Council Update: Development, Ferry (events and dogs), Transit, Senior Housing

Development and the Centre Plan: The most controversial items on Council’s agenda for this week was what to do with the 22 requests for plan amendments that have been filed with HRM given that the Centre Plan is underway. There are basically three kinds of development applications that HRM receives: …

Council Update: Council Pay, Accessible Ramps, Electronic Voting

Council Pay: It was a relatively light agenda at Regional Council this week since the hearing into the Willow Tree proposal at Quinpool and Robie was cancelled. The main item in terms public interest was the formula that determines how much councillors get paid (currently $85,000 a year). The key …

Council Update: Crosswalk Flags, Back to Our Roots Farm, Heritage Grants & Paving Politics

Crosswalk Flags: The main item on the agenda on Tuesday was the proposed crosswalk flags administrative order. Crosswalk flags are not a municipal program and are provided at the request of residents by the Crosswalk Flag Society of Nova Scotia. HRM permits flags to be installed at all crosswalks except for …

Council Update: Sportsplex, Heritage Houses, Cornwallis, Organics, Provincial Election

Sportsplex: Tuesday was a very busy session at Regional Council (agenda here). The most important item for many in District 5 is Council approved the award of the Sportsplex tender at $23,273,000. The Sportsplex will close at the end of May and if all goes according to plan, it’ll reopen …

Council Update: Budget, 40 km/hr Speed Limits, Kindness Meters, Cornwallis

The Budget: The big news from Council is we passed the 2017/2018 budget. HRM has recently started a process of detailed multi-year budgeting for several years out. For District 5, here are some highlights that are in the plan for the next several years: Sportsplex renovation, Alderney Landing recap, landscaping for the Canal …

Council Update: Halifax Water, Ferry Naming, Non-Profit Tax Relief and Electric Buses

Halifax Water Presentation: A large portion of Council’s time this week (agenda here) was spent on a presentation from Halifax Water. Halifax Water is a private utility, but its sole shareholder is HRM. Once a year, Halifax Water comes before Council to present their business plan and to answer any …

Council Update: Budget, Campaign Finance, Museum Funding and Appeals Committee

March 7, 2017 – So here’s what happened of note on Tuesday. Budget: Having decided what to include in the budget after various department’s presented to Council over the last several weeks, we had to decide how to pay for the extras. Some of the noteworthy extra items included more …