Oxford Town Council’s final Committee-of-the-Whole meeting was held Wednesday evening, it will be followed in two week’s time by the final Regular Council meeting before the summer break.
But as Town CAO Linda Cloney mentioned during the meeting, this is the most active period of council’s calendar year. With the new budget approved and now being implemented, the town is also holding a public information session next week — Wednesday, June 18th at 6:00pm — to help residents understand the methods by which projects (like paving, sewer, water line replacement) are given priority.
The COW meeting is the monthly opportunity for the various town departments, boards and committees to file their reports with Council and inform the public on the activities of town staff. The full reports are available on the town’s website, under “Council Agendas”
Among the highlights from this week’s meeting:
Public Works (Nick Purdy, PW Supervisor)
- a very busy month of May with pothole repairs and spring cleaning throughout the town
- spray paint vandalism at the skate park (Black River Park) was repaired
- repair of the stop sign on Horton St. (and ongoing issue)
Fire Department (Bruce Rushton, Fire Chief and Kyle Purdy, Deputy Fire Chief)
- 10 calls in May (59 to date for year)
- Shelley Landry has been certified as the OVFD’s newest Level 1 Firefighter.
- Trueman Rushton has retired after 30 years of service, beginning in Collingwood and moving on to Oxford. In that time he served as a Captain, Deputy Fire Chief, and Fire Chief.
- Firefighter Stephanie Arsenault, a 20-year member of the OVFD, has returned to Oxford after a year-long absence, rejoining the department.
- Caution is advised to anyone who is burning in the the town limits: a permit is required, daily provincial fire burn restrictions must be observed, and the OVFD should be notified in advance.
Chief Rushton says the OVFD is currently at 25 members, and a solid complement of trained members are available for fire protection service. Deputy Chief Purdy says Thursday evenings the department is available to advise anyone who might be interested in pursuing firefighter training.
And the Oxford Firefighter’s Association’s annual Horse Pull event is coming up this weekend, Saturday, June 14th, starting at Noon. This is happening on the Oxford Baseball field — admission is $5.00 with a canteen service and 50/50 draw as a fundraiser.
Recreation (Marion Abbott, Municipal Physical Activity Leader (MPAL))
For a small town, Oxford has an incredible slate of activities to keep people active and socializing. In fact, it’s so busy that Abbott was double-booked overseeing activity at the Lions Arena and sent her report in via prerecorded video to the COW meeting.
Abbott recapped the month of May, during which the town held its community-wide yard sale, replete with live music at the downtown gazebo. She plans to have live music available periodically throughout the summer to liven up that area of Main St. when folks are out enjoying the good weather. Also a highlight: the Cumberland Performing Arts production of “Frozen, Jr.” at the Capitol theatre. While the show was very well received, the state of the theatre’s roof — which is leaking — revealed the need for repairs. At over a century old, the building has had its share of ups and downs, though recently it has seen more attention given to maintenance and has a new central HVAC system. The Capitol Theatre is slated to begin showing movies again, which has the town buzzing. The first screening is coming upon June 21st, with Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in “Grease!”.
In terms of sports, with the help of volunteers, the Lions Arena now has Basketball, Floor Hockey, and Creative Play underway. Summer programming opened for registrations, and within 24 hours there were over one-hundred children signed up for activities. A summer student is being hired to help with the workload.
Administration (Linda Cloney, Chief Administrative Officer)
The long list of administrative activities is worth reading through, for anyone who might think staff at Town Hall are twiddling their thumbs! Between budget implementation, tax collection, reporting to other levels of government, and just filing paperwork, there’s rarely a dull moment. June 6th was the deadline for property tax payments
Road Trails Act Review Committee
Discussions around opening up other streets in Oxford to ATV access are underway. Currently, Off-Highway Vehicles (OHVs) are permitted to access Main Street from the 104 Highway connector through the downtown core and as far down Lower Main Street as the Big ‘B’ Market. OHVs can also access Water Street from the Main Street intersection as far South as the Trail Head on Station Street. CAO Cloney says the new discussions include expanding access to allow OHVs to legally drive to the Oxford Legion on Jackson Street and the Lion’s Arena on Waverley Street.
Mayor Greg Henley asked if there were any complaints received relating to ATV operation in town since last summer’s enacting of a bylaw allowing street use. Cloney says only a few noise complaints have been made, but overall there hasn’t been negative feedback. Councillor Paul Jones says parking at the Arena and the Legion would be helpful to visiting OHV users. Councillor Brenton Colborne observed that ATVs can park on town streets as do other motor vehicles.
To be clear: no changes are imminent regarding OHV/ATV access to Oxford streets, but the mood at council certainly appears to be favourable for a future revision to the bylaw enabling the use of other streets. Off-road vehicles utilizing Main St. and Water St. are bound by a lower speed limit than other motor vehicles, and must operate between dawn and dusk only, among other restrictions.
Cumberland Municipal Alcohol Project Committee
The Provincial government is looking at loosening up the regulations regarding alcohol sales and public consumption. A news release from the province’s Finance and Treasury Board says the effort right now is to gauge public opinion around the issue, seeking input from retailers, health and safety agencies, alcohol producers, etc. That opinion-gathering effort will continue until the end of June.
The CMAP Committee will be following the government’s actions and the response by community and other organizations, to prepare potential recommendations for municipal councils.
In a fact sheet distributed within the council package under this agenda item, some of the wide-ranging effects of wider access to alcohol were noted:
- Alcohol-attributable emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths
- Instances of impaired driving.
- Street and intimate partner violence
- Underaged drinking
- Relapse among those in recovery from alcohol use disorder
The document also revealed that Nova Scotia has the 4th highest provincial rate of hospitalizations entirely caused by alcohol.
For the detailed council package, committee reports, and future agendas, visit the Town of Oxford’s official website: www.oxfordns.ca
Council meetings were streamed live to social media, and can be viewed on the Town of Oxford YouTube channel.
