Oxford Council First Meeting in High Gear
Oxford Town council held its first regular council meeting since the summer break.
The evening kicked off with Municipal Physical Activity Leader (MPAL) Jimmy Ward bringing council a request to sign the Anti-Racism Charter in Recreation, an initiative of Recreation Nova Scotia with funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
According to material provided from the RNS, “The Charter is needed to specifically acknowledge and address the harm and exclusion caused by racism in recreation. A proactive and systemic approach is required to make recreation welcoming and inclusive for everyone in Nova Scotia.”
Signatories to the Anti-Racism Charter are encouraged to find ways to make recreational programming more inclusive and accessible to all Nova Scotians. Funding is also made available to create recreational programming that addresses those goals.
Oxford is the first municipal government to adopt the Charter in the region.
Ward also presented a proposed “Walkability Plan” to Council. Beginning in October, the town will be examined to identify challenges for pedestrians.
Based on a study performed for the town of Stewiacke, the plan looks at infrastructure that promotes or inhibits active transportation such as walking, as well as accessibility and safety.
Ward says the estimated cost of the study – approximately $9-thousand dollars — will be covered for the most part by funding from the Activities Foundation, though there will be a smaller portion that the town will be asked to kick in.
Oxford Council also put its stamp of approval on the town’s Accessibility Plan. Spurred by new provincial regulations under Nova Scotia’s Accessibility Act, all municipalities were required to undertake public consultation and formulate a plan to identify and work toward removing barriers faced by residents with disabilities.
Nova Scotia has the highest proportion of people living with some kind of disability: one-in-three people. “These include physical, visual, hearing, mental health, intellectual and learning disabilities and quite often people live with multiple disabilities and some live with undiagnosed disabilities.”
Mayor Greg Henley thanked staff and the community volunteers for their hard work in bringing the Accessibility Plan together.
Policy changes are in the offing regarding Oxford’s Tax and Water collection. A draft document presented by CAO Linda Cloney would close a few loopholes and clarify the town’s tax policies.
Among the proposed changes: ‘The Town of Oxford will not accept a tender/bid from a tax assessed owner, his/her agent, or his/her immediate family for any sum less than the full amount of taxes, interest and expenses associated with respect to the land.’
In the past year, the town has undertaken new efforts to deal with taxes in arrears, holding a successful tax sale in the spring that cleared a number of accounts that owed property taxes. It is expected that once the amended policy is adopted, another tax sale will work to clear any remaining arrears from the books.
At the Committee-of-the-Whole meeting two weeks ago, Council was presented with a letter from a local resident who requested the hiring of a consultant to help Oxford improve its fortunes. The community development firm “13 Ways” was floated as a potential partner in increasing the town’s economic and social activity.
Mayor Henley reported to the public that a videoconference was held with representatives of the firm last week, which —while productive and informative— did not result in a plan to hire the company. Estimates for their services ranged from $80,000 to $150,000 thousand dollars.
Henley noted that with the growth in housing the town has experienced of late, and the unexpected economic spinoffs from those new residences, that the town would be better served by putting any available funds into infrastructure improvements, such as the scheduled water main replacement and paving along Foundry Street, and future capital projects on Main Street and other areas.
Speaking of capital projects, following an in-camera session at the end of the meeting, Council announced that it would depart from existing policy and allow asphalt to be used for sidewalks in the town. The long-standing practice in the town had been for cement sidewalks only. No explanation for the change was immediately available.
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