The new town depot is nearing completion. – © J. Rene Roy
PORT AUX BASQUES – The most recent meeting of Port aux Basques council took place on Monday, July 20. All councillors were in attendance, with proper social distancing measures in effect for members of council and the public. Here are the highlights.
Business owner Greg Sheaves gave a presentation where he reiterated concerns regarding backfilling issues in the Environmentally Protected (EP) zone along Grand Bay West. The current mapping proposal under the new town plan means he is unable to develop an area of land that he would like to and believes it does not actually interfere with the EP zone. Council informed him that he would likely have to apply for an exemption.
Council remains concerned about motorists speeding through town, particularly in the Grand Bay area. They are working with the Port aux Basques detachment of the RCMP to try to curb speeders.
The new municipal depot in the Grand Bay Industrial Park is nearing completion. Mayor John Spencer stated that he would like to see the new camera security system extended to keep an eye on people who are illegally dumping garbage in the cul-de-sac, as that area is usually a mess even shortly after cleanup.
There was also further discussion about garbage throughout the town. Improper trash storage, repeated littering, and refusal by some pet owners to clean up after their dogs is attracting more and more rats, which is in turn prompting more complaints to council. Mayor Spencer would like to see the town’s garbage cans assessed to determine that they all have cans and proper liners.
A petition by cat rescue group In Memory of Shadow to continue its shelter in part of the town industrial space (old fish plan) past the Oct. 31 deadline was denied. Deputy Mayor Todd Strickland pointed out that housing the cats in that space was only supposed to be temporary, and that unfortunately that fact may have been forgotten in the interim. Without going into specifics, council indicated that there were other business endeavours setting up in that space and that the shelter would unfortunately have to find an alternative space by the eviction deadline.
The Grand Bay West trail still needs some repair and maintenance. Council is also toying with the idea of putting an access point to the trail from the Hopedale cul-de-sac near the new municipal depot.
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