Hantsport's early Christmas present. PROFARM, and more from COW.

"The town received an earlier than expected Christmas present," Mayor Rob Zwicker announced at the monthly Committee of the Whole on Dec. 17. Although the final assessment numbers will not be released until the end of December, it was announced unofficially that Fundy Gypsum's assessment is being reduced less than expected - from $5.7 million to $5.2 million. This will reduce the town's anticipated shortfall from $180,000 to $96,000, 

Mayor Rob Zwicker and CAO Rob Frost met with Scotia Investments to discuss the future of PROFARM. The mayor stated that the facility will be constructed in 2015 and in production by 2017. According to PROFARM's website, it will be built on land previously used by Minas Basin Pulp & Power. According to the mayor, he was the only elected member of council at the meeting. For info on PROFARM, see LINK


Meetings are being held to discuss the possibility of locating a data centre in Hantsport, according to the mayor. Minas Basin has asked for these discussions to continue.

The mayor and CAO also met with Mark Peck of Service Nova Scotia who found the town's five year projection "interesting". The question is, is the town sustainable? The town's infrastructure - such as Willow Bridge - is in poor condition. The town hopes to met with the Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations Mark Furey.

Budget talks among the mayor, CAO, and councillors will start in January. The mayor wants to engage the public in discussions.

Dykeland is reporting a 99.2%  occupancy rate but there is a shortage of nurses.

The future of the Hantsport Library. See separate post.

In the Police Advisory Committee report the RCMP will continue to investigate speeding on Jubilee Lane and consider options. One is the flag system which is used successfully in Port Williams.  The RCMP will consider a crosswalk at TIM HORTONS. Another meeting of people interested in Citizens on Patrol and Neighbourhood Watch will be held in the new year.

Some residents had no water for a short time earlier this month. The software malfunctioned and the computer went down. The computer mistakenly indicated that the town's reserve water tank was 85% full.