November 25 2024 Municipal Update - Victoria-by-the-Sea
From the Mayor’s Desk
I’d like to start by congratulating Brenda Boudreau and all the volunteers who arranged the Remembrance Day service at the Victoria Playhouse. As in previous years, it was very well attended and appreciated by all those who attended. Given the inclement weather, I think participants appreciated the service being held indoors and out of the rain.
I also want to acknowledge the events at Island Chocolates this month. I’m sure many folks in the community and beyond appreciate the opportunity to warm up and meet with friends over good hot chocolate and local entertainment. I would like to congratulate those involved in putting on these events.
And I would like to thank Shelley and Brian Trainor and their family for organizing the upcoming event to celebrate the holiday season with lighting the village and providing an opportunity for the community to mingle. The date for this event is now November 30th at 5:00 pm and will be held at the Victoria Fire Hall.
The Council met on November 18th for its regular monthly meeting. The meeting date was delayed from the previously set date of November 12th. Members of council dealt with a number of matters, however, for my remarks here, I would like to focus on the approval process for the Amar Seafood project development. As you know, the Municipal Office recently sent out a communication to all residents about the development application process and a synopsis of the next steps in the approval and development process. The council was hopeful that you would find this information helpful in understanding what is a relatively lengthy and complex set of steps that must be undertaken by the Municipality according to provincial laws, municipal bylaws and policies.
After meeting with the applicant, members of council approved the issuance of the development permit providing the applicant with authority to proceed with the development. The approval was provided on the basis that the applicant had met the requirements set out in the July conditional permit that included; 1) the approval of the rezoning of the property, and 2) the signing of the development agreement. The development agreement outlines the expectations for the applicant to meet for the next phases of the development process and will be available for the public once it is registered. I would like for residents to refer to the Municipality’s press release for further information about the issuance of the development permit.
I just want to remind everyone to drive safely these days as the weather is changing and the roads become slippery. Finally, I remind residents to contact their council members or the Municipal Office if they have questions or suggestions for how we might improve our municipal services. I can be contacted at 902-388-7584 or by email at allenfarm17@gmail.com.
From the Municipal Office
Good progress is being made with the strategic planning process that was started in October. Council members started the process at a workshop in October by identifying five areas of interest that needed to be considered. The work completed at that workshop is currently being followed up with a series of focus groups that are being organized by the Municipal Office. Participants in these focus groups include villagers as well as different organisations with an interest in the municipality, developers, civil servants, academics and others who are providing their ideas for the future state of the Municipality and for how it should be governed. There are still several steps left before the plan is finalized, however, one of the events to look forward to is a public presentation of a draft plan in early 2025. Ideally, the plan should be completed by the end of February so that the priority initiatives can be incorporated into the 2025-26 budget.
At the November meeting, Council approved a recommendation by the Municipal Office to simplify the development permit application process. This new process will allow staff to perform more of the work to review and process the applications reducing work required to be done by contracted professionals. The new process, which staff learned about through seminars provided by the PEI Association of Municipal Administrators, will result in a reduction of expenditures and in the amount of time it takes to do the work. Once implemented, the Planning Board will have an additional role to review all applications and make recommendations to the Council. One of the main benefits of this new process is that it will improve the transparency around the development application process. To accommodate the new process, visitors to our website will find the new permit application form on the Municipality’s website.
The Municipal Office recently issued a request for proposal for the use of the Welcome Center for the summer of 2025. The RFP is open until November 30th and everyone is invited to apply for use of the facility for their business. The Municipal Office will process the submissions in early December and should be able to provide a recommendation at the December council meeting.
In order to operate effectively, the water and sewer service needs to have sufficient revenues to cover the costs associated with providing the services. The aging system in the municipality has been requiring more costly maintenance and repairs in recent years and it is expected that this trend will continue into 2025-26. Council members were also informed about the need for a contingency fund for emergency repairs and improvements given the age of the systems.
At the meeting, the Council considered several options put forth by the Municipal Office for how to structure the water and sewer fees for the 2025-26 budget as it’s looking like there will be a significant shortfall. The Council considered the recommendations in the closed section of the meeting and decided on a modification to the rate structure. As the new rate structure has to go to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission, residents will only be notified once the approval has been provided. To remind everyone, the Municipality did not change the fee structure last year.