Municipality of Cumberland votes to renew fire protection services agreement with Amherst
Cumberland municipal council has voted to renew its fire protection services agreement with the Town of Amherst for 15 years.
The motion was passed as council’s November regular council meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. The 2008 agreement expired on March 31, 2023.
The terms of the proposed agreement are virtually identical to the previous agreement. The proposed agreement is for 15 years and will expire on March 31, 2038.
The consideration under the agreement is $201,871.00 per year adjusted each year by the increase in the consumer price index for Nova Scotia.
Coverage provided for under the agreement includes Initial Full Time Response to structure fires. Initial Full Time Response means an emergency call that is responded to by two paid firefighters on call in the Amherst Fire Department.
Other emergency calls will be responded to by the Amherst Fire Department in the same manner as they would respond to an emergency call within the town boundary.
In addition, other services include Hazmat response, motor vehicle rescue and extrication.
Fred Gould elected deputy mayor for the Municipality of Cumberland
Coun. Fred Gould has been elected deputy mayor of the Municipality of Cumberland.
Gould, who was first elected to council in 2020 and re-elected in October 2024, will serve a one-year term.
Coun. Kathy Redmond was also nominated.
Cumberland municipal council approves code of conduct for elected officials
Cumberland municipal council has approved a code of conduct for elected officials, ensuring they follow procedural standards and behave professionally and respectfully.
The code includes more than 40 guidelines and was developed based on recommendations of a working group established in January 2022.
The working group had representation from the Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities, the Association of Municipal Administrators of Nova Scotia, and the Association of Nova Scotia Villages.
Kinnear appointed to municipality’s Accessibility Advisory Committee
Celina Kinnear has been approved by Cumberland municipal council as a member of the municipality’s Accessibility Advisory Committee.
The Accessibility Advisory Committee was established in 2021 and consists of representatives from the Municipality of Cumberland as well as the Villages of Pugwash and River Hebert. The committee gives advice to council on removing obstacles for people with disabilities in all the municipality’s programs and services and putting our ideas into action to make life simpler and better for people with disabilities.
At least one half of the members of the committee must have a disability (or represent an organization that serves people with disabilities).
Kinnear has been a strong advocate for those living with disabilities. She believes strongly in their ability to access resources, programs, and amenities throughout our county by facing as few barriers as possible.
Municipal council approves bid by Seacrest Electric to provide Parrsboro water emergency generator
Cumberland municipal council has approved a bid by Seacrest Electric Ltd. to provide a wellfield emergency standby generator for the Parrsboro water system.
The Parrsboro water system connects to utility power in three locations: the reservoir, the chlorination building at the Public Works Garage and the wellfield.
Generators have been installed for the reservoir and chlorination building.
The wellfield does not have generator back-up. The system can operate on the reservoir supply for several days, but prolonged outage, fire, or waterline break could result in the water system unable to supply water.
Screening equipment upgrade, Springhill service centre entrance upgrade approved for GRID funding application
Cumberland municipal council has approved a screening equipment upgrade at the Springhill Wastewater Treatment Plant as the first priority and the Springhill Service Centre office entrance improvements as the second priority to the province’s Growth and Renewal Infrastructure Development Program.
The GRID program is a funding for municipal owned infrastructure such as water, wastewater and stormwater; climate change adaption; and projects required to comply with Accessibility Act. The GRID program will fund up to 50% of eligible project costs.
The Springhill Wastewater Treatment Plant Screening Equipment Upgrade increases the wastewater treatment plant’s (WWTP) capacity to screen incoming wastewater.
Preliminary engineering is completed for this project and procurement has been undertaken for detailed engineering design and tender preparation. The expansion and/or renewal of facilities for the treatment and disposal of sanitary sewage is identified as an eligible project for the GRID program.
The Springhill Service Centre Office Entrance Improvements will upgrade the entrances of the municipal offices located at 43 Main St. Springhill to address accessibility standards
Council approves second reading of rezoning application for South Pugwash property
Cumberland municipal council has approved second reading of an amendment to the land-use bylaw to rezone a South Pugwash property from agricultural to rural industrial.
The property is approximately 7.4 acres and zoned agricultural but is not actively used for agricultural purposes.
The property owner has expressed that they are not interested in using the lands for agricultural purposes in the future. The subject property was zoned agriculture in 2018, during the initial zone assignment for the county based on the soil profile of the parcel.
The property owner would like to use the land as auxiliary storage space for his garage door installation company.