Bay Roberts hoping for longer lasting crosswalks

By Tyler Waugh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Town of Bay Roberts is hoping to get more time out of its crosswalks.

The durability of the painted crossings was raised at council’s March 10 public meeting. Crosswalk locations were also discussed.

Councillor Terry Bowering, who noted the crossings are painted by Town staff, asked Public Works Director Sean Elms if better paint might be available. Bowering said the lines on one crosswalk in particular had faded very quickly.

Chief Administrative Officer Dave Tibbo offered a theory as to why the Town is experiencing issues with some of its crosswalks. He said that while the paint worked well for other communities, Bay Roberts may have put the crosswalks on the pavement too late in the year.

“They were put down on a really hot day and then they got really cold,” he said, suggesting the quick cooling effect combined with traffic could have contributed to the fast fading.

Councillor Dean Franey recalled staff having to rush to finish the crosswalks before Remembrance Day, meaning they were painted in November.

“I think you need it on in early spring,” said Tibbo. “And then, over time with heat, it’ll stay better.”

Tibbo said if that doesn’t work, they could look into getting new paint as Bowering suggested. Elms added the Town is looking to get a spray painter, which might help the crosswalk paint last longer.

Franey said he has seen workers in St. John’s paint half a crosswalk, block it off with pylons for a few hours to prevent traffic from driving over it, then do the same with the other half. That would cut down on the immediate wear and tear of the painted lines, he allowed.

Elms replied that is something the Town will try.

Stapleton story sparks questions about future of Peacekeepers Way

By Mark Squibb

Recent headlines about the sale of a piece of land in Conception Bay South that was expropriated by the Province 14 years ago to pave the way for Peacekeeper’s Way has some residents wondering if government has given up on the idea of twinning the highway between Manuels and Seal Cove as was originally intended.

“I’ve always been told that it was intended to be four lanes, but funding started to dry up,” said Transportation Minister and Conception Bay South MHA Barry Petten, who was not in provincial politics when the highway was first announced. “That’s not official, but that appears to be what happened.”

That expropriated land has since been resold, and a home is being constructed on it, much to the surprise of the property’s original owner, the Stapleton family, who had to give up their cherished home because they were told the government needed it for the highway.

“My family is completely dumbfounded as to how something so traumatic and devastating was pushed upon us with no choice in 2012, and now suddenly it seems the land is in use once again,” said Hannah Stapleton, a medical student who was a child when the family was forced out of their home.

“There’s been a lot of interest, and we’ve gotten a lot of calls to the office about it,” admitted Petten when asked about the highway’s future. “It’s an important issue, and one that I’ve always spoken about, so it’s a fair question.”

Despite the land having recently been sold, Petten thinks the highway could still be twinned.

“It would be welcome here in CBS,” he said. “We’re a growing community. Those infrastructure needs are real. As MHA and also minister, I have the ability to try and push those things along, but they have to be done along with our government and budgetary measures.”

Four years ago, when he was an Opposition member, Petten asked the Province to conduct a safety review of Peacekeeper’s Highway, citing its high traffic volume and a number of fatal accidents. At the time, he noted, the highway had been designated for lane expansion.

Now that he is minister, Petten is hoping to bring his government colleagues onside to support a comprehensive traffic study for CBS, Mount Pearl, Paradise, and St. John’s.

As to whether the highway should be twinned, Petten said he is waiting for the results of that study before giving a definitive answer.

Should the Province ever go ahead with twinning the highway, Petten added, it wouldn’t happen overnight and would cost tens of millions of dollars. The Province would also look to avail of federal funding, he said.

Two CBS businesses told, ‘No’

By Mark Squibb

Conception Bay South council has rejected requests from two local businesses.

Dra Andrea Corral –Functional Medicine asked for a tax reduction. The request was denied as the Town’s tax incentive policy does not apply to home-based businesses.

“I guess it’s self-explanatory,” said Mayor Darrin Bent. “The policy itself doesn’t apply, so they don’t qualify under the policy.”

Council also denied a request from Topsail Auto Body to sell vehicles from the lot.

As per the motion, the sale of vehicles would “increase the non-conformity of the property with respect to parking.”

Councillor Rex Hillier declared a potential conflict of interest related to the auto body request as the land was adjacent to a property that he had ties to and thus did not vote. Aside from that, both motions passed unanimously.

Foxtrap business makes itself compliant

By Mark Squibb

Conception Bay South council approved a number of development permits, both residential and commercial at its most recent public council meeting.

First, council approved the operation of a workshop with subsidiary retail operations from a garage at 20 Cables Road, Foxtrap. The owner makes and sells survey pegs but had been operating without a permit.

“This is one that has been ongoing for some time,” said councillor-at-large Rex Hillier. “I met with the resident, and I believe councillor (Gerard) Tilley met with the resident last fall, probably in October, and it’s nice to see now that we’ve done a lot of work over that time and the resident has done a lot of work to bring the property into compliance, and now we’re able to recommend approval for their business.”

Tilley allowed that while there were a few hurdles along the way, the property owner has since dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s.

Despite receiving three submissions from residents who opposed the operation of a business at the address, council approved the permit unanimously.

Council also approved operation of a one-on-one fitness studio in the commercial building at 2535 Topsail Road, Chamberlains, conditional on implementation of an acceptable snow clearing and storage plan, and parking line painting and signage.

“This is a building on a very small property with very little parking space, very little storage space for snow clearing,” said Hillier. “It’s very close to a neighbour’s driveway, and I know there have been issues there with other businesses in the past. We’re asking this business in particular, as we go forward, to respect the other residents in the neighborhood.”

Mayor Darrin Bent noted there had been a number of business start ups at the location over the years, but given the nature of the business, “maybe it’s the one that will work for the longest.”

In other development news:

Council has approved a land use assessment that was required before construction of a home could begin at 47-53 Perrin’s Road.

“This property is near the water down in Long Pond in a moderate hazard area, and as a result we require a land use assessment report before any development takes place,” explained Hillier.

The assessment addresses grading and potential flooding of the property.

The applicant was also required to develop a turnaround at the end of Perrins Road.

A request for a home and subsidiary apartment at 589-591 Seal Cove Road with a reduced building line setback of five metres was approved by council, despite a recommendation from the planning committee that it be rejected because the proposed building line setback does not meet the minimum distance required in the regulations.

“We’ve had a second look at that, and a deeper look,” said Hillier. “This is a property that’s in a unique place. It’s caught between Seal Cove Road and Little Indian Pond on the back. Some, I’ll say six years ago, we had worked with the family to develop a plan for a house on that lot. In the interim, two things happened. A family member passed away, and the permit was allowed to expire, and also we extended the width of our roads… Basically, our roadway expanded so that plan that the family had agreed on and we had worked with, wouldn’t fit.”

Hillier added that neighbouring properties have similar road setbacks.

“It’s higgledy-piggledy along that strip as it is,” said Hillier. “So, we’re asking council to relax that regulation.”

Considering the circumstances, council voted to approve construction of the home.

Council approved a motion to undertake a public consultation for a proposed re-zoning of land at and near 251 Spruce Hill Road from open space zone to residential low-density.

“Along our T’Railway, there are wide buffers and narrow buffers,” said Hillier. “In setting out our new town plan, we’ve tried to set a standard. In this case, the buffer is much wider than the standard that we’ve set in our town plan. The resident is looking to build a home in what is now the buffer, so they’re looking to get that rezoned. They are not prepared to wait until the town plan is complete, so they’re taking it upon their own hands to go through the rezoning process themselves and pay for that process.”

Hillier said that a similar situation is unfolding in Manuels.

Council voted to provide public notice of it’s intention to sell approximately of 10 acres of land on the east side Graham Mifflen Drive and south of the Conception Bay South Arena.

The Town acquired the land for development of the Gateway commercial park from private title holders and Crown Lands back in 2009. A portion of the land was subject to subsurface mineral rights held by Greenslade’s Construction Limited. In exchange for release of the mineral rights, the Town agreed to convey approximately 10 acres of land on the east side of Graham Mifflen Drive to Greenslade’s.

“We’re just working through the process as legislation requires,” said Hillier. “But basically, we have already been paid for this piece of property.”

Paradise hires advisor to oversee rebuilding of depot

By Mark Squibb

The Town of Paradise is one step closer to getting a new public works depot to replace the one ruined in a fire last year that also damaged the adjacent town hall.

During last week’s public meeting, councillor Erin Furlong brought forward a recommendation from staff to award an “owner’s advisor contract” to the lowest bidder, WSP E&I Canada Ltd., in the bid amount of $550,633, HST included.

“The owner advisor will support the Town through the design-build, procurement, and construction process, including development of the design-build RFP (request for proposals), technical review, project management oversight, construction monitoring, and commissioning support,” said Furlong.

The Town issued a request for proposals on February 10 seeking an engineering consulting firm to manage the project and received three bids.

Staff evaluated the submissions based on technical and financial merits and awarded each bid a score out of one hundred points. The submissions were weighted based on a 70 percent technical score and 30 percent financial score. Besides being the lowest bidder, WSP E&I was also awarded the highest score of 82.5.

The new depot will be larger than the previous one to accommodate growing municipal operations.

Furlong said she was bringing forward the staff recommendation for a vote without it first having been discussed in committee, because the schedule for completion “is very aggressive.”

Councillor Glen Carew asked whether the contract could be adjusted, or even terminated, if at any point the construction contract were to come back overbudget or if council decided to change course.

Furlong said that to her understanding, council would not be on the hook for the entirety of the contract should they opt out.

“We would pay for the work that was done, and likely a fee for cancelling the contract,” she said.

Councillor Sheldon Antle noted that despite having a higher overall score, the winning firm had a slightly lower technical score than the other two bidders. He wondered whether that was something council ought to be concerned about.

Furlong said there was no concern in that regard as all three applicants met the minimum technical requirements.

Antle also queried as to how the project would be kept on budget and on time.

Furlong said a robust procurement and cost control framework was being applied to keep the project within budget, such as negotiation phases following the awarding of the design-build contract and during construction.

The design-build contract is expected to be tendered within six months.

Put to a vote, council voted unanimously to move ahead with the contract.

Meanwhile, the Town has leased a location in Mount Pearl to serve as a temporary public works headquarters at a cost of $31,625, HST included, per month.

Ergonomist to fit out chairs for Paradise staff

By Mark Squibb

Paradise council last month approved the purchase of new office chairs to replace chairs that were damaged in last February’s Town Hall fire.

Councillor Larry Vaters explained the Town Hall’s ergonomic office chairs were written off due to excessive smoke damage.

A request for quotes was issued and evaluated and staff determined that Chandler best fit the bill.

Staff then recommended council buy 20 T-Centric Ergocentric chairs from Chandler at a cost of $16,197, plus HST, for a total cost of $18,627.

The chairs are able to be customized to fit a wider range of employee bodies.

Vaters noted the Town will include the cost in it’s claim to the insurance company for consideration.

Councillor Glen Carew allowed that while it seemed like a lot of money to spend on office chairs, the contract includes a visit by an ergonomist who will fit the chairs to staff specifications.

“They’re modular chairs, so they can be reconfigured as required when staff move in and out,” said Carew. “So, I’m happy to support this motion.”

Surplus funds moved to community centre construction

By Mark Squibb

A surplus of multi-year capital works funding earmarked for various projects across the city will be put towards ongoing construction of the new community centre.

During the September public meeting, Deputy Mayor Nicole Kieley explained that staff were requesting that $232,190, HST included, of unused 2017–2020 monies be redirected to the construction of the new community centre, which itself is in receipt of 2023–2026 provincial funding.

The community centre is valued at about $15.5 million and is expected to open to the public by early 2026.

Council also voted to extend completion timelines for a number of capital works projects from June 24, 2025 to December 31, 2025, to obtain an updated agreement with the Province. The projects include Farrell Drive pumphouse upgrades, replacement of Wyatt Boulevard, and full replacement of Farrell Drive from Topsail Road to Evans Place.

Seal Cove bridge tenders come in higher than expected

By Craig Westcott

The tender has been awarded for the replacement of Seal Cove bridge, a piece of infrastructure that at times has seemed to have a personality of its own with its claps and bangs and hums with passing traffic that council at various times had to rectify.

The contract, worth some $3.03 million, HST included, was awarded to Brook Construction of Corner Brook at the September 16 public meeting of CBS council.

"The current bridge was actually intended to be a temporary Bailey bridge when it was replaced under an emergency (order) when it was damaged by ice back in the 19090s," said Ward 4 councillor Melissa Hardy. "We've had several repairs and assessments done since then. Now we're at a state where we're able to replace it. Work was to begin this (past) summer but as we know the fires took precedence and we have to deal with that and we had to postpone some of the heavy, heavy work that would have been beginning, for the safety of the residents."

Hardy pointed out there is limited access to some of the roads in Seal Cove and if the main one had been cut off for bridge construction during a period when evacuations and alerts were in place, it could have been detrimental.

"So, it was the right thing we did, as a Town," Hardy added. "I know some residents may have been unhappy, but we did have a lot of residents reach out and say it was the right thing to do."

Councillor-at-Large Joshua Barrett said he was excited to see the contract finally awarded. "This has been decades in the making," he said of the bridge replacement. "I'm sure everybody up in that area will be very pleased with this."

Mayor Darrin Bent said he too is really pleased to see the contract finally let.

"And to the resident who asked me three months ago if it was actually going to happen this year, and I said yes it would, and they said, 'I'll believe it when I see it,' well I'm sorry," Bent said," laughing. "I've got to apologize. It's not going to happen this year, but it is going to happen next year because we're awarding the tender and the people who got the tender want to get at it."

Brook Construction was the lowest bidder among four companies vying for the bridge contract. Complete Concrete Solutions of Mount Pearl bid $3.7 million, Coady Construction & Excavating of Torbay bid $3.28 million, and Trident Construction of Mount Pearl bid $3.14 million. All those prices included HST.

Meanwhile, even at $3.03 million, the contract is some $300,000 more than the consultants who designed the specifications for the job, Harbourside Consultants, had estimated. There is a further $99,000 in consultant charges to be added to the total cost. The Town had been approved for some $2.6 million in multi-year capital works funding from the Province to cover the bridge replacement and will make up the difference by using savings from other projects.

Holyrood man hoping to get right eyes on LNG proposal

A Holyrood man with decades of experience in the oil industry is floating the idea of a liquified natural gas plant in his hometown in the hope of rescuing trillions of cubic feet of natural gas that is stranded offshore.

Darrin Sheppard sent his concept to the Public Utilities Board, which in turn ran it by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, which turned it down. But that hasn't dampened his enthusiasm. Sheppard said he really likes the eastern Canadian energy corridor proposal that has been touted to the federal government and welcomes the review of the upper Churchill Memorandum of Understanding.

Sheppard is hoping the oil companies will latch onto his idea of running pipelines from their offshore platforms to an LNG plant in Holyrood harbour for conversion into electricity and then on to NL Hydro's converter station at Soldier's Pond for transmission across the island and from there on to Nova Scotia through an upgraded version of the Maritime Link. Sheppard's plan also envisions the platforms converting some of the natural gas they are sitting on into electricity at the platforms themselves and feeding that into the provincial grid via underwater cables. The third component of his proposal is to convert the Holyrood thermal generating plant from Bunker C oil, which it burns now, to liquified natural gas.

It's an ambitious scheme that Sheppard has been working on for some time.

"I'm not getting paid or anything for it," he said. "I'm 30 years working in shipbuilding, petrochemicals and offshore, and I'm so sick of no work in this place. I've had to leave my home multiple times and go to the 'States, and so on. And it's sickening to see all our resources constantly being given away or squandered... It just turns me off when I can see and know the value that our resources are right there on our doorstep and it's bull to tell me it can't be done here. We just don't have the leadership in the political realm to do it."

Sheppard said his proposal would solve two problems: provide a market for the trillions of cubic feet of natural gas lying offshore that the oil companies are using to pressurize their oil wells and provide a cleaner future for the Holyrood generating plant.

"Look at the jobs that are going to be lost by closing it," Sheppard said of the generating station, which serves as a backup power supply for the Avalon Peninsula in case the lines from Muskrat Falls or Bay d' Espoir go down.

"I'm from Holyrood, I grew up here, so I hear all the rumours (about the future of the plant)," Sheppard said. “It really bothered me. I knew the gas could be brought ashore, but what's after changing now, is the proposed Atlantic Loop."

The Atlantic Loop is a proposed upgrading of transmission lines between Quebec and the Maritimes. Sheppard said Newfoundland and Labrador could feed into that by tapping its offshore gas and sending more electricity to Nova Scotia.

However, the Maritime Link which was built by Nova Scotia utility Emera in exchange for a combination of free electricity and cheap electricity from NL Hydro as part of the Muskrat Falls deal, wasn't built big enough to handle much more than its own imports.

"Okay, that's fine," said Sheppard. "The fact that we've got the corridor, means it's only a matter of putting more cables down. That's not a big deal. Cost-wise it is, but having the corridor from Muskrat makes a big difference... What I'm proposing is forget the Atlantic Loop, we want the Eastern Canadian Loop, which brings Ontario into the fold."

Sheppard said he would like to see the oil companies adopt his idea before the Province signs the proposed renewal agreement with Hydro Quebec for Churchill Falls power.

Sheppard said the oil companies would be the best people to take on the project. The Province and federal government could entice them to do so by offering incentives in the form of carbon tax credits. And while both levels of government appear to be "all in" on the idea of green hydrogen using Newfoundland's wind and water resources, said Sheppard, that technology is still not proven, and could be yet another boondoggle.

"Give the oil companies a tax credit for doing this work," said Sheppard. "I don't want NL Hydro or Nalcor designing this. It will be the same thing again as Muskrat Falls. I want the oil companies to do this, not some government agency."

Sheppard said he hasn't directly pitched his proposal to the oil companies but has given it to the provincial government in the hope it will back the idea.

"I'd love for someone to call me up from the oil companies and say, 'We love your idea, can you help develop it?'" said Sheppard. "Because this needs to go to the next phase now."

In the meantime, said Sheppard, he'd like to get the idea out there so people can at least consider it.

"Just think about it,” said Sheppard. “How much work would something like this create in the Avalon are? I'm sick of there being no work. I've got five more years of work. I'm 59, I want to retire and this my last hurrah, for Newfoundland, and for myself, and my business. And I want to get feedback. If it's positive feedback, fine, and if it's negative, I'll take that too... I'm dying for some feedback."

Sokoman announces $24 Million "Bought Deal" Private Placement

ST. JOHN'S Oct. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Sokoman Minerals Corp. (TSXV: SIC) (OTCQB: SICNF) says it has entered into an agreement with Canaccord Genuity Corp., as lead underwriter on behalf of a syndicate of Underwriters to be formed in connection with a "bought deal" private placement. The Company adds it has secured the commitment of Eric Sprott, an existing major shareholder, to participate in the offering.

Sokoman says the Offering will consist of 53,000,000 common shares of the company at a price of C$0.19 per Common Share for aggregate gross proceeds of C$10,070,000; and 53,000,000 common shares of the company that will qualify as "flow-through shares" at a price of C$0.265 per FT Share for aggregate gross proceeds of C$14,045,000.

The FT Shares are being distributed on a charity flow through basis.

The Underwriters will have the option to purchase up to an additional 7,950,000 common shares at the common share issue price additional gross proceeds of $1,510,500.

Sokoman says it expects to use the net proceeds from the sale of the common shares for property acquisitions as well as working capital and general corporate purposes.

The gross proceeds from the sale of the FT Shares will be used to incur Qualifying Expenditures as defined in the Tax Act that will qualify as "flow-through mining expenditures." Sokoman says the Qualifying Expenditures will be incurred on or before December 31, 2026 and will be renounced by the company to the initial purchasers of the FT Shares with an effective date no later than December 31, 2025.

Sokoman says that In the event it is unable to renounce Qualifying Expenditures in an aggregate amount equal to the gross proceeds raised from the issuance of the FT Shares, with an effective date of no later than December 31, 2025, or if the Qualifying Expenditures are otherwise reduced by the Canada Revenue Agency, it will, to the extent permitted by the Tax Act, indemnify each subscriber for the additional taxes payable.

Sokoman says insiders of the company may participate in the offering and any participation by Eric Sprott or other insiders will be considered a "related-party transaction" under Multilateral Instrument 61-101, but is expected to be exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements on the basis that the fair market value of the consideration does not exceed 25 per cent of the company's market capitalization. The Offering is expected to close on or about October 29, 2025, and is subject to certain conditions including the receipt of all necessary regulatory and other approvals including the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.

The Common Shares and FT Shares have not been registered and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements.

Sokoman Minerals Corp., is an explorer along the Valentine Lake Fault zone in Newfoundland, Canada's newest gold district. The Company's primary focus is its 100 per cent owned Treasure Island Gold Project, along with a portfolio of gold projects, including the Fleur de Lys Project.