January 25, 2010

The mayor was away and the meeting was chaired by Deputy Mayor Tammy Archer. The River Valley Senior Citizens Club presented the town with a donation of $500 for use of the Community Centrum for meetings. This donation is made every year.

Councilor Brenda Murphy explained how expropriation procedures have started to allow the town to move forward with Colonel Nase Boulevard, the new core collector road. This action is being directed toward two landowners who have yet to reach an agreement with the town. Murphy says once the expropriation notice is in the public domain they are allowed to be on that land. She says they need to be able to get on the land and do some clearing before birds begin nesting. Murphy says property owners will be compensated at market value for their land.

Council approved the payment of bills totaling $326,280.33.

February 8, 2010

Mayor Grace Losier and several councillors walked a few laps around the Centrum prior to the start of council to recognize Grand Bay-Westfield as an official In-Motion Community.

Corporal Rob Landry of the RCMP presented council with the crime statistics for January. Landry says the police are keeping a closer eye on traffic in town. 82 traffic warnings were issued and 34 tickets given out. In the rural area there were 26 tickets issued and 26 traffic warnings given. Landry says there were three traffic accidents within the town in January and all were attributed to driver error. In the surrounding rural area there were 15 collisions reported. January was fairly quiet in terms of other policing issues. There was just one report of a break and enter in both town and the rural area as well as a single case in each zone of impaired driving.

Council was advised the new chair of the Planning Advisory Committee is Ralph Stevens and the vice-chair is Linda Estabrooks.

The town received thank you letters from the River Valley Baseball Association for the new batting cages and from Westfield Scouting for attending their 50th Anniversary Celebration.

Council accepted the tender from Matt Harris & Sons Ltd. of just over $24,000 for site clearing for Colonel Nase Boulevard. Council also approved two new building lots on Country Club Drive. Mayor Losier says the 2 acres in question, owned by Joanne Kelly, was home to an incredible garden that was often on the garden tour and a regular stop for the Communities in Bloom judges.

Council approved the payment of bills totaling $279,693.13.

Cpl, Rob Landry

Corporal Rob Landry presented council with the RCMP statistics for the month of December. Landry told council that nothing really stands out and again this month there were lower numbers for traffic tickets. He explained that mischief calls were up slightly from the same month last year. Landry told council that mischief can be anything from causing damage to complaints of a loud party. When things get out of hand, he says the police use the criminal code to resolve issues. In December in GBW there were 49 traffic warnings issued and 20 tickets handed out. In the rural area, 43 traffic warnings were given and 13 tickets written. Vehicle collisions reported in the area outside of town was high at 19 compared to only 3 collisions within Grand Bay-Westfield.

Mayor Losier told council the value of new housing starts in the community was up in 2009 over the previous year, despite a slow start. It was 2.7 million dollars compared to 2.5 million in 2008.

Council reminded pet owners that it’s time to pick up a new 2010 licence for your dog. Sewerage bills for the year will be sent out in the latter part of January.

Council agreed to pay 2010 membership dues of $722.63 to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Mayor Losier reminded council that as a result of lobbying by the FCM the town should receive GST rebates and Gas Tax refunds of almost $445,000 this year.

The town agreed to donate its free day at Harbour Station this year to the 2010 Francophonie Games being held at Harbour Station in June.

Bills totalling $354,512.94 were paid.

Grand Bay-Westfield council approved the towns budget for 2010 and has kept the tax rate at $1.37 per $100 of assessment, the same as last year. The province tried to hold municipalities to a rate of $1.28 but Mayor Grace Losier says that was impossible to do. She says the town gained $331,000 in new revenue but given the increased cost of snow plowing and policing there was little left over. She says the new budget means the town has $700,000 to do street work and other priorities without having to borrow any funds.

RCMP policing costs are rising just over 3% to $627,000 next year. The new snow plowing contract is costing the town an additional $100,000 this year. The user fee for town sewerage remains at $270 and that’s been constant since 2006. The town is increasing its grant to the River Valley Community Centre to $189,000. In addition, the town is borrowing 2 million dollars this year for the new collector road. The mayor says the town’s long-term debt has been reduced to $670,000. The total operating budget for Grand Bay-Westfield in 2010 is $4,926,495.

Mayor Losier says new housing development in the town had a slow start to the year but as of the end of November it was higher then 2008 with a total value of 2.7 million. Council approved the payment of bills totaling $176,982.60.

Corporal Rob Landry of the RCMP presented council with the policing statistics for November. It was a quiet month with only 11 traffic tickets issued within the town and just 6 in the rural area. Landry says the police must have been busy with other things. 39 traffic warnings were given in town and 23 in the outlying area. Police dealt with 7 cases of theft and 8 break and enter’s in the rural area and only 2 thefts and 1 B&E in town. There were 3 impaired charges in Grand Bay-Westfield and 5 in the rural area.

Council also dealt with expropriation procedures to accommodate the building of the new collector road, Colonel Nase Boulevard. The mayor says there are a couple of issues with respect to a couple of land owners but the town will proceed.

Councilor Murphy says it’s been a busy fall for the Tourism Committee with many community events happening at the River Centre. She says in November an astronomy event was well attended and Christmas programs in December were also busy. She says the community seems to be appreciating and enjoying the events and the mayor says the Community Sunday’s have been very successful.

Mayor Grace Losier was away so Deputy Mayor Tammy Archer chaired the meeting.

Corporal Rob Landry of the Grand Bay-Westfield RCMP presented council with the police report for October. Within the town boundaries, police dealt with 2 cases of assault, 6 theft and 3 impaired drivers. 36 motor vehicle tickets were issued and 56 traffic warnings given. Two collisions were reported, one involving a deer on Nerepis Road and the other, a 2-vehicle accident on River Valley Drive. Forty-four criminal record checks were done and police responded to 11 false alarms. Numbers were also down in the rural area with the RCMP responding to 2 break and enters, 1 impaired and 9 cases of mischief. Six collisions were reported, 28 tickets issued and 44 traffic warnings given. Police conducted 30 criminal record checks and responded to 15 false alarms.

Cpl. Landry says after the summer, things usually quiet down for the police in the fall. He says nothing really stands out in this report. When questioned about Halloween, he says it turned out to be a quiet night everywhere and he attributed that to the abundance of other activities for kids to do on Halloween. He says the tradition of vandalism on Halloween appears to be changing.

Cpl. Landry says the two new members of the detachment are settling in nicely to the community. He also reported a minor traffic problem during the first H1N1 clinic at Inglewood School where vehicles parked on both sides of Woolastook Drive made it difficult for school buses to get through. Landry was also asked about the Harbour View High football team that he coaches and told council the team is now out of the playoffs but had a very successful season.

Council passed third and final reading of a by-law amendment respecting the sanitary wastewater system. Classic Construction Ltd. was paid $19,456.70 for street improvements done this year. Council approved the payment of $54,597.53 for storm sewer improvements on Inglewood Dr. and Highland Rd. and passed payment of $53,950.63 for work done on the EIA for Colonel Nase Boulevard, the new collector road. In total, bills amounting to $120,761.72 were paid.

Deputy Mayor Archer closed the meeting by telling council that seven new members joined the Volunteer Fire Department.

David Sproule, MLA Jack Keir, Judy Sproule, Paula Seward, Brenda Murphy (Chair), Mayor Losier. Missing from photo - Peter Lohnes, Lana Davis, James Tibbetts, Amy Campbell, Ron Wilson, Bonnie Cox, Terry Cunningham, Jason Rice, and Laurel Reid

The first order of business was the presentation of the 2009 New Brunswick Merit Awards. These awards give municipalities an opportunity to honour  the achievements and contributions of citizens. Council chamber was packed as this years awards were presented. The Community Leadership Award went to Tony Simpson for his long involvement in local sports. The Volunteer Services Award went to Al Thompson for his 50 years in Scouting and volunteering with the Food Bank and Legion. The Partners in Prevention Committee was presented the Sports, Recreation and Active Living Award for its work in promoting active living and healthy eating and making Grand Bay-Westfield an ‘In Motion’ community.  The Arts & Culture Award went to the town’s Tourism Committee for its work organizing and promoting events and activities at Brundage Point and throughout the community. (Please See Photos)

Kathy Orser of the Healthy Eating Physical Activity Coalition of New Brunswick gave a lively presentation to council about the ‘In Motion Program’ on behalf of the Partners in Prevention Committee. She described how ‘In Motion’ is a community-based model for physical activity health promotion with a goal to increase physical activity and its health benefits at the community level. She said they would like to see every New Brunswicker engage in one hour of physical activity every day. Orser outlined how Grand Bay-Westfield is one of seven communities in the province piloting ‘In Motion’.
She also spoke about the towns wellness profile that included some interesting statistics. For instance, Grand Bay-Westfield has a higher rate of asthma then the rest of the province and the country. Orser invited council to attend the official launch of ‘In Motion’ on September 15th at 7 pm at Brundage Point. (Please See In Motion Invitation)

MLA Jack Keir, Al Thompson & Mayor Grace Losier.

Money from the Recreation Infrastructure Canada Program is being made available for upgrades to the tennis courts and for the installation of new batting cages. The total cost is $93,000 with $31,000 coming from the federal government.

The Minister of Transportation sent a letter to council in response to a request for assistance in dealing with people, especially children, trespassing on railway property. The minister outlined the non-enforcement related activities and programs being offered to reduce trespassing and promote safety through education.

Council approved the payment of nearly $191,000 to Classic Construction Ltd. for street improvement work completed to date. Bills totaling $80,992.92 were paid.

Rose Taylor, Gary Mittelholtz, Minister Jack Keir, Susan Logan, Colleen Dunwoody, Verna Livingston, Beverly Day, Mayor Grace Losier Front: Maureen Boone, Joanne Barry Missing from photo - Charlene McNulty

MLA Jack Keir, Tony Simpson & Mayor Grace Losier.