City made a lot of progress in 2023 despite inflation’s challenges, says Aker

By Mark Squibb

Like municipal councillors everywhere, members of Mount Pearl City council saw inflation eat away at their spending power the past couple of years.

“Procurement has been an issue the last two or three years, especially with inflation being what it is,” said Mayor Dave Aker, in a year end interview last week. So the cost of doing business has gone up, up, up.

“But we’ll keep plugging along, I think we’ve got good estimates,” said the mayor. “We have to make sure we watch every dollar and find new ways of doing things. For example, some of our truck tenders came in quite high, and council have asked staff to maybe procure trucks closer to the manufacturer. We had a recent experience with a garbage truck that ultimately didn’t deliver despite being the subject of a tender. And so, council is looking at those types of things. But I think inflation is going to be the biggest challenge council will continue to face.”

Despite rising costs, the City completed road upgrades on Farrell Drive, Birch Avenue, and Roosevelt Avenue in 2023. Aker said the work was a challenge.

“It’s the way the economy is,” said Aker. “There’s a really tight labour market, sometimes the work is slower than you would expect. And we didn’t run into too many technical problems, but I think that was the biggest challenge — getting work done before winter set in. We managed to get the underground servicing in, and we managed to get one or two top coats of pavement on, so from that point of view, it was challenging, and frankly we appreciate the patience of our residents, especially those living on those streets. And going forward, the plan, like every year, is to do more streets. The primary one next year will be Holden Street.”

To that end, council has earmarked $4.5 million over 3-years through the Multi-Year Capital Works Program to upgrade water, sewer, curb, and gutter on the street.

The decision to upgrade Holden Street was very deliberate, as the street will tie into the City’s long planned development of land sandwiched between Topsail and Kenmount roads, known as the Northlands.

“Council has been very strategic in making sure that Holden Street gets upgrades,” said Aker. “The services there will ultimately marry with the services in the Northlands area.”

And despite inflationary woes, council has committed to developing the area, which it says will one day be the site of over 1,800 homes.

In fact, you may have noticed that land has been cleared at the intersection of Kenmount Road and Mount Carson Avenue. Aker said council has approved the grubbing of land for a future gas station, and he pinpoints the land as the beginning of the Northlands area.

“You have to start on the perimeter and work your way in,” said Aker. “We’re seeing the beginnings of it, and council is really excited to see that development move forward.”

He added council has given staff the go-ahead to begin the process of installing a new water tower in the area.

Earlier this year, council issued a request for proposals for an “owners advisor” team that will advise the City in planning, engineering, business, legal and other matters related to the development of Northlands, and in November, the provincial government announced the City would be on the receiving end of $6.5 million in funding for both a new community centre and upgrades to Holden Street and Ingerman Street.

Aker said he’s also glad to see the City undertaking the development of both a new municipal plan and transportation plan in 2024 (council has set aside $300,000 for the development of both plans) and added feedback from residents and business owners in regards to Budget 2024 (balanced at $58,483,356) has been good so far.

“But we can’t forget that there are people out there who are finding things more and more expensive,” said Aker. “Some can’t afford the current level of taxes. We’re all dealing with inflation, and so for 2024 we’ve set aside some funding to continue to help and fund existing programs that make our recreation fees more accessible for some families. And for senior citizens, if you’re collecting the GIS, the Guaranteed Income Supplement, we’ve expanded the discount on property tax from 20 to 25 percent. So, those are small steps but I’m glad council recognises that we’re all impacted by inflation.”

Aker also extended his best wishes to Deputy Mayor Nicole Kieley, who has been recovering after being severely injured earlier this year when she was struck by a vehicle.

“We’re glad to see her recovery is moving along,” said Aker. “At some point during the new year, I anticipate that we’ll be back to seven members. I’m not sure when. It has to be done at her pace. But we’re looking forward to having the whole team back together in council chambers sometime, I hope, in 2024.”

Costs go up on old swimming pool cleanup

By Chad Feehan Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

 December 20, 2023

The City made a recent funding contribution from the Province official last week, by passing a motion to accept some $6,467,086 in multi-year capital works funding for 2023-2026.
About half the money will cover part of the cost of a new community centre, which had previously been announced The facility will replace the building on Park Place and include amenities such as a splash pad and skating rink.

Other public works projects covered by the funding include more upgrades to the water and sewer service on Holden Street at a cost of some $2.85 million.
In other infrastructure-related news, the cost of removing an underground tank at the location of the former swimming pool on Stapleton Road has jumped by $3,375 after contractor associated fees to Pinchin Limited were approved by council.
The contract for a hazardous building materials assessment and oil tank assessment and supervision was previously awarded to Pinchin in the amount of $23,891. However, this amount did not include the costs of a contractor removing the tank. Work is set to be expedited to be completed before the winter season.
And an application to use a portion of a dwelling on Westminister Drive to operate a seamstress and tailoring business called Your Taylor was also approved by council last week.
The hours of operation of the proposed business will be 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and the permit does not allow for any construction, accessory buildings, storage of goods, or signage.
All the motions were passed by council unanimously.

Craft Fair at Church of the Ascension

Artist Darrell Yetman of Whiteway was at the Crafting Until Christmas fair at the Church of the Ascension on the weekend of December 16, selling his paintings of idyllic, rural Newfoundland settings. To the right of Yetman is a painting of his old buddy Jack Hambling, a re-creation of a sketch he made of his friend while fishing on the North Harbour River in St. Mary’s Bay, sometime in the late 80’s. The pair hiked for an hour and a half through bog and marsh to get to the spot, only to watch the sunset soon after their arrival. In fact, they didn’t even catch anything that day. “The only bites we got were from flies and mosquitoes,” Yetman said. Although Yetman would go on to give Humphries a painting of another scene in the area, his friend died before seeing the painting of himself. “This one is one of my favorites,” Yetman said, pointing to the work. “I still have the original.” Chad Feehan/Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Photo

Police cap off stolen beer investigation with eight more charges

By Staff / December 20, 2023

Police say they have identified the man who stole a 24-bottle case of beer from a convenience store in Mount Pearl on Remembrance Day.

That’s doubly bad news for the 50-year-old in question, as it turned out he already had eight outstanding warrants for his arrest and was allegedly “actively evading police,” according to a police spokesperson.

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary was able to identify the suspect using CCTV footage from the store.

Mount Pearl Lion's Club make donation to St. Vincent de Paul Society

December 8, 2023 Edition

The Mount Pearl Lion's Club this week made a cash donation of $2,956 to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which operates three food banks in the area. Part of the donations were given by residents attending the Lion’s Mount Pearl Santa Claus Parade on Saturday, with Scotiabank also contributing $500 to the amount. On hand for the presentation were, starting in the front, from left: Robyn Kenny, Sandra Milmore, Bianca Castro; and in the back, from left: Back: Doug Evely, Roxanne Oates, Bonnie Evely, Sean Keats, Major Morgan Hillier, Doug Cantwell, Bob Lovette, and Lion's Club President Sasha Oates. Chad Feehan photo

ACOA to help City with Summer Games costs

By Chad Feehan

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

December 8, 2023 Edition

Gas tax funds originally allocated for Mount Pearl’s contribution to the 2025 Canada Summer Games have been sent back to the City’s coffers.

Funding from ACOA will take the place of the $475,298 in federal gas tax funding, and will be spent on upgrades to the Team Gushue baseball facility, as well as work on the Branscombe’s Pond and Power’s Pond trails.

Councillor Jim Locke said this will allow the gas tax money to be spent on other priorities and projects.

Council originally applied for permission to use the Gas Tax funds for the Summer Games this past August. 

The work at the baseball pitch, meanwhile, will include increased accessibility to the facility, a switch from sand to clay in the infield, the addition of a second batting cage, and a remodeling of the bullpen which will see two pitchers mounds on each side for warmups.

Council hopes to avoid subterranean homebuilding blues

By Chad Feehan
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
December 8, 2023 Edition

Mount Pearl council has approved a request from Newfoundland Power to power homes on Moffat Road overhead from the rear of the lot, while powering street lighting underground in the front.

Previously, streetlights have usually been powered overhead.

Newfoundland Power says it will be only servicing lots from the street in all subsequent developments, but in the case of Moffat Road, rear servicing was the only option.

Councillor Mark Rice made the motion to allow the design.

Engineering director Gerry Antle explained Newfoundland Power prefers streetside, underground service because it’s more convenient for maintenance and the equipment is protected from the elements.

Director Antle’s department is concerned with identifying any possible conflicts between Newfoundland Power’s underground utilities with that of the City’s underground infrastructure such as water and sewer lines.

“Our preference would be to try to avoid those conflicts,” Antle said. “We would prefer that the Newfoundland Power lines are overhead, and we keep our services underground.”

As heavy winds whipped through the city at the time of the meeting, Councillor Jim Locke asked if advanced planning for the to-be-developed Northlands will allow for underground service to avoid being affected by the elements.

“Given the climate changes that we’re seeing and the increased frequency and intensity of such episodes outside today, I just think it would be prudent if we went underground,” he said.

Mayor Dave Aker referenced instances where homes around Power’s Pond and Newtown Elementary could not get new cables installed because of the increased cost of underground maintenance, and wondered if all utility providers could work together in an ongoing partnership.

Director Antle explained that a partnership is the only way work of this manner gets done, and that managing risks such as repairing water and sewer lines in the presence of underground power is the primary concern.

“There’s a risk that you’re taking with it being underground,” he said.

The motion regarding Moffatt Road was carried unanimously after council agreed to discuss the servicing of ongoing housing developments sometime in the future.

“We just want to make sure we don’t get stuck with housing that's not fully serviced,” said Aker.