The possibility of solar gardens becoming part of the power grid in the Town of Antigonish remains in the feasibility study stage.
Municipal officials are optimistic there is a bright future for the initiative, which would be part of its involvement in the Alternative Resource Energy Authority (AREA), a partnership with the towns of Berwick and Mahone – all of which own power utilities.
“We have a really good feeling,” Mayor Laurie Boucher, who also serves as AREA chairperson, told reporters after town council’s monthly meeting Oct. 28.
During the public session, she provided an update on the process, which kicked off during the summer with a partnership commitment to funding the feasibility study for $75,000. The provincial government matched that amount through its Low Carbon Communities program.
“We think the results [of the study] are going to be favourable,” she added.
Town officials have already pinpointed a potential location for the solar garden – a patch of municipally-owned land in the Brierly Brook area (just beyond Home Hardware).
“It would be a win-win situation,” Councillor Mary Farrell said, noting the opportunity for making use of the former landfill site property.
In commenting on the potential energy generation a solar garden could provide, Councillor Willie Cormier noted its capability exceeds that of just one of 10 windmills located on AREA’s farm in Ellershouse.
AREA has also brought in a firm to help get the message out about its initiatives, including the proposed solar garden project.
“There are a lot of people that don’t even know we own our own electric utility,” Boucher noted.
She said AREA wants to get the message out, when it comes to the potential for residents “to invest [in] and have ownership” in a solar garden.
“We have to be able to make people aware of it,” Boucher added.
The solar garden would also help the town with its effort to reduce its carbon footprint “as much as we can.”
“It is about investing in a greener future and a greener Antigonish,” Boucher said.
Once the feasibility study is completed – and AREA decides to move forward – the next step will be to make application for funding through the environmental quality stream of the federal Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP).
More to do
When it comes to dealing with issues associated with St. F.X. Homecoming, Boucher said progress has been made, but there remains more to do.
“We got a lot of positive feedback when it comes to the amount of police presence in the area on that day,” she told reporters.
“People are saying that, although it was a bit better this year than two years ago – when it was really bad, they are still acknowledging and the council and the university are acknowledging there is still some work to do.”
Boucher noted a working group, which includes town and county representatives, along with officials from St. F.X., St. Martha’s Regional Hospital and the local landlords’ association, has made “great progress.”
“Great strides in working together to try to mitigate as much as disruption and as much harm as we can,” she said.
One of those is working together “to handle the extra pressure at outpatients,” which included collaboration between the hospital, police and university.
“I am pleased to say that we will continue to work with all the major partners to make sure that it is going in the right direction,” Boucher said.
During Homecoming 2019 weekend, between Friday evening and Sunday morning, Antigonish RCMP completed 100 calls for service, which included intoxicated in public and underage drinking charges.
“We have to remember that there is only so much control that we can have; we can’t dictate how much the participants drink; we can’t dictate how they move – from point A to point B – but what we can do is make sure that they are obeying the law and that they are safe,” Boucher said.
She added “no matter what you do, you are going to see crowds of students moving around.”
“The goal is to, eventually, have them on campus for the majority of the day, but they are still going to have to get there,” Boucher said.
Christmas parade
The Antigonish Christmas parade will take place Friday, Nov. 23, starting at 6 p.m.
Council approved a motion at its Oct. 28 meeting, one presented by recreation department chair Councillor Farrell, to add $5,000 to the event’s budget.
“It is still going to be in the evening,” she said.
There was a discussion regarding moving the holiday event to the daytime. Several municipalities in the province have received push back for making similar moves, which came after the death of a young girl last year during the Yarmouth parade.
Farrell explained the decision was made to consult with safety and traffic professionals, which recommended adding extra security, barricades and lighting along the route.
“We want to mitigate as much risk as we can,” she said, noting “safety gaps” were identified from previous years.
The monies greenlighted by council will go towards funding these measures.
After the parade, the traditional tree lighting will take place at Columbus Field.
The weather date for the celebration is Saturday, Nov. 24.
Champion visits council
Multi-time Canadian Garry Kell made a visit to the meeting, offering councillors with an opportunity to see the national gold and silver medals he captured in July in Edmonton.
Later this year, the Antigonish native will travel to Poland to compete in the world championships.
“It won’t be my first time on the big stage,” Kell told council, noting he also competed at the international level in Ottawa and Kelowna.
He added he is going to compete to the “best of my ability.”
Council approved a $200 contribution to his ongoing fundraising effort to travel to Poland.
