There was a big turnout at Spaniard’s Bay council’s April meeting as dozens of New Harbour Road residents attended to express concern about their water supply.

Kim Welsh, a retired teacher, gave a presentation on behalf of the residents about the hardships they have endured due to a poor water supply.

“I think we all realize that, as a council and as a town, it’s incumbent on us to work together to do what we can to make our community a wonderful place to live,” said Welsh. “And I think our town has a lot of potential and I think that with all of us working together and supporting one another, we can certainly reach that potential.”

Welsh said since she moved to there some 20 years ago, the area has had very low water pressure and sometimes no water at all. A longtime resident, she added, told her the original lines went in 54 years ago.

During the recent fire at the Precision Taekwondo building in Spaniard’s Bay, Welsh said, she and some of her neighbours had no water at all.

“Given the situation that we all went through last summer with fires, I can’t tell you how frightening that was, how alarming and how disturbing it was,” Welsh said. “Low pressure can compromise fire hydrant effectiveness and emergency response capabilities, and that’s top priority for a lot of people.”

Welsh said the poor water supply negatively affects residents’ personal hygiene, with some people unable to take showers due to low water pressure. The lack of water has forced some seniors to retrieve water from other sources or clear dirt and rocks out of pipes. Businesses have also been affected; Welsh gave the example of a hairdresser who had to cancel appointments due to a lack of water.

Welsh said due to the low pressure, he cannot run her washing machine and dishwasher at the same times. Residents cannot always access drinking water when there are shutoffs, she added. Some residents in the audience said they don’t feel safe drinking the water due to its poor quality and that they must rely on bottled water, which is an additional cost.

Welsh asked whether New Harbour Road could tie into another water supply. She wondered if the Town had applied for all the grants and funding that is available and questioned the necessity some of the services the Town pays for, such as regional enforcement, animal control, and travel expenses for councillors.

“We understand that you don’t have excess funds,” said Welsh. “You got money coming in, and you got money going out. And we don’t want council in the red. We really don’t. I mean, nobody, whether you’re a household, a town, a province, a country, everybody likes to have a balanced budget. That’s without debate. But I want you to understand our frustration about where our tax dollars are being spent.”

Welsh said the fault for the poor water supply does not lie with anyone currently sitting on council. However, she told council it has to ensure future expenditures will not be made unless it is certain they will positively impact the town. “All agreements put in place must be given assurances that we will not be responsible for paying back debts that results in no positive benefit to our town,” Welsh warned.

She has posted a petition online calling for money to be spent on the road’s water line and presented a copy of it to Mayor Tammy Oliver prior to her presentation.

Oliver acknowledged the present and future councils have much to do when it comes to improving infrastructure.

“We have been working behind the scenes, and I will certainly apologize,” said Oliver. “Moving forward we hope to certainly increase that transparency between council to keep you all informed. Nobody on this council could agree with it more that, when you have those lines of communication open, it’s better for everyone. We get more feedback, you guys understand our next moves coming forward, what we did, the mistakes we made, how we move on from all that.”

Oliver said the Town has conducted some studies on its infrastructure.

“We do have an asset management (assessment) that was done on all the infrastructure, and encompasses where we should be putting our money,” the mayor said. She added Spaniard’s Bay is looking into trying something other towns have had success with, and is currently waiting on an engineering estimate, though she provided no further details on what that is.

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A lost e-mail detailing a request for garbage cans attracted a bit of debate at Carbonear’s most recent council meeting.

Carbonear Deputy Mayor Fred Earle told his colleagues at their April 14 meeting that a request had been passed on to him by residents who frequently pick up litter in the town for additional garbage containers to be placed in certain areas. He then passed the request on to the public works committee where it was deferred.

Earle asked councillor Malcolm Seymour, who chairs the public works committee, why the request had not been granted.

“There was nothing to let us know what was needed or where it was needed,” said Seymour, adding the committee needed a letter with details, or the name of a requester, to know what was being asked of them.

“So, from here on, if things need to be addressed, please address it in a proper manner by a letter or an e-mail, and that way we can look at where it needs to go and what can be done, and then we can make a better decision than what we did earlier,” Seymour said.

“Not to be argumentative,” Earle replied, “but I did write an e-mail on that issue, and the details were in it.”

Earle said he was sorry if the message had not been received by the committee, but the request was in the form of a letter with the necessary information. Earle found a copy of the email and said they would have to look into why the public works committee did not receive it.

Seymour said that with the information now in hand, the committee would address the request for more garbage cans.

Director of Public Works Ian Farrell said ideally residents would submit their requests in writing themselves, so the Town knows where they are coming from and who to reply to.

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RCMP officers in Conception Bay North plan to make an extra effort this year to check up on people who are out on bail.

That was one of the messages delivered by Sergeant Lynn Gaudet and Staff Sergeant Phillipe Christopher during the force’s regular update to the CBN Joint Council March 26.

Christopher acknowledged there are many concerns in the area, but there are three main areas police want to focus on.

The first one Christopher described as their “offender management initiative.”

Christopher said officers are actively trying to crack down on repeat offenders, which has been a concern raised by council members and the general public at past meetings.

“People who are charged but out on bail, if we go and check on them and find that they’re not complying with their conditions of their release, then they’ll be arrested and sent back to jail,” said Christopher. “Rather than wait for them to break in somewhere, cause an issue or get charged with something else.”

Christopher said the RCMP has no control over people once they are in jail or in court, but they are hoping their efforts to check on them in the community will help curve some of the crime.

The second priority is youth engagement. Christopher said they are hoping to assign one officer to each school in their coverage area. At least once a month, the officers will visit their respective schools and check in with staff, allowing school officials to report any problems they may have. School staff can request presentations and other activities from the officers. The officers can also help staff with safety plans and lockdown drills and familiarize themselves with the layout of their assigned buildings.

Another priority is traffic safety.

“I know there’s issues with impaired drivers and ATV use and speeding and loitering in cars,” said Christopher. “So, we’re going to try to focus some efforts on traffic safety and hopefully get people to be out and visible in the public.”

Christopher said that while some people simply avoid the RCMP if they see them, a more visible police presence may help keep some people honest.

Christopher said the force plans to keep statistics and review their progress on the priority areas every quarter.

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Folks in Bay Roberts not up to date on their tax bills might want to give the Town Hall a ring.

Council, on April 14, approved a recommendation from staff authorizing them to proceed with the continued and escalating collection of all outstanding tax accounts in arrears in strict accordance with the Town’s tax collection policy. Measures to be undertaken include continued issuance of notices, application of interest on overdue accounts, and disconnection of services when applicable following notice.

Chief Administrative Officer Dave Tibbo said that in the coming weeks, the Town will be reviewing delinquent accounts, and sending out water shut off notices effective May 1. Property owners will have 30 days to make arrangements to avoid having their water shut off.

“But certainly, as we always said and council always promotes, we’re certainly willing to have a look at payment plans or have a discussion to help people out as best we can,” said Tibbo. “However, we need to keep the Town running, and to do that, we need to collect the taxes, and a lot of these are payments that haven’t been paid in years.”

The recommendation passed unanimously.

“We’ve said this many times in the past, especially at budget time and in budget speeches, that the onus is on everyone to pay their taxes in a timely fashion,” said Mayor Geoff Seymour. “It’s tax revenue that allows the Town to deliver the services that residents need – snow clearing, road maintenance, water and sewer, fire protection, recreation facilities – all these things come at a cost, and it’s everyone’s responsibility to pay their taxes in the appropriate time and place. Just remember, if there are issues, we are willing to work with you 100 per cent. All it requires is a phone call. We’ll set up a meeting, and if there is a way to help a resident, we will help a resident 100 percent.”

The Town will also initiate tax sales of properties where appropriate, Tibbo said.

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The Town of Holyrood is in good financial standing, says Deputy Mayor Michele Woodford.

During council’s April meeting, Woodford said staff conducted a departmental budget review, and most departments reported first quarter spending below the 25 percent threshold. The one exception was the department of environment, which had spent 50 percent of its budget by the end of the first quarter. Woodford chalked up the overspending to an early payment of the annual garbage contract.

“That does not represent, of course, a budget overage, but rather, a proactive and efficient financial management practice,” she said.

All told, the Town is averaging 22.98 percent of its annual budget having been spent in the first quarter.

In terms of income, the Town has collected $970,941 in current year taxes and $83,796 in back taxes. That amounts to 23.44 percent of residential taxes, 18.58 percent of water and sewer, 15.43 percent of business tax, and 54.28 percent of fire taxes to be paid in 2026.

The Town was also advised recently that its gas tax funding allocation for 2026 had increased, and that Holyrood will receive an additional $15,376, resulting in a bump in the municipal budget to $5,220,745.

Woodford said gas tax funding is ‘project driven funding’ and will be allocated as fiscal services on the balance sheet.

The Town had initially budgeted $289,460 in gas tax income.

“Overall, we’re in a really good financial position,” concluded Woodford.

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Peter Shapter was many things – a respected engineer, amateur historian and geologist, and former top notch hockey player, but the Topsail native was remembered at CBS council last week as an avid watcher of all things municipal in the town.

Shapter died April 11 at the age of 69 and his absence at the regular public council meeting did not go unremarked.

“I want to take a moment this evening to pass along condolences to the family of the late Peter Shapter,” said councillor-at-large Rex Hillier. “Peter wasn’t a person with a big personality and he probably wasn’t well known around town, but we knew him well. He was a regular visitor here to the council chambers. He was concerned, basically, with how our town was run. We could call him a critic, but too often calling someone a critic is meant to be negative. That wasn’t the case with Peter at all. Peter was a critic, but he was a critic in terms of offering suggestions and being positive and making sure that things were going well, particularly down in Topsail. We need people like that around town. They make us better councillors in the end, and I just want to pass along condolences to the Shapter family.”

Mayor Darrin Bent echoed those sentiments, recalling how he was a familiar figure bicycling to the Town Hall to attend the council meetings.

“Peter was one of the regulars who used to keep a close eye on council and offer all kinds of what I would consider friendly advice,” said the mayor. “And also a good history lesson every now and again. He was an amateur geologist, and he offered us a lot of information regarding the geology of Topsail Beach and we even have some storyboards down there based on some of the things that happened down there in the history of that area based on what Peter sent to us. So, I was very sad to learn of Peter’s passing… I’ll miss seeing him and I’ll miss hearing from him. The last e-mail I received from Peter was only seven or eight weeks ago. It was something to do with the town because he as so keenly interested and concerned about his town. So, condolences to his wife and stepdaughter and all the Shapter family on behalf of council.”

Shapter’s obituary on the Hickey’s Funeral Home website summarized his life well.

After graduating from Queen Elizabeth Regional High in 1973, Shapter received scholarships and went on to graduate second in his class in Memorial University’s engineering program. He rowed in the Royal St. John’s Regatta, played varsity hockey with the Memorial Beothucks, junior hockey with the Windsor Trojans and the St. John’s Junior Capitals, and in the CBS Senior League played for teams representing Upper Gullies, Chamberlains and Paradise. In addition to keeping tabs on council, researching the history of Topsail, and devouring books, Shapter spent the last couple of years boondocking with his wife in their 1987 campervan. 

Shapter is survived by his wife Jean Butler and her daughter Kate.

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Holyrood council last week voted to send recreation and community services director Kyle Hawco to the Atlantic Recreation & Facilities Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia from May 20-22.

“This event is the main Atlantic gathering for the recreation and facilities sector and focuses on professional development, best practices, networking, and partnership building,” said recreation lead councillor Sandra Crawley. “It includes keynote speakers, sector-specific sessions – aquatics, programming, facilities, trails, events, etcetera – an exhibitor trade show, and opportunities to collaborate with municipal and community recreation leaders from across Atlantic Canada.”

The cost of attendance, including all travel and expenses, is $2,135 and will be paid out of the recreation budget.

“These are very important opportunities, and we support our director attending,” said Mayor Laura Crawley.

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Paradise council is delivering on its promise to lay water and sewer pipes on Neary Road this year.

The street was earmarked for water and sewer in Budget 2026, and earlier this year council hired Englobe to oversee the project for $178,000.

The construction tender closed on April 1, and the Town received nine bids. Tender estimates ranged from $2.3 million to $4 million.

Councillor Erin Furlong brought forward a recommendation from staff to award the tender to lowest bidder Mercer Civil Corp., for $2.3 million.

The water and sewer portion of the project – valued at about $2.1 million – is being funded through the provincial government’s Multi-Year Capital Works (MYCW) program. Council has about $91,000 left from a previous project to use on this one.

The culvert replacement is being funded through the federal green infrastructure program. The Town has received about $455,000, with the actual cost of the work quoted at $633,239, creating a shortfall of  $178,239.

Approximately $300,000 in unspent funding from the Drover’s Road water and sewer installation will be carried over to cover the shortfall.

The project includes approximately 550 metres of new watermain and sanitary sewer, roadway reconstruction and repaving, and replacement of culverts.

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Paradise Mayor Patrick Martin updated the business community on some major upcoming municipal projects during the annual mayoral update hosted April 16 by the Mount Pearl-Paradise Chamber of Commerce.

Martin told a packed luncheon at The Hall at Holy Innocents Auditorium on Paradise Road that council decided to move ahead with a new depot and a major renovation to the Town Hall after conclusion of the insurance process from a fire that rendered the building unusable just over a year ago.

Martin said staff are still displaced and working in interim locations. He said it took time for insurance adjusters to complete assessments on the damage, but now that it’s complete council has begun to move forward with plans.

“We’ve determined that a responsible thing to do is remodel the interior of Town Hall,” said Martin. “The cost of this work is covered by insurance proceeds, and this means we can update the building in a financially responsible manner. We are going to improve the accessibility features of the building, modernize working spaces, update council chambers and create a Town Hall that can serve Paradise for decades to come. Work is under way and they suspect it will be completed by the end of the year.”

The new depot, he added, is a ‘significant’ financial commitment, but council needed to consider the future needs of Paradise as the province’s third-largest municipality.

A new depot was already under consideration with a feasibility study in 2024, Martin noted, as the previous space was no longer meeting the Town’s needs with respect to staffing needs and equipment storage.

“A new depot, one built for our needs, will provide indoor storage to protect equipment, offer expanded service for inventory, and create a modernize facility to support our essential services,” Martin said.

The new facility will be built on Town land near the Diane Whelan Memorial Soccer Complex.

The third upcoming capital project Martin outlined was a $50 million upgrade to the sewerage treatment plant that will bring the facility up to required federal regulations.

“The overall project is expected to cost us 50 million (dollars) and it will be completed in three separate fields,” he said. “The goal is to be compliant by the 2040s. This year, we plan to focus on the design work for phase one.”

Martin also used the luncheon as an opportunity to introduce the business community to Courtney Hiscock, the Town’s new economic development officer, who came on board in January.

Martin said one of the top priorities with Hiscock in place is to update the business section of the Town’s website.

“This is a great place to list your businesses so that residents can find you and learn what you do,” he said. “The listings are now linked to Google Maps, so residents can quickly and easily see exactly where you’re located in Paradise.”

Martin said the Town has, in recent years, created a more efficient permitting process that has seen processing times reduced from 32 weeks to 12 weeks. With a focus on what he calls ‘continuous improvement,’ the Town is also implementing new protocols to improve efficiency and transparency, including an upcoming business concierge system and website updates.

“Residents and developers will be able to monitor the status of our applications. You can get the information and updates you need whenever you need them,” he said.

Martin said the Town supports business development in a number of ways, including sponsoring the first year of any Chamber membership, with providing a $100 discount on business taxes to chamber members.

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A Coley’s Point subdivision application sparked a discussion about cul-de-sac requirements at Bay Roberts council earlier this month.

The application had previously been approved with a sidewalk along the entirety of the cul-de-sac, but the developer has since ask for permission to nix it.

“Our regulations say that a new street requires sidewalk on one side, but you can’t put sidewalk on one side of a cul-de-sac, it just doesn’t make sense,” said Protective Services Director Greg Squires. I reviewed some policies from other towns, as we don’t have anything that speculates that exact regulation.”

The director said most cul-de-sacs in CBS, Mount Pearl, and St. Johns do not have sidewalks, as they are meant to be dead ends.

Squires reckoned council ought to eliminate the sidewalk requirement, while still requiring the applicant to leave some room for residents to walk.

Councillor Silas Badcock moved to approve the developer’s request to drop the sidewalk, and that a 1.5 metre gravel shoulder for walking be constructed alongside the road.

“This gravel side area shall provide a continuous and clearly defined walking space, be of sufficient width to accommodate pedestrian use, and be constructed to a standard acceptable to the Town,” added Badcock.

Curb and gutter will still be required.

Mayor Geoff Seymour allowed the Town’s policies are vague when it comes to cul-de-sacs.

Squires said the new Town plan currently in the works should address the issue.

Chief Administrative Officer Dave Tibbo noted the developer is “great to deal with,” and that a new subdivision agreement will be drafted to ensure council and the developer are on the same page.

“I just happened to spend a few hours in St. John’s yesterday, and I drove around cul-de-sacs on Torbay Road, and it’s just curb and gutter,” said Tibbo. “There’s no sidewalk.”

Councillor Dean Franey, meanwhile, opined the sidewalk requirement ought to be eliminated for cul-de-sacs altogether.

“I think it could encourage some more development, because it’s going to lower the cost,” said Franey. “With the changing of the times, we have to look at everything, and we want to encourage more development, because we need housing. One thing we can do is maybe on these smaller cul-de-sacs remove the sidewalk part.”

Badcock’s motion was approved unanimously.

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