PAB council highlights: March 2022

By Rosalyn Roy

Senior Staff Reporter

PORT AUX BASQUES – The most recent meeting of council took place on Tuesday, March 29. Here are the highlights.

Storm damage

The spate of winter storms continues to batter the Grand Bay West beach and trail area despite the installation of gabion cages. The town will do a closer assessment to determine the extent of the damages.

“It’s fairly extensive over in a couple of areas there,” said Town Manager Leon MacIsaac.

Beach water station

Mayor Button also spoke about the confusion surrounding the refillable water station at the Grand Bay West beach. The station is only intented for beachgoers to refill small, personal water bottles. It will not suffice, nor is it intended, for users to refill large containers of water or to service motorhomes and recreational vehicles.

“There’s been a little bit of confusion on that,” said Button. “I had a few people ask about that.”

Repair season starts soon

Once the weather conditions improve, the town will begin repairs on those annoying potholes. In the meantime they have put sandbags in where possible. The mayor said this is something that all towns have to deal with every Spring.

“We’re all in agreement that we’ve got a bit of road work to do around the community,” said Button.

Also noted were the intended repairs to Little Bay Park and the road to the transfer shed. There are plenty of other areas around town that require repair too. The mayor said it’s going to be a busy summer judging by the list of items on the Public Works report.

Bruce II Sports Centre

Under a special meeting on March 14, council discussed masking and sanitizing policies at the facility. The town did officially change its policy to align with the province’s policy, but masks and sanitizing are still strongly encouraged, especially during large events such as the provincial hockey tournaments taking place throughout April.

Meanwhile the town has received approval to proceed to tender on the facility’s dehumidification and unit replacement as the green upgrades continue.

The Amazing CHY Race

Wreckhouse Press Incorporated is partnering with the Channel-Port aux Basques Come Home Year Committee, the South West Coast Historical Society and the local business community for The Amazing Come Home Year Race.

The goal is to build excitement for the upcoming Come Home Year festivities with youths aged 5 to 12 as the contestants. In addition to the Grand Prize for the winning racer, there will be prizes for the 2nd and 3rd place finishers and all participants will receive a token of thanks.

The Town of Channel-Port aux Basques approved a motion to donate $175 towards the cash prizes.

“Sounds like a good initiative and it would be a good way to promote Come Home Year,” said the mayor.

Garbage truck

The town’s first two applications for a new garbage truck were rejected by the province, who advised the town to seek alternative sources of funding.

“This vehicle is not for the town. It’s under the Marine Mountain Zone Waste Management Committee,” noted MacIsaac, who observed that costs will be distributed among the 21 member communities and municipalities it services.

After some tweaking and help from MHA Andrew Parsons, the town re-applied for and was granted funding under a 70/30 split. The MMZWMC has two new garbage trucks but felt a third was necessary.

“Whenever we have problems with one of these trucks, the ones we have for backup just couldn’t cut it,” shared Coun. Melvin Keeping about the need for a third truck.

Even though the funding has been approved, it may take a while to get the new truck. The pandemic has resulted in a backlog of orders for vehicle chassis.

Town Clerk Julia Ingram

This meeting marked the final one for Town Clerk Julia Ingram. Mayor Brian Button led Council in paying tribute to her for over 35 years of dedication and service.

“You’ve worked very tirelessly on behalf of the community and the people in the community,” noted Button. “On behalf of myself and council I want to congratulate you on a wonderful career.”

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