1. Call to Order: 6:33pm
2. Additions to the Agenda:
- 8 a. Christmas Funds for needy community members on Westport
- 8 b. Veteran’s name signs are weathered and some are missing
3. Adoption of Agenda: Shelley motioned to adopt the agenda with the new additions and Trevor seconded. Motion carried.
4. Minutes of Tuesday, October 11, 2022: Gordie motioned to accept the minutes as presented and Shelley seconded. Motion carried.
5. Correspondence: Read by Clerk
- Emails between Clerk and Municipality of Digby re: Reschedule of meeting regarding septic and repaving on Dec 6th
- Email from Village Association re: Dept of Municipal Affairs Zoom meeting in Oct. Date to be determined.
- Letter from Statistics Canada re: October Job vacancies for Village of Westport
- Email from Village Association re: Village Consultation meeting with the Minister of Municipal Affairs on Oct 12th.
- Email from Community Health Board re: Wellness Funds
- Email from the Accessibility Directorate re: Transcript and slides from virtual meeting on Sept 29th
- Email from Monica Stark re: Logo Concepts for Village of Westport website
- Email from Deveau Consulting re: Contamination Remediation estimate for Deveau Consulting
- Email from Community Health Board re: Freeport Vaccination clinic on Oct 13th
- Email from Community Health Board re: NS Health & IWK Accessibility Plan
- Email from Community Health Board re: Wellness Funds deadline extended to Oct 21st
- Email from Safety Branch re: Safety tips for amusement inflatable devices
- Email from Dept of Municipal Affairs re: Rescheduled meeting with the Minister of Municipal Affairs on Oct 25th
- Email from Community Health Board re: The Art of Friendship Mental Health Program via Zoom
- Email from Dept of Municipal Affairs re: Zoom link for Oct 25th Municipal Affairs meeting
- Emails between Clerk and Brokerlink re: no increase to the insurance at 7 Water St
- Email from Safety Branch re: The Signal monthly newsletter
- Emails between Clerk and Sou West Glass re: Quote for new accessible doors for Community Hall
- Emails between Clerk and Community Health Board re: grants for playground equipment
- Emails between Clerk and Brokerlink re: Liability insurance for Village park
- Email from Dept of Municipal Affairs re: Government Housing Authority Restructuring
- Email from Community Health Board re: Upcoming vaccination clinic at Digby Legion
- Emails between Clerk and Crystal Clear Water re: UV Water Treatment System Installation
- Emails between Clerk and Efficiency NS re: Lighting Project Completion
- Letter from Western Counties Regional Library re: Westport Library name change request
6. Monthly Financial Statement
- October Financials: Shelley motioned to accept the financials as presented and Trevor seconded. Motion carried.
7. Old Business
- Website: Monica has been working on it but is looking for pictures to add to the website. Shelley thought a call should be put out to the public via Facebook for pictures of the community and people, both historical and current. Clerk instructed to do that.
- Asset Retirement Obligations Asbestos Assessment: Cora Lee in Digby is waiting for training to ascertain if they need to hire an engineer or if they can simply write up a report themselves. Once the training is complete she will get in touch with us and let us know what they have discovered.
- Comm Hall doors and locks repairs/replacement: Sou West Glass didn’t get the quote in time for the meeting. Gordie felt that even though a break is coming for the Commissioners they should take a look at the quote during the break and hopefully the work will get done before Feb. Gordie felt that changing all of the locks at this time might be too much but the new door being installed should not be a key lock but a code lock instead.
- NS Environment Contamination Notice 21 Second St: Tabled until Gordie can speak to Jacqueline at NS Environment.
- Park Driveway erosion: Islands Maintenance met with Gordie to make a plan. Mike, the owner of the old school, mentioned that if the driveway were to be fixed up they would be happy to assist with the cost if it has anything to do with their property.
- Petition for Nurse Practitioner: With the current pages that have been collected we have approx 120 names. Hattie Albright in conjunction with the seniors in Tiverton started a petition of their own regarding the same topic and Hattie Albright went door to door and got approx 280 names. The Clerk asked her if she was willing to take our petition to the same houses and she said she was. Commissioners asked the Clerk to contact Hattie and have her take our petition door to door.
- Capital Reserve Investing: Commissioners asked if this appointment could be combined with the change of signers coming up for the new Clerk. Nov 21 or 22 afternoons were chosen as ideal dates for all of the Commissioners to be able to go.
- Clerk Applicants: 2 resumes received: Robyn Noiles from Tiverton and Angela Lonergan from Westport. Due to a conflict of interest Shelley was excluded from the discussion. Gordie and Trevor spoke about the applications before the meeting started and have decided to offer the position to Angela Lonergan because of her strong application and being a community member. Gordie motioned to extend an offer to Angela and Trevor seconded. Motion carried.
- Cover for Comm Hall Heat Pump: Jeff was not clear if he would do the cover or not, Gordie will look at purchasing a pre-built cover in Digby. The cost will be approx $150.
- Updated Rental Fees: Gordie read it and motioned to accept the new policy and Trevor seconded. Motion carried. Gordie mentioned that if there is an issue with the costs of the rentals that the Commissioners welcome feedback from community members.
- Library Name change request: letter received from WCRL stating the same as we had heard last year that they are reviewing the policy around renaming libraries and it will be completed sometime in 2023. They will follow up with this request at that time.
- Insurance changes: Our broker has not come back to us with the pricing or changes to ensure all of our Village owned property has liability insurance, including the existing park that has the gazebo and picnic table. Clerk to follow up in November.
- Audit Committee Posting: Gordie motioned to accept the draft as presented and Shelley seconded. The new clerk’s contact information is to be used.
8. New Business:
- Christmas Funds for needy community members on Westport: Gordie and Trevor have realized that some community members have been struggling to pay for oil and food in the difficult winter months. They would like to start a fund for Christmas baskets for needy residents. Commissioners instructed the Clerk to contact all of the local big businesses for donations for the fund.
- Veteran’s name signs are weathered and some are missing: Gordie remembered that not all of the veterans’ name plaques were painted when Norma and Kristen did them. Commissioners instructed Clerk to contact Norma to find out what plaques need to be done. Suggestion from the floor to check for new ones that have pictures, Digby and Yarmouth both have them. Clerk instructed to contact Digby Print & Promo and JR Signs to see if they do them and costs.
9. Next Village Meeting Tuesday, February 14, 2023
- Note: December and January are break months for the Commissioners.
Questions from the floor:
- What would be needed to have a Fire Dept Fundraiser Christmas Dance? Only a liquor license from NSLC.
- Is the SOCAN license up to date? Yes, it was reinstated once the Auxiliary started organizing roller skating nights.
- Would the Village do fundraisers to create an Emergency Fund? At this time they will focus on the Christmas fund.
10. Adjournment: 8:17pm