Rare joint council session in Guysborough hailed a success
GUYSBOROUGH — Joint meetings of Guysborough County’s municipal councils should become a recurring event of local government, say elected leaders who attended the first such summit in more than 15 years last week at the Chedabucto Lifestyle Complex.
“We hope that this is a regular activity,” Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s Warden Greg Wier told The Journal in an email about the April 10 meeting of St. Mary’s, Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG) and Town of Mulgrave councillors and senior staff. “If we keep this up, it will be a beneficial way of finding new opportunities to work together on different topics.”
Added Town of Mulgrave Mayor Ron Chisholm: “I’m definitely all for it. It is progress. It’s the kind of thing [talking to each other] that we should be doing all along. Three voices are stronger than one.”
The Journal reached out to Vernon Pitts, MODG Warden, but did not hear back before press time. In January, however, he strongly endorsed the initiative – suggested for early April by MODG Chief Administrative Officer Barry Carroll – as “a great tool for building relationships with our neighbouring municipalities,” and proposed that “we should go ahead and extend the invitation.”
The municipalities contributed topics for discussion more than deliberation or action, including: tourism levies; the new service exchange agreement with the province; the Community First Guysborough Housing Association; emergency management; wind development projects and associated community benefits; and the upcoming 2024 municipal election.
“There are a lot of developments now affecting all three municipalities,” Carroll told The Journal following the meeting. “There’s the whole renewable energy file – what’s happening with wind and hydrogen. Also, everything is changing on the emergency management side. In Guysborough County, we are all now ripe for things like hurricanes and ice storms and fires.”
Just as important as the broad issues, Chisolm said, was the spirit that put them on the agenda. “This was a preliminary meeting. We did talk about tourism and housing and wind energy. But, the feeling I came out with was a better understanding ... that we have other people on our side if we need the backing.”
Added Wier: “I would say that St Mary’s and its neighbours have a great relationship to begin with. To everyone’s credit, we respect and support each other. We always work together to drive positive outcomes for the public. [But] this was the first time in a while that all three municipalities had an opportunity to get together to compare notes and explore common needs.
He added: “The biggest value and potential of joint meetings is the ability ... to identify areas where we can develop new solutions together. Over time, that can produce a lot of positive results.”
Alec Bruce, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Guysborough Journal
