Cumberland Mayor’s 2023 Year in Review
As the calendar flipped from 2023 to 2024 the mayor of the Municipality of Cumberland is looking back at what was another year of tremendous growth in Cumberland.
Murray Scott says, “The Municipality of Cumberland once again experienced unprecedented growth when it comes to the development of residential and seasonal property across the county. We’ve seen a huge amount of development in many areas of the county.”
Along with outstanding growth in the number and value of building permits including the Northumberland Strait and in the Wentworth area, the municipality continued work on several major projects including the completion and opening of the new Pugwash Library last January and the first phase of a new playground and park on the site of the former town hall property in Parrsboro during the summer.
This project is expected to continue into 2024 and beyond with the addition of further elements to the park that will celebrate the community’s location along the Bay of Fundy.
Another very large project was completed this fall in Springhill that saw the rehabilitation of a section of Athol Road and the completion of Junction Road, a major transportation link between the northern and southern part of the county.
The mayor said the municipality provided more than $800,000 in community support grants to organizations throughout the county, adding this money helped these organizations provide numerous programs and initiatives that benefitted people in many communities.
He said, “It was a very good year for the municipality. We have a great council whose members work very well together and looking to move forward with the belief that the municipality should act as one and not three, like it was before Springhill and Parrsboro amalgamated with the municipality.”
Scott says, “We’ve gone through the Clear the Deck study and we adopted the All Hands on Deck recommendations. We’ve conducted a thorough review of the fire service and we’ve merged three former water utilities into one.”
As part of its review of fire services, the municipality has adopted a hub model with four departments stepping up to become regional support departments — Parrsboro, Springhill, Truemanville, and Pugwash.
Several months ago the county issued a request for proposals to build new fire stations in Springhill and Parrsboro. The municipality also renewed its commitment to the fire service by purchasing new equipment for its departments, all volunteers.
The municipality also completed its review of policing services and decided earlier in 2023 to maintain its current provider — the RCMP — while working with the law enforcement agency to enhance services offered to residents across the county.
Scott said the planned implementation of a four-day work week for municipal staff is something other municipal units are doing and will result in increased service by allowing many municipal services to be available for an extra hour each day.
Looking ahead to 2024, the mayor said he’s looking forward to research by the Nova Scotia Community College and the provincial Energy Department into deep water geothermal exploration under Springhill while it’s also partnering with NSCC and Natural Resources and Renewal on a feasibility study to determine if geothermal energy could be used to power a greenhouse for food production.
The coming year will also see a municipal election in October, though the mayor revealed on the radio program Morning Talk that he will not re-offer for another term.
Scott said council will get together early in the year to update its priorities and set a course for the next 10 months leading up to the end of their four-year terms.
He added, “We have a number of priorities we want to continue working on and you’ll see those unfold over the next 10 months.” After that, Scott said, “The new council will have to move forward with the priorities it wants to focus on.”
The mayor said he’s very impressed with the work of council, senior staff and municipal employees for their work during 2023 and over the last several years.
When the present council was elected in 2020 it inherited a municipality still trying to adjust following amalgamation with the two former towns in 2015 and 2016. While it took some time to get there, Scott says, “The municipality is thinking as one now more than ever before.”
The mayor reminds us, “The council that was elected in 2020 was, except for one, all new to municipal government.” He added, “Despite facing several challenges right off the mark, council has done an excellent job. We’re thinking and acting as one municipality and showing Cumberland County is a great place to live, whether it’s along the Northumberland Shore, the Fundy Shore, at the lake or any other community within the municipality.”
The photo shows one of the highlights of 2023, the official opening of the Pugwash Library in July. The photo below shows rehabilitation work on Junction Road in Springhill, a massive project that saw work through much of 2023. Photos by Darrell Cole.
Add your comments below.