Mount Pearl appealing to minister to maintain say at the ERSB table

By Tyler Waugh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Mount Pearl council has sent a letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs calling attention to proposed changes to the membership of the Eastern Regional Service Board (ERSB) that will leave around 80,000 residents without a voice at the table.

Councillor Bill Antle, who has been an ERSB board member for the past five years, told council at the March 31 public meeting that Mount Pearl, Paradise and Conception Bay South would see their membership change to an ex-officio status under the proposed change, meaning they will not have the ability to speak or vote on matters before the board.

Mayor Dave Aker reported that a letter has been sent to Chris Tibbs, the Minister of Municipal Affairs, that argues continued representation on regional service boards for waste, fire protection, water and wastewater services is at stake.

“The board’s motion is not binding on the minister, the minister has discretion,” said Aker. “As good regional partners, constituents, we have carbon copied other mayors in the region, as well as the MHA, so hopefully Minister Tibbs will reach out and we can consult a bit more and see if we can enhance representation to ensure that the governance structure is responsible and representative and that the rural areas get the representation that they need a little bit more of.”

Antle said representatives from all three affected communities voted against the proposed change at a March 26 ERSB meeting. He pointed out that Mount Pearl paid around $633,000 last year to the City of St. John’s, which owns the Robin Hood Bay regional waste facility used by Mount Pearl.

“Despite that financial contribution we will have no say around the board when the budget comes up. We will have no say,” Antle told council. “How can an Eastern Region Service Board be called regional when three of the largest municipalities in that structure aren’t included? Mount Pearl, Paradise and CBS represent nearly 80,000 residents, so that’s 80,000 residents that don’t have a vote.”

Councillor Mark Rice, who has attended several past ERSB committee meetings, said the proposed change calls into question the nature of the relationship, especially considering there is a planned regional wastewater project where municipal contributions are being asked for up front.

“When I look at it, are we a partner or are we a customer? We’re a partner when they want us to be a partner, but now I look at it as being a customer, so why are we putting a share up front for wastewater – because it all goes together, it’s all connected,” Rice said, adding that he checked with the City’s legal department prior to the meeting and it was determined there are no signed memorandums of understanding for regional services except for fire services.

Another proposed change to the membership and structure adopted by the ERSB board incudes a reduction from the current level of 20 directors down to 12, with St. John’s continuing to hold half the voting power with six appointed directors, and the remaining spots going to elected representatives from six other rural areas.

The proposed changes to the ERSB board structure would be effective upon receiving ministerial approval.

Antle said he first received notice of a desire to restructure the board via a September email.

The ERSB was created by the Province in 2012.

The Pearl News requested a copy of the letter sent to Minister Tibbs, but it was not made available prior to deadline.

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.