Update on Hantsport dissolution Dec. 10, 2015.

I was unable to attend the meeting to discuss the progress on the dissolution of Hantsport held at the Fire Hall December 10 at 7 PM. 

One resident wrote the attached note. 

I encourage you to comment. I will credit the letters to Anonymous unless you want your name attached. I reserve the right to edit submissions. Submissions must be respectful.

-Heather

Dec. 10/15

Hi, Heather. 

We went to the meeting tonight. It was put on by the West Hants people, telling us what they had been doing and what they are planning to do as they continue to try to integrate the town into the municipality. It was pretty well a passing out of information.

 After Rob Zwicker made the introductions Cathy (who seemed to be in charge) talked fast and furiously for more than an hour. I couldn't even begin to take notes as you really needed to know what was going on to follow her.  

Lots of talk about the water facility and the changes that have been made and what they are hoping to do in the future.   

Also told us that replacing the pipes and pavement of Chittick Ave was a priority and it would be followed by doing the same

on Holmes Hill. 

Pointed out that they had had to do a lot of work at the town sheds and would need to put in some kind of security. They have already been broken in to once since taking over. Said they had spent $15,000 on the town dump truck to keep it going.   

Talked about the fire dept. and the new fire engine.  

Big discussion on the fact that many people owe a great deal of money for their water - haven't paid in years - and they will be given some time to pay but shut off by the end of March unless they make an effort to pay their bills.  

The discussion moved around to HMCC and you could see that they are not anxious to give funding - all kinds of excuses and were acting as though it was an exclusive club for Hantsport people only!  A  resident asked if they knew that one ball team from Hantsport this year - who made it to provincial playdowns - actually only had one member from Hantsport, one from Hants Border, one from Avonport and the rest (ten players) were all from West Hants. They didn't know what to say!  

-Anonymous

Keep checking here for comments. 
-H.

 When we arrived at 6:30 PM, the fire hall doors were locked and the lights were off. A phone call was made and the doors were open. No chairs had been set up. The meeting was poorly organized. Rick Gerard, Director of Public Works, was surprise at the poor showing of residents.

CAO Cathy Osbourne of West Hants was very good and had an answer for everything. She discussed HMCC, sidewalks, roads, the cemetery, water, street lights, the water on Chittick Avenue a priority, repairs to water and roads on Holmes Hill. Water for the splash pad cost $1000 a week for seven weeks. She will make a formal report to West Hants council on January 12 at 7 PM at the West Hants Council Chambers. Councillor Rob Zwicker said little.
-Anonymous

The  comments on your bog neglected to say how positive and transparent the meeting was and I get a feeling of negativity which is not correct. In my opinion the PUBLIC Meeting was well done. What Cathy Osborne (CAO)  presented was an update since July 1st.the first and it was totally transparent, open and direct.

   There was 5 individuals in attendance  from West Hants as well as Robbie Zwicker and any questions asked by the public (maybe 20 people) showed up  were answered. There was discussions around the Hantsport Fire Dept and mention of a new fire truck. It was also mentioned that  there has been training and cross training for the Hantsport Public Works people as well as those workers from West Hants.

There has been regulators installed on the  water lines to help with water line flow  problems, the water quality for the town has improved. There is a new side walk plow and  six people trained to operate it. The Information Technology is being updated as well to assist the Fire Departments. Also on going  discussions with the Library. The Parks and Recreation strategy is to go forward and a supervisor has been  appointed to handle that(Doug Sanford) I believe.  There has been a Hantsport Area Advisory Committee formed to assist the Municipal Planning  Dept.

  Regarding the HMCC both parties are trying to work together, David Old Secretary of HMCC suggested that discussions  should be with the all HMCC Board of Directors and not just with any one individual. There was discussion around the cost of operating the water splash  pad($1000.00 per week) and a solution to try and reduce costs. There was also discussions around the  Hantsport Railway and working on a solution  to improve that. Discussions around walking trails and that is ongoing.

A  discussion around the Hantsport Riverbank  Cemetery the Hantsport By-laws will be reviewed to  address  repairs that have been completed at the cemetery and the cost to up keep.

There was also discussion around area rates and that is being worked on, also a slight discussion regarding the Deed Transfer Tax. A couple of street light poles on Main St. will be remove before they fall down.

There was much more that was discussed and of interest to those present it is unfortunate that more residents were not in attendance however this meeting could have been advertised better by way of the social network and a mail drop, so perhaps a lesson learned from that. This joining with the Municipality of West Hants has created a learning curve for them as well as Hantsport and this will continue for a while.  

Bill Preston

Heather,

This meeting should have been properly advertised. It obviously wasn't. I would have liked to have attended but did not know it was being held. 

In any event, this was an important Dissolution update meeting of great interest that should have been recorded and posted on the Municipality of  West Hants website in the form of a report. There is also the option of a mail-out report. Then it can be read and digested at leisure. Transparency would be assured and all would have the opportunity to respond. Otherwise how can there be beneficial feedback. Once that is done then it is submitted it would be useful to have a public meeting  for more informed discussion and clarification of specific points of interest. This is too important to be poorly advertised and one would expect more than a verbal report.

Best regards,

Don Hussey 

Didn't even know that a meeting was being held. How was it advertised?
Juanita Wilcox