Latest news with #CapeBretonRegionalMunicipality
Hamilton Spectator
05-05-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Membertou gets first bus service
Chief Terry Paul stood at the podium beaming Friday morning as he told the crowd standing by a new all-equipped, accessible CBRM transit bus, that a long-standing vision he has had for Membertou is now realized. Beginning Monday, May 5, a new route 12 will serve the First Nation community providing public transit from downtown Sydney to Sydney River and back for the first time in its history. Chief Paul described a scene from his youth when there was a constant transportation challenge getting from Membertou to the bingo hall in Whitney Pier – a weekly joy and pastime for many. 'But now,' he said, 'one of our own stops will be right here in Membertou in front of our own bingo hall!' He said the new route will be a relief for those who face transportation challenges and will provide easy and accessible connections to other parts of Sydney. Two of those people happy to hear on Friday about a bus service starting in Membertou are George Christmas and Lizette Dennis. 'We're really happy to hear about this,' said Christmas. Dennis said a local bus service in and out of downtown Sydney and over to Sydney River will make a big difference in her life. She says she has to walk everywhere now. 'We can get a bus now in Membertou instead of walking back and forth to town,' said Christmas. 'It's summer now, but this is going to make a big difference in the winter when it's colder.' 'This new bus route has been a longtime goal for Membertou, and we're proud to partner with the CBRM to make public transportation more accessible for our community. It strengthens connections, supports our workforce, and brings us one step closer to truly welcoming the world,' said the Chief and CEO of Membertou. He said he looks forward to the opportunity to take a bus beginning next week. CBRM did some test runs in February before finalizing the route. Notice of the non-operational runs on Facebook brought huge support from community members for the route. 'This would be great for the community if we did get public transit,' said Membertou resident Deanna Joe in February. 'So many people rely on cabs or walking to get basic needs like groceries. This could also break down barriers of not being able to work off-reserve due to transportation issues.' The initiative is a partnering between the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) and the community of Membertou. Mayor Cecil Clarke and some CBRM staff were also on hand to welcome the new service, as well as MP Mike Kelloway and CBRM councillor Dave MacKeigan. 'The expanded service aims to support access to employment, education, healthcare, and commercial areas while strengthening connections between Membertou and the surrounding parts of the municipality. This expansion also reflects our ongoing commitment to fostering strong relationships and ensuring that all residents have access to the services and opportunities they need,' said CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke. Route 12, which has two-way service between Sydney and Sydney River, will now include 36 new bus stops in Membertou; 18 in each direction. The updated route will travel from Sydney to Membertou to Sydney River, and back again from Sydney River to Membertou to Sydney, with the change taking effect on May 5. The bus will run every half hour, Monday to Saturday. Fares for Membertou:
CBC
29-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Additional $3M pledged for new Sydney Curling Club, construction could start this fall
The Sydney Curling Club is one step closer to building a modern facility after the Nova Scotia government announced it is kicking in $3 million toward the cost of construction. That comes after a $10-million commitment last fall from the federal government. Curling club president Travis Stone said members will miss the 115-year-old building on George Street in downtown Sydney, but are looking forward to having a new one at the corner of Ferry Street and Stable Drive in Open Hearth Park. "It's bittersweet," he said Tuesday. "All I hear from members here is how much they love the place and it's cosy, it's like our second home, but we know there's not a whole lot of life left in this place, so you've got to make a new home and we're ready for that. "I think the love of the sport kind of trumps all." Stone said the club is hoping to start construction this fall, with a new building opening in 2027. "With curling, it's a little bit difficult to move into a building when you're in the middle of a season, so we're trying to line things up with the start of a season or the end of a season," he said. The new building will house six sheets instead of the four available to curlers now and will add a community meeting room for events. Stone said the extra space is needed for a beloved Canadian sport that "is just booming." "We don't have room to fit any more members," he said of the existing facility. "Since we had the Scotties here and the women's world championship ... it's just super popular now. We just don't have anywhere to put them." A place for community Cape Breton East MLA Brian Comer said the new facility will provide a safe space where people can get out and socialize. "When you think back to COVID and people couldn't get out and be active and talk to their neighbours and talk to folks within their community, it had really significant impacts on physical and mental health," said Comer, who announced the funding Tuesday at the Sydney Curling Club. Stone said the estimated cost of the new facility is about $18 million. The club has some funds saved and expects to put the sale of the existing facility toward the capital cost of construction. Stone said talks are also underway to get a contribution from Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
CBC
01-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
CBRM council told new library should be built on site of existing facility
After more than 15 years of debate over various locations, a new study says Cape Breton Regional Municipality should build a new central library on the site of the existing facility in downtown Sydney. The Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Library board hired Dartmouth-based consulting firm Fathom Studios last year to assess five properties in or near downtown Sydney. The current location on Falmouth Street came in first. Deputy Mayor Eldon MacDonald said he hoped Falmouth Street would be given "strong consideration." "That would be my preference," he said. MacDonald, a former library board chair whose district includes downtown Sydney, said the major difficulty will be finding a temporary location to house the library while the 65-year-old building is demolished and a new one is built. But he said that would be a good problem to have, if it results in a modern library. In addition to the existing James McConnell Memorial Library site, the board's study included the old courthouse on Wentworth Park, which several councillors rejected last year as unsuitable. A $35,000 study found the building could be repurposed to house a library, but MacDonald said it was 60 years old and raised too many questions. The library board study also looked at the empty Bargain Shop storefront on Charlotte Street, the empty and decrepit building that used to house the Cape Breton Post on Dorchester, and an empty lot at the corner of Prince and George streets. Study looked at costs, nearby amenities, view The study found the current library site scored 84 per cent of the total possible marks for criteria such as expected construction costs, environmental concerns, proximity to bus routes, daycare and other amenities, and view of the waterfront. The empty buildings and the empty lot tied in second place with a score of 62 per cent, while the courthouse ranked last at 47 per cent. The study, which was included in CBRM's committee of the whole agenda for Tuesday, was not discussed because the consultant was unable to be in Sydney due to the weather. Mayor Cecil Clarke said the study will come before a future meeting, where council will have to decide where it lies on the priority list for funding. If council does go ahead with a new library, they'll have to decide between funding the capital construction or leasing from a builder, he said. Clarke said while the existing library location is an obvious choice for a new facility, there's no guarantee that'll be the final location. "I've learned one thing when it comes to this topic of the library [and that] is you don't assume anything, but that is the recommendation and I will leave that for council," he said. In 2018, a local developer agreed to build a new library on Sydney's downtown waterfront, where the Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club used to be, but in 2021, council refused to extend the deal, saying the $32-million price tag was too steep. MacDonald said the existing library location is a good one because one of the Nova Scotia Community College's new buildings in downtown Sydney is across the street and it has been designed to connect by pedway to the library's current site. NSCC and the YMCA a block away both have daycare facilities, as well, he said. MacDonald said once a location is finalized by council, it will have to seek funding, come up with a design and have the new facility built. He said he hopes a new library could be open to the public in about four years. Clark said old estimates put the cost of a new library at $30 million, which is probably higher now with inflation. CBRM has set aside $1.5 million toward a new library, but other levels of government would have to provide some financing, he said.
CBC
19-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
CBRM looking to modernize out-of-date data security, records management
Cape Breton Regional Municipality is looking for ways to improve its data security and storage, which now includes stacks of boxes of paper documents in rooms at multiple locations and digital files that are subject to changing technology. Municipal clerk Christa Dicks told council this week that CBRM's current records management policy was last amended in 2005, meaning the system is out of date and does not meet legal or regulatory requirements for privacy. She asked council for approval to draft a new policy and to issue an expression of interest for companies that can modernize CBRM's systems. "Implementation of a new records and information management policy is a critical step toward ensuring CBRM's documents are properly classified, easily retrievable and compliant with regulatory standards," Dicks said. "Further to this, it will assist the organization in reducing unnecessary documents, which take up physical and digital space." The municipality does store some information digitally, but it needs to be centralized in a secure manner, she said. Mayor Cecil Clarke said data protection is important, but CBRM also needs to be more efficient with its records management. "We have millions of hard copies of documents in storage, so one would have to look at what are you doing with that data," he said. "It's costing money to store countless documents that have no longer any relevance to be held or requirement to be held. They're just being held and they're taking up space." Clarke said the paper documents need to be sorted and then destroyed or saved, a process that will eventually save money by reducing the need for physical storage space. Coming up with a new policy and management system will also streamline digital filing and help CBRM meet the requirements of the Municipal Government Act and other privacy regulations around storage of confidential information. "It's going to involve people literally physically moving boxes and assessing things [and] people online making sure that the data that they're managing is being done so in a way that provides compliance," Clarke said. Documents could include property tax records, tax sale forms, utility bills and payments, and many other forms that contain people's confidential information that needs to remain private, he said. Council approved the request to look for companies that can provide data storage and security. The potential cost is expected to be brought back to council during this year's budget talks in the coming weeks.
