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ICE & SNOW WINTER MAINTENANCE

The NS Dept. of Transportation & Infrastructure Renewal (NSTIR) does most of the snow removal, ice control and winter road maintenance services in District 2. Our local NS Highway Depots are in West Chezzetcook at 902-827-2544 and in Spry Bay at 902-885-2821. If you want to e-mail any roadway concerns to the attention of the NSTIR Operations Contact Centre, please send it to:  TIR-OCC@novascotia.ca or call 1-844-696-7737. The TIR-OCC will log it, assign a service ticket number and send it to the appropriate supervisor. The Province also has an on-line “plowtracker” tool that allows citizens to track snowplows by zooming in on a provincial map:  http://novascotia.ca/tran/winter/plowtracker.asp

Or you can see current highway conditions by going on-line to their roadside cameras website:

https://novascotia.ca/tran/cameras/. Drivers can also get up-to-date road conditions across Nova Scotia by calling the SNOW-line: 1-800-307-SNOW (7669) or 511 or 1-888-432-3233 or 902-424-3933 or just go on-line at:  http://novascotia.ca/tran/winter and click on

the Road & Weather Report Icon Button. The SNOW-line is updated regularly at 7 AM, 1 PM and 5 PM or more frequently in case of a major storm event. Or you can follow them on Twitter @NS_TIR. If you should have any concerns or complaints about snow removal service in your area that is served by NSTIR, then please contact your respective MLAs offices: Lloyd Hines ( hineslp@gov.ns.ca ) at 1-902-533-2280, or Kevin Murphy (  murphyke@gov.ns.ca  ) at 902-281-3005 or Keith Colwell ( colwelkw@gov.ns.ca  ) at 902-433-1494.

With respect to the communities of North Preston, Westphal, and almost all of the Lawrencetown subdivision streets, these areas are done under the auspices of HRM with a Performance Base Contracted Out Service provider. If you have any concerns about our Snow and Ice Control winter road maintenance, please call the HRM Citizen Contact Centre at 311 or myself. For information about HRM Winter Road Maintenance, please go to:  www.halifax.ca/transportation/winter-operations. Also be sure to have proper tires and emergency supplies kit on hand in your vehicle.

Please drive carefully this winter season.

PROPERTY ASSESSMENT APPEALS

Property Assessment Notices will be mailed out on January 13th. Then there is a 31-day official appeal period from that date whereby property owners can review and perhaps refute their appraisals. You can now access your property file on-line. Your Notice will provide you with an AAN – Assessment Account Number with a PIN to view your data. If you feel it is not assessed properly, you should contact the NS Municipality Agency – Property Valuation Services Corporation (PVSC) and speak with an Assessment representative. PVSC Assessment Office is located at Park Place Two, 238-A Brownlow Avenue, Suite 200, Dartmouth, NS, B3B 2B4. Toll-free Phone: 1-800-380-7775 or Fax: 1-888-339-4555. Property owners are encouraged to call and talk to an Assessor prior to appealing an assessment. Perhaps this approach may answer and clear up some questions that you may have, hopefully avoiding the time and expense of an appeal. If not, you have the right to make a formal appeal, (in writing) either by letter or fax which must be received by their office on, or before the deadline date. For more info, please refer to your notice or go to PVSC Appeal Guide:  www.pvsc.ca/site/media/PVSC/Documents/Appeal%20Brochure%20December%202012_final.pdf. If you should have any further enquiries about property valuation, please refer to their web-site at:  www.PVSC.ca  for more information.

COMMUNITY CELEBRATIONS FUND

HRM has a program that supports organizations to deliver small civic events that are a maximum of five (5) days in length, are organized primarily for the benefit and enjoyment of local residents, coincide with a community gathering or civic holiday, and are free to the public to attend. The maximum grant award through this program is $1,000. Applications are accepted annually. Deadline to apply is 12 Noon on Friday, January 31st. Application forms can either be mailed to you or you can download them on-line at:  www.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/recreation/arts-culture-heritage/2020%20Regional%20Events%20-%20Community%20Celebrations%20.pdf

For further details, contact HRM Culture & Events: Christine Buckley  bucklec@halifax.ca  902-490-6979 or fax 902-490-5950.

FEDERAL ARTS & CULTURE GRANTS

The Federal Department of Canadian Heritage (DCH) has a Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage (BCAH) Program. Does your community organize a local festival? There are three intake period deadlines for applications under the Local Festivals component of the BCAH program: January 31st, April 30th and September 30th.   Is there a significant local anniversary in our municipality or in your community in 2020? If the anniversary marks a 100th anniversary or greater, in increments of 25 years (e.g., 125th, 150th) and it commemorates a significant local historical event or pays tribute to a significant local historical personality, consider applying to the Community Anniversaries component of BCAH  www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/funding/building-communities/festivals.html. The deadline is also January 31st. For details, please contact them via e-mail at:  pch.enligne-online.pch@canada.ca  or call Toll-free 1-866-811-0055 or TTY 1-888-997-3123.

The Legacy Fund component provides funding for community capital projects that commemorate significant anniversaries and involve the restoration, renovation, or transformation of existing buildings and/or exterior spaces with local community significance; encourage arts and heritage activities in your community; and are intended for and accessible to the general public For more details about the Legacy Program,  www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/funding/building-communities/legacy-fund.html or e-mail them at:  PCH.bcah-dcap.PCH@canada.ca  or call them at the same phone numbers listed above.

GOOD NEIGHBOUR ENERGY FUND

The Salvation Army Good Neighbour Energy Fund (GNEF) is an emergency heating and water assistance program available to Nova Scotian families who meet their criteria. This program, which is administered by The Salvation Army, receives its funds from Nova Scotia Power Inc., Halifax Water, their employees and customers, and the Provincial Government.  Applicants are now able to re-apply every 24 months to the program, which runs annually from January 15th through April 15th. If you are in an emergency home heating situation please download the application form (see link below) or pick one up from your local Salvation Army church, thrift store, as well as your local MLA offices. The 2020 GNEF application form should be found on-line at: https://salvationarmy.ca/maritime/home/programs/gnef/ or E-mail:  SACOH.GNEF@gmail.com  or by Post: GNEF Program, 2038/2044 Gottingen Street, Halifax, NS, B3K 3A9

HRM RENEWS LOCAL LEASES

The Moser River Community Hall Association, the Samuel R. Balcom Centre Association in Port Dufferin and the West Chezzetcook – Grand Desert Recreational Society that runs the Ste. Therese Centre in Grand Desert have renewed their leases with the municipality for another five year period. These volunteer Board operated facilities allows for enhanced services at the local level reflective of each community’s needs. These local venues are home to birthday parties, anniversaries, community events, community breakfasts and suppers, and other gatherings such as wedding receptions or funeral wakes and other community recreation programming activities. The community based volunteer management governance model recognizes the ongoing responsibility of HRM as the owner of the facility for any capital repairs and upkeep, but provides possession and occupation of the community facility to the community board. More details can be found at:  www.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/city-hall/regional-council/191126rc1512.pdf

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