South Coast Today - karen mattatall

South Coast projects net $11 million from feds

Timothy Gillespie — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 21:56:26 +0000

Projects include $2 million waste water treatment upgrades for Shelburne
Towns and municipalities along Nova Scotia's South Coast will the the recipients of $11 million in federal waste water and clean water funding, announced Tuesday by prime minister Justin Trudeau during his visit to the province. More than 70 projects in the province were funded to the tune of $86 million, with Halifax receiving $25 million in funding.

Funding recipients (and approximate amounts) include:

Municipality of Chester - $1.5 million
Region of Queens - $1 million
Bridgewater $ 1.7 million
Lunenburg $2.8
Mahone Bay $2 million
Yarmouth $1.7 million
Shelburne $1.1 million

All of the projects also include funding commitments from the Province, with proponents needing to contibute at least 25% of the project funding.

The waste water facility upgrade project in Shelburne is estimated to cost just over $2 million, with the Province contributing close to $600,000 and the Town adding $500,000 to the pot.

Mayor Karen Mattatall said on Facebook following the announcement that requests for proposals for engineering design will be published in September, with engineering completed over the fall and early winter. Tenders for construction will be let in late winter, with project construction starting after seven months, weather permitting.

In the media scrum following the announcement, Trudeau was asked if the timing of the announcement might cause delays due to winter conditions. He replied that he saw no reason why projects could not begin immediately.

Shelburne councilor Roy O'Donnell told SCT that, especially considering the noxious stench emanating from the waste water plant recently, he would oppose any delays in the project.

"We've been discussing this project for two budget cycles," O'Donnell told SCT, "and since the staff has done such a great job to get a successful outcome, we should move forward with all due speed."

Trudeau also announced $30 million of federal funding for transportation projects.

Facebook Like

Tags:

justin trudeau

shelburne

karen mattatall

roy odonnell

RCMP arrest in Farley Mowat case

Timothy Gillespie — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 13:28:00 +0000

Tracy Dodds in Federal Court in Halifax
"Should anyone choose to bring derelict vessels in the future into this port, they will be dealt with in the same manner as the Farley Mowat."

REVISED: The Shelburne Sherrif's office has informed the Town of Shelburne that that scrap dealer Tracy Dodds has been arrested in Wolfville on a warrant for his failure to remove the rotting hulk of the former Greenpeace Ship Farley Mowat from Shelburne Harbour.

Kingston RCMP spokesman Sgt. Jamie Green told SCT that Dodds was arrested at 1:00pm Wednesday by Kings District RCMP and turned over to the Sherrif's Department.

Police sources tell SCT that Dodds has been transported to Burnside Jail in Dartmouth.

Dodds consented in Federal Court in Halifax in March to have the vessel removed by April 8. The Town of Shelburne asked than that, if Dodds fails to meet that deadline, the court impose a fine $5,000 and 20 days in jail for contempt of court.

Shelburne mayor Karen Mattatall told SCT, "Although the arrest of Mr.Dodd's will not move the ship, it is a small bit of compensation for the town. More importantly it will send a message that should anyone choose to bring derelict vessels in the future into this port, they will be dealt with in the same manner as the Farley Mowat"

In 2014, the vessel arrived in Shelburne where it has been ever since. The town is also suing Dodds for more than $44,000 in unpaid berthing fees.

Last summer the vessel sank beside the wharf, triggering a cleanup organized by the Canadian Coast Guard that removed fuel and raised the boat.

Mayor Mattatall estimated then that the process cost between $400,000 and $500,000.

Dodds has also been charged by the Environment Department regarding the derelict ship King's Endeavor in Woods Harbour.

Tags:

Primary care clinic plans for Shelburne still up in the air

Timothy Gillespie — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 10:20:10 +0000

PHOTO: GOVT OF NOVA SCOTIA

Revised: Mayor says department has advised, 'no off-site location" for med centre

Several options are still being considered by the McNeil government for the long-awaited construction of a medical centre in Shelburne, according to a government spokesman Thursday. The project has been on the drawing boards for more than seven years and has been the focus of much debate and discussion by local residents and political leaders.

Partial news
In a Facebook email Friday afternoon, Shelburne mayor Karen Mattatall told SCT, " I have just received a call from the Minister of Transportation and his Deputy. Both have indicated that they are not looking at nor recommending and off site location for the new clinic."

A request for an interview with Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal minister Geoff McLellan about the project was "respectfully declined", with the minister's communications staff telling SCT that there was nothing new to report.

The department spokesman said via email that "a structural engineering assessment was done on the Primary Care Clinic next to the Shelburne Hospital to evaluate the best course forward to make the necessary upgrades to the facility and meet the needs of the community for years to come."

"There are several options that are being considered," said the memo, "including renovations or building a new facility."

All options being considered
In addition to the location at Roseway Hospital, a downtown site has been considered by government officials for the Primary Care Centre. In June, 2015, SCT asked officials at the Department of Health whether that site, which would include a private developer, was seriously being considered. The Department responded by saying, "partnership options both public and public/private are currently being explored." When asked Friday whether this option was still under consideration, a department spokeman said that "all options are being considered," but that "no decision has been made."

Shelburne Town councilor Roy O'Donnell, who has said in the past that a second option should be considered, says he is encouraged by this latest word from the government. "Even though there have been no concrete decisions made yet on a way forward for this important project," O'Donnell told SCT, "the fact that they appear to be considering several options is a positive sign."

Recent delays in the project have been credited to an engineer's report which noted serious structural flaws in the existing structure, which could result in $1 million being added to the project costs. In 2015, $850,000 had been committed to the project. The Province had previously committed at least $428,000 to the project. The Municipality of Shelburne originally committed $200,000 to the project, but, in late 2013, raised that to $450,000, in response to escalating cost projections at the time. The Roseway Hospital Foundation has approved $300,000 and the Town of Shelburne approved $100,000.

2018 opening date?
Mayor Mattatall told SCT that she has been advised by government officials that the project could take 18 months or more to complete, which would mean that, even if a start date was agreed to soon, a new facility would not likely open until sometime in 2018.

Even though it is easy to get discouraged, O'Donnell added, since the project appears to have some forward momentum, it is important for local leaders to maintain what he describes as "a positive and productive relationship" with government officials. "I think as much as possible," he said, "people in the community also need to be encouraged to keep a positive attitude about the project."

In 2015, the Department told SCT via email that it was, "very close to finalizing details for a medical centre in Shelburne," and that the minister, "hoped to have more information for the community this summer (2015)."

The lengthy delays in building the medical centre, the rash of closures in the past year at the Roseway Hospital EMergency Room and the lack of adequate family physicians locally have led to local demonstrations during ministerial visits to the town, creation of groups formed to lobby for better health care and to dissatisfaction and concern raised repeatedly around the table at local council meetings.

Comments on Facebook have included:

Shelburne really needs this medical centre. Let's get this started... now!
"I will believe it when it is built. The need is there so get the project started."
"If something isn't done soon we will lose more doctors and probably our emerg. At the hospital, we need an up to date medical facility NOW!!!"
"I don't see any problem with a Private/Public partnership for a community medical centre. If it will address the situation we're dealing with regarding ER closures and staff shortages, let's get going with it. Six years is absolutely too long to be left dangling with no firm answers."
"Every year organizations in Shelburne raise thousands of dollars for the IWK. I don't see it likely the Dept of Health will let the IWK fall into a state of disrepair. Perhaps its time to focus on making fundraising efforts benefit health care closer to home for awhile."
"The root of the problem is that we have lost control of the system.The government is not going to fund a system that doesn't work.The tail has been wagging the dog for far too long....."

A Facebook group called Save Our Services (SOS) has launched a letter-writing campaign to encourage local residents to write to the premier and health minister. Some letter writers have complained of generic, impersonal replies from government.

Tags:

Shelburne medical centre debated in Province House

Timothy Gillespie — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 11:45:42 +0000

McNeil government accused of "broken promises"
In the aftermath of Shelburne mayor Karen Mattatall's recent announcement that the planned renovations for the new medical centyre have been scrapped for a re-build from scratch, the April 26 question period was the scene of a vigous debate about the issue. Mattatall complained on Facebook, to various media and to government officials that the delay and cost increases in the re-build decision was insulting and akin to treating Shelburne residents as"second-class citizens".

Mattatall said that she and other local officials were told recently that structural problems with the existing medical centre now meant it would have to be demolished and a new centre built, resulting on a delay of a year or more and cost increases of $1 million or more.

Queens Shelburne MLA Sterling Belliveau DP MLA for Queens-Shelburne complained in the House that delaying this work for an additional 18 months is an example of "yet another broken promise."

PC leader Jamie Baillie wondered why, when premier Stephen McNeil made a promised in Shelburne in August to begin construction in spring of 2016, "he knew he couldn't keep it?" Baillie said, "They need a whole new plan."

Transportation and Infrastructure minister Geoff McLellan responded, "With respect to the delivery of this service in this important facility in Shelburne, the Premier did make that commitment because we are standing by that commitment. It is one that is important for that particular community and for the region."

"We've got to get this right. We will get this right. I've just got off the phone with Mayor Mattatall. Certainly it's frustrating after eight years of being promised this, but we have made that commitment and we will deliver."

Baillie responded, "If the government truly cared about the health care of the people of Shelburne, they wouldn't be sending the Premier down to make political promises that they can't keep. Surely they would check out whether they can renovate or not before they go and make such a commitment, if they were serious about the health care needs of that area."

Baillie also alluded to previous broken promises in Shelburne by the NDP. " What they don't need," Baillie said, "is more empty political promises from the Liberal Government or from the NDP that came before them.

It's ridiculous to suggest that when we go in for an inspection with the professionals - the architects, the engineers, the people on the ground who make these decisions - and they determine issues with the roof, issues with the structure of the facility, that they would ignore them and stick to some plan that no longer makes sense for the protection and the vitality of this (Interruptions)

Mclellan called Baillie's assertions "ridiculous" and "par for the course."

"We found them [structural issues], we identified them, and now we've presented a number of options that ultimately will be decided to make the very best decision. We will support that facility. We'll get that centre built in Shelburne once and for all, so that the members of the community and the members of the region will benefit from the new delivery of health care that this government is providing."

Tags:

shelburne nova scotia

karen mattatall

Shelburne eliminates citizen committees

Timothy Gillespie — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 11:45:52 +0000

Economic Development and Anti-racism Committees axed
The ambitious plan announced by the current Shelburne Town Council three years ago for a series of "committees of Council" has had largely disappointing results, with Council deciding on February 17 to dissolve two of the committees and establish a policy allowing Council to dissolve others which become moribund.

Council voted on Feb 17 to dissolve the Community Economic Development (CED) Committee and the Anti-racism and Discrimination (AR&D) Committee, both of which had seen a dramatic decrease in the ability to attract members and the willingness for existing members to attend monthly meetings, forcing many meetings to be canceled due to lack of quorum.

"It's really unfortunate," mayor Karen Mattatall told the SCT in an interview, "because these committees were formed to make policy recommendations to Council."

The Economic Development Committee pursued an ambitious agenda under the initial chairmanship of local economist Ed Cayer, scheduling 19 meetings in its first year of operation.

In its first months of operation, the Committee brought several recommendations to Council, but following the decision by Council to reverse its prior approval of some CED Committee recommendations, Cayer stepped down as chair.

In 2014, the Committee held nine meetings and in 2015 only two meetings were held. In 2015, the Committee discussed moving to a "project-based" action plan, but meeting minutes do not indicate if this was ever presented to or approved by Council. The Committee has been considered by most observers to be non-functioning and no meetings have been scheduled or held in 2016.

Shelburne Town councilor Roy O'Donnell was a member of the now-defunct CED Committee. When asked what he thought about the move by council, O'Donnell said he believed that the business community was in the best position to create new jobs and a municipal government's role is to provide a climate that is conducive to bringing in new business. "I believe this is better accommodated by Council supported by public meetings, including those of committees of council."

The Anti-racism and Discrimination Committee has had a difficult time from the outset attracting volunteers who were able to commit to a regular meeting schedule. Despite the perception by some in the area that racism and discrimination were salient issues here, and despite the fact that all Committee meetings included time on the agenda for public comments, only one Shelburne citizen is reported to have visited the Committee in its three years of operation.

Of a planned series of surveys by the AR&C Committee of public sentiments regarding the RCMP, housing, employment, equal opportunities in municipal government and "giving citizens a voice", there is a record of only two surveys being conducted with a total of four responses. In late 2014, the Committee recognized that existing methods used to obtain survey responses "is not working", but further decisions about the surveys was deferred to January 2015. That meeting never occurred and at the last recorded meeting of the committee in April, 2105, discussions on the surveys was "deferred until further notice".

Five meetings were scheduled for 2015, but only one meeting met the quorum requirement of the Council's committee policy. At its last meeting in April, 2015, the Committee determined that it needed a review and revision of its Terms of Reference & Action Plan, with a consensus "that the committee needs a more defined Action Plan that gives more direction and has specific objectives." No meetings have been set for 2016.

Mayor Mattatall was surprised that committee members were not able to attend meetings they knew would be organized when they put their names forward for committee work. When asked if the number of committee meeting absences was frustrating, she said "Most of the time, there wasn't even a call or email to express regrets and missing the meeting. " Although the commmittees have been disbanded, she said, "there was nothing keeping citizens from forming their own committees."

The only citizen committee created by the current Council which has survived is the Community Participation & Volunteerism Committee, which has met on a regular schedule for three years and which has addressed issues such as volunteer training, Christmas decorations, a tree donation promotion, Communities in Bloom and bicycle friendliness for the Town.

The Port Authority and Audit committees are not citizen committees, as they are largely comprised of local politicians.

"If this committee system was designed by Council to generate public participation," Ed Cayer told SCT, "it has been a failure."

Tags:

Shelburne annexation, amalgamation, dissolution discussion stays heated

Timothy Gillespie — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 00:20:17 +0000

Lockeport mayor Darian Huskilson, Municipal warden Roger Taylor, Shelburne mayor Karen Mattatall

Councilors accused of bullying by Lockeport mayor

The Town of Shelburne is trying to push forward with shared services with other municipal units in the area, according to a report on CKBW Radio web site about the Council meeting Wednesday.

A motion was put forward that suggested discussions with Shelburne Municipality and the Town of Lockeport resume, with issues of amalgamation, annexation and dissolution on the agenda.

Councilor Roy O'Donnell was adamantly opposed to having dissolution of the Town discussed with other councils and dissolution was removed as a discussion topic. "The mandate that our two councils have had from my very early days on Council was that of amalgamation, which I think is the only legitimate topic." says O'Donnell. "It is the only issue I am seriously interested in discussing."

Mayor Karen Mattatall told CKBW, "It was very clear that my council, the majority of them, do not want the town to talk about dissolution."

Some municipal councilors have openly favoured dissolution of the Town of Shelburne as the best option.

Recently, councilor Rick Davis proposed that the Town move to annex some municipal lands adjoining the Town.

Mattatall told CKBW she hopes the three units will hold a joint meeting with the department of municipal affairs.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Lockeport wants each municipal unit to move forward together.

The working relationship between the Town of Shelburne and municipality has appeared to decline over the last few months, due in part to various council members taking offence at the comments of others.

Several weeks ago, municipal warden Roger Taylor published a letter to the editor in the Shelburne Coast Guard (now the Tri-County Vanguard) in which he took the Town council to task and recommended dissolution, which would make it easier for the Municipality to negotiate a better financial deal with the province. In the letter, Taylor lectures the Town to "mitigate their financial position" by dissolving. .

Even though he and his council recently voted not to proceed with public consultations surrounding amalgamation, Taylor urged the Town to hold public consultations about his dissolution scheme. One local official who asked not to be named suggested that Taylor appears to be inappropriately "butting into the Town's business."

Taylor went on to cite the factors spelled out in a flurry of MODS news releases that week, saying the Town and the Municipality "are not equals, as the Municipality is in much better financial condition than the Town." He adds that the Town's weak finances and inability to do infrastructure upgrades is "dangerous".

Lockeport mayor Darian Huskilson told CKBW that he "hopes they can come to an agreement," and said some council members were guilty of bullying others and pushing their opinions on others.

Huskilson said anything should be on the table to improve services for residents.

Tags:

Cooke Aquaculture conundrum splits Shelburne

Timothy Gillespie — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 12:10:21 +0000

FROM THE CHRONICLE HERALD: Few things represent hope in rural Nova Scotia like the promise of jobs. Because those promises often go unfulfilled, people in rural communities are especially aware of how fleeting that hope can be.

In 2012, the former NDP government announced a $25-million deal with Cooke Aquaculture that would see major development of the industry along the province’s shores and augmented and new work in various communities.

No area was to be a bigger beneficiary than Shelburne, where the crown jewel of the announcement, a processing plant with about 300 jobs, was to be located.

But almost three years later, ground has yet to be broken and some people worry it might go down as yet another disappointment.

SEE FULL HERALD STORY HERE, INCLUDING VIDEO

Tags:

OPINION: Final stretch in mayor's race

Timothy Gillespie — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 17:21:24 +0000

NOTE: SCT welcomes letters and opinion pieces from readers of all persuasions.

The weekend is over and we are into the final stretch of the Election Race. I had the opportunity to speak with a large number of Shelburne voters over the weekend and they, all agreed; Mayor Delaney, is finished.

That leaves us with the hopefuls that remain; Karen Harris–Mattatall, Bob Sinden and Parker Comeau.

Shelburne residents told me that Bob Sinden is a very good person and helps many people in the town. Even if it means giving things away at little or no cost, he has given goods away to those in need because he “financially secure personally” likes to help people.

Now I want to tell you that these personal qualities are wonderful and I certainly respect him for showing compassion to folks in need; it is called giving out of “his abundance”.

Karen is giving everything she has; herself, her time, her talents, and her expertise. She recognizes that this is a mans’ world but it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman or a girl.

A graduate student of Shelburne Regional High School, Karen grew-up to maturity in Shelburne and remained a consistent worker [many volunteer hours] to improve the overall needs of the town of Shelburne and its people.

For years, Karen has been a shinning beacon light in the Town. Put Karen and her crew in the wheelhouse and watch them lead the Town of Shelburne to a very successful destination. At her victory dance, sing “Karen take the wheel” and lead Shelburne and its people to a better future.

I believe this working woman and her crew can successfully perform the duties required to lead the Town of Shelburne and its people into a very successful future. I cast my vote for Karen Harris-Mattatall, join me.

As for Parker Comeau and Mr. Delaney I wish them bon voyage [their ship has already sailed] to enjoy their many discussions at Tim Horton’s over coffee and sweets, maybe they can practice the Red Green Slogan; [“I am a man, I can change, I will change, if I have to, Maybe”]. Perhaps they will invite Bob Sinden to join them, his treat.

Rev. Lawrence D.[Larry]Hartley
Weldon, N.B.

Tags: