Town council meeting Feb. 5/12 - assessment appeal, motorcycles, consultation on budget, RCMP, Kings Transit

(I will be posting this report in bits and pieces today. I have emailed Rob Frost to confirm a few facts and numbers Thurs.11:56 AM  and I will correct as necessary.)

Council will not hire a consultant to review the assessment of the Minas Basin Pulp & Power facilities and to consider an appeal. The assessment fell from $6 million to $1.5 million when the mill closed.
  Several people raised this suggest at the January public meeting. One of those, Jamie Simpson, sent a letter which was circulated to council. Mayor Rob Zwicker summarized the letter as suggesting council began an appeal before the time line expires which is February 14.

  Council was informed that an appeal would cost the town $3400 + lawyer fees. CAO Rob Frost spoke to legal council and learned the appeal  would take 2 or 3 years for a decision. If it fails, the town pays a fee and PVSC can counter-appeal. The Mayor stated that if the assessment were raised to $2 million, the increase in taxes would be $19,000.
  The Mayor stressed that the town needed to explain to residents the reasons for council's decision."We can never please everyone. Council can only make its best decision." An appeal could have long term consequences affecting the town's relationship with Scotia Investments. Deputy Mayor Harold Bulger  concluded that council could not support an appeal for financial reasons.

The CAO is following Leah Winter's information that an electric motorcycle company is looking for a space to begin production. The MBP&P warehouse may be suitable.

The public will be invited to consultations with council as it develops its  2013 / 2014 budget. Members of the public will be hand picked and will fall into three age groups: under 25, 26 - 55, and 55+. lasting an hour, the first 20 minutes will be a presentation and the final 40 minutes will be for questions. The CAO hopes to have budget as close to April 1 as possible but council will discuss the time line next week. Each month council will receive a budget presentation showing projections and forecasts. Quarterly, it will receive a more detailed report. The budget will be 80 - 85% complete before the next public meeting.

Thie CAO has not received a reply to his letter to the Department of Justice asking for a review of the amount of money the town spends on the RCMP. He has spoken to the Kentville Police Department's policy. Staff Sargant Dan Austin will speak the the Committee of the Whole meeting on Feb. 19 at 7 PM at town hall. For 2012 - 2013, the town budgeted $320,300 for police administration and services.

Council supported the Hantsport and Area Revitalization Committee's need to consult with the public. It might ask people to imagine Hantsport in the future and ask - where do we want to go? and how do we get there?

Council will ask Kings Transit manager Ron Mullins to attend the March Council meeting. It wants a more detailed account of the number of Hantsport residents using the system. The Mayor suggested hiring a student during March Break to ride the bus and count riders. Councillor Margot Bureau suggested it might be cheaper for the town to subsidize a taxi.

More to come on another post.