Kentville Town Council Notes

BY JENNIFER HOEGG

jhoegg@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

Meeting changes

Kentville council’s regular meeting times will change from the second Wednesday of each month to the last Monday, at 7 p.m. Council Advisory Committee meetings will change also, from the last Monday of each month to the second Monday, at 1 p.m.

To allow for transition time, there will be a CAC and a regular council meeting Sept. 28, a CAC Oct. 13 and a council meeting Oct. 26. Both meetings are open to the public and take place in council chambers.

Rezoning tabled

Decision on a proposal to rezone a portion of a Chester Avenue property from Residential Future to Residential Single Two-Unit Dwelling was deferred until next month. Council voted Sept. 9 to table second reading of the Land Use Bylaw amendment until concerns expressed by residents about a proposed road to future development were addressed.

Lions’ lease

Council approved a CAC recommendation that the town enter a five-year lease with the Kentville Lions’ Club on the 78 River St. property, with inclusion of a list of conditions of extensive repairs from the club.

Before council approved the motion Sept. 9, Councillor Mark Pearl asked for clarifications from town solicitor Peter Muttart on whether the town had a “quit clause” if another use was found for the property or if the club failed to keep the building in good repair. Muttart said there was no option for the town to break the lease unless the Club failed to provide sufficient upkeep.

CAO Keith Robicheau said he “would assume that they in good faith wanted to invest in the property (given) the schedule of improvements they identified. At least the south and east sides of the building should be addressed this fall.” “I certainly want to go on the record as supporting all the service groups, including the Lions Club,” Pearl said. “But I understood we had asked the Lions Club not to move forward until there was a long-term vision of what was the best place for them.”

Pearl added that because of new development nearby, he was “not 100 per cent comfortable that that is the place for the Lions Club to continue their good work.”

Councillor Bill Boyd noted, “we’re trying to give them some stability there. But I think if something came up we would ensure that we would try to work with them. That would all be part of negotiation, but for now I have no problem supporting a five-year lease.”

In the end, council voted to approve the lease.

Liquor store

Councillors voted unanimously to send a letter to MLA Jim Morton and NSLC officials about their preference to continue to have the new liquor store located in downtown Kentville.

Councillor Eric Bolland, noting that the corporation had advertised a request for proposals for a new store, said it would “be a good idea to send a letter of endorsement that the liquor store stay in our downtown core.”

Mayor David Corkum agreed that the town’s preference would be for a new location in downtown Kentville.

Flower baskets win praise

During its Sept. 9 meeting, council was vocal in its support of this summer’s Parks and Recreation Department’s hanging flower baskets. The downtown plantings drew praise from many, including Councillor Tony Bentley, who said the “flowers are the best they have ever been.”

Parks and Recreation committee member Councillor Nola Folker-Hill added she had “heard many, many comments (on the flowers.) They pretty up the town for the summer.”

Mayor Corkum added his compliments to town staff, saying he thought the baskets were “the nicest flowers in the province this summer, right here in Kentville.”