deficit significantly over the next 10 years.... Council shall engage residents in identifying sources of financing from a combination of service reductions, sewer rate increases, debt, tax increases to address the infrastructure deficit.” Engaging ratepayers is something citizens should demand, and it must be meaningful consultation - not just a single meeting, poorly advertised, at a busy time of year.

Perhaps #9 is the most significant recommendation in the entire report, for it impacts not just on Wolfville but also on every town in Nova Scotia: “Council examine the need to pursue any governance or other restructuring to enable it to best respond to the needs of the community as though those boundaries do not exist.” This is perhaps the key recommendation. Globalization, global warming, the growth of cities at the expense of rural communities, a declining population including a declining birth rate; public debt and the need for regional cooperation bedevil us all.

Rome was not built overnight, nor did the municipalities’ situation. Go back and read the Graham Report, left on the shelf to gather dust. Would we be in this situation if previous governments had acted? Liberal John Savage tried and, for his pain, was kicked out of office by his own party. He did give us the Halifax and Cape Breton regional municipalities but, if given the chance, he might have brought about more much-needed regionalization.

Today, Nova Scotia, with a population of about one million, has 30 towns, 21 rural municipalities, three regional municipalities and 22 villages. The provincial government is weighed down with debt reduction, unemployment and an infrastructure allowed to decompose. Yet, the NDP, like John Savage’s Liberals; are a reform government. The Wolfville report should be a call for research, followed by reform. What is blatantly obvious from the Wolfville document is the status quo is not an alternative for Wolfville, nor for the majority of towns of Nova Scotia.

Request from a Journalist

Hi.
I am a journalist writing for Our Times magazine and in researching my current article, I came across the Digby News & Views blog. My topic is Nova Scotian call centres, including what people who worked at the Cornwallis Convergys location are planning to do now that it is closing.

Would you be able to share my contact information with any individuals you think might be interested in being interviewed for the magazine? Or if you are aware of anyone whom I could contact directly, I would appreciate it if you could share their contact information with me; this might be someone who has previously been a spokesperson or leader in the Convergys call centre, who wouldn't mind talking about their experiences.

I can be reached by phone at (902) 865-6762 (Lr. Sackville, N.S.) or (preferably) by e-mail at mkeith71@gmail.com . The article is 100% about the concerns and future prospects for the workers in Nova Scotia call centres, not the company, and I am able to conduct any interviews by phone or e-mail. Here is a link which shows a sample of my previous writing for Our Times and details about the publication itself:
http://www.ourtimes.ca/Features/article_109.php

Thanks for your help--I hope to hear from you or a former Convergys employee soon. Have a good day.

Sincerely,

Melissa Keith
Lr. Sackville, N.S.
(902) 865-6762
mkeith71@gmail.com

Eagle Watching

Does anyone in Digby/Annapolis area want to go eagle watching? Kathleen's Shuttle and Tours is providing you the opportunity to observe these magnificent creatures as they feed in an event established by the local valley farmers and community. There will be a community breakfast near the site, the cost of which Kathleen will pay for any passengers. In the hall at the event there will be displays about the birds which you will be likely to see, with photos and information about them. Bring your binocs and/or camera! Dress warmly for winter weather. Tour fee: $45. each. includes breakfast!

Community Pot Luck Supper

Digby Neck Community Pot Luck Supper

6 p.m. Wednesday January 26, 2011

Rossway United Baptist Church

Please bring your favourite dish to share and enjoy a delicious meal and conversation in warm fellowship with friends. If you don't have time to prepare something come anyway. There is always plenty of good food. Invite your neighbours.

Everyone is welcome.

What is Consensus Politics?

This is a method where the ruling party uses a system of asking the various sides in an argument to put forward their own ideas and then trying for find a CONSENSUS, which is a agreement that all parties can AGREE with. By getting all sides to contribute their own ideas, the final agreement is built with input from all sides of the question, rather than one group over-ruling all the others, with their power.

Consensus is a hall mark of a mature nation's ability to make good laws with agreement from all sides of the political spectrum.




Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_meant_by_the_term_politics_of_consensus#ixzz1BEHIPcMR

NS Power and Expenditure Plan

Take note: there is a hearing on this. See if you can attend, if interested


Nova Scotia Power Inc. - 2011 Annual Capital Expenditure Plan ("ACE Plan") - P-128.11 / Matter No. M03810

Receipt is acknowledged of your email regarding a recent article in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald.

Enclosed, for your information, are copies of the Notice of Hearing and Order setting the timetable for this proceeding.

Documents filed in this matter can be accessed through the Board's website as follows:

Go to: www.nsuarb.ca
Click on Evidence
Click on Search by Matter
Matter ID: Type in M03810
Click on Find Records

If you have any problems accessing these documents, please do not hesitate to contact the Board.

Yours truly,

Nancy McNeil
Regulatory Affairs Officer/Clerk

Yarmouth and Ferry Service

NS: A ferry will sink without federal funding, insists Pink
By Tina Comeau, Transcontinental Media

Source: The Vanguard, January 14, 2011

[YARMOUTH, NS] — As people dream of a return of ferry service for Yarmouth, a councillor with the town of Yarmouth says people in government are dreaming if they think a service can operate without some form of government subsidy.

And Martin Pink says despite all of the talk and the effort, with no ferry for another year Yarmouth finds itself in the same boat today that it was in a year ago.

At council’s January 13 meeting, Pink passed a motion calling on the mayors and wardens of southwestern Nova Scotia to get together as a group and call for a meeting with MPs Peter MacKay and Greg Kerr, and perhaps even Prime Minister Stephen Harper, to discuss the dire need for ferry service, and to discuss the federal government coming to the plate with federal funding to help with the operation of a ferry.

The motion was approved by council.


Yarmouth town councillor Martin Pink says the mayors and wardens of this part of the province need to press the federal government for ferry funding. — Tina Comeau photo

Pink said he feels the buck has been passed around too much between the provincial and federal government when it comes to restoring ferry service in Yarmouth. He noted that the provincial government says it will provide financial assistance — although never again a yearly subsidy — for a service that can be proven to be financially viable on its own.

“If we think that some ferry operator out there, is going to come forward, in this economic climate . . . with a financially economically, feasible operation with a little seed money from the province and make a great success of it, I think we’re in dreamland,” he said.

Pink feels this means that the area has to ask the federal government to step up because the province, he said, is broke.

“We need a subsidy. We need funding from the federal level of government,” he said.

Pink said a report funded by area chambers and prepared by Spencer Economic Consulting shows that there was money to be made for the economy – but it wasn’t made because there was no ferry.

Pink believes the only level of government that can help in any meaningful way is the federal government. He said an operator might feel they are better positioned to operate a ferry service if they know the federal government is going to have money available. And as the economy improves, maybe in years to come the assistance can be phased out said Pink.

“But if we get nothing here we’re going to be in the same situation 12 months from now as we are right now, except we’re going to have a lot of tourist-based operations close down.”