Halifax Recreation will be engaging communities with the R.E.C. Van again this summer. Beginning June 30th our new HRM R.E.C. Van will spend the summer visiting public parks, municipal beaches, spray pads and playgrounds throughout the Halifax region, providing free recreational sports and activities to kids, families and seniors. Residents can try something new or take part in their favourite outdoor activity. The R.E.C. Van is stacked with equipment for more than 50 different activities and sports, including baseball, basketball, soccer, washer toss, giant checkers, archery, skipping and much more!

All of this to encourage physical activity and ensure more people have access to the equipment and support to be active, stay fit and have fun. Watch for the R.E.C. Van coming to a community near you soon!

For more information visit www.halifax.ca/rec/rec-van.php

or contact Marlo Barnes at barnesm@halifax.ca

or call 902-479-4479.

HRM can help homeowners pay their property tax through a payment plan, a property tax rebate, or deferral of taxes (payment is put off to a later date). These programs are available to all homeowners with a combined household income of $32,000 or less a year who live within the boundary of the municipality. There are different programs to choose from depending on a person’s needs. It is important that you know what choices exist. There is a program booklet that lists the different types of programs, who can apply, and how to complete an application each year. Applications are now available.

Do you qualify?
If you applied in previous years, did you receive your application in the mail? For answers to these questions visit www.halifax.ca/taxes/exemption or call 311.

The provincial government’s burning restrictions website is updated daily at 2 p.m. to clarify which category of burning the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has implemented for the province.
Visit https://novascotia.ca/natr/forestprotection/wildfire/burnsafe/.

In the majority of cases HRM will mirror the level of restriction on open-air burning declared by the province. While the municipality can never assert a level of restriction lower than what the province has declared, the fire service has the ability to be more restrictive than the province if warranted. Should that be the case, the public will be informed via a public service announcement (PSA), which can be found in the Halifax Media Room, on the Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency website and through social media updates on the Fire Twitter feed: @ hfxfire.

There is one other difference between the provincial and municipal regulations – the province allows burning overnight until 8 a.m. however, the municipal bylaw requires that open burning in the municipality ends at midnight.

Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency are currently recruiting volunteer firefighters for the various communities in our district area. For more details, please call HRM Volunteer Firefighters Manager at 902-490-5611 or:
www.halifax.ca/fire/VolunteerFirefighterRecruitment.php.

The new HRM Administrative Order (AO 2014-021-GOV) Respecting Regional Special Events Grants is to establish consistent and equitable funding for community and cultural events. There are four funding programs:

• Community Celebrations: $1,000 maximum
• Established Community Festivals: $25K maximum
• Significant Anniversaries: $10,000 maximum
• Cultural Events & Showcases: $60,000 maximum

This year’s grant awards for our own local community & festival celebrations are as follows:

Once again this year there will be weekly organic green cart collection for the summer months of July & August. For more details go to www.halifax.ca/recycle or call 311.

Residents with either an above-ground or in-ground swimming pool are required to obtain a permit. To obtain these permits details of pool location, fencing and security must be identified as specified in HRM By-law S700:
www.halifax.ca/legislation/Bylaws/HRM/bls700.pdf.

This applies to all swimming pools with a diameter of 11 feet or more and a depth of 2 feet or more. Pools should be completely enclosed with a 5 foot high fence. For more information visit:
www.halifax.ca/building-renovating/_assets/documents/pools20152.pdf.

Swimming pools and hot tubs are quite enjoyable and popular but they must be maintained properly to ensure that harsh pool chemicals aren’t allowed to enter the street, where they may flow into ditches and drain directly to our natural waterways, wetlands, rivers, lakes or harbour. For more information regarding the discharge of hot tub and pool water, or to report a spill please call 311 or email:  pollutionprevention@halifaxwater.ca
or visit www.halifax.ca/hrwc/tionpreventionTipsforPoolMaintenance.php.

After a successful two-year pilot project, HRM Council has approved the continuation of its Solar City Program (SCP) for three more years. Staff is currently developing the new program, and registration will open before the end of Summer 2016.

The SCP provides residents an opportunity to install solar energy collectors on their property. The new program will now offer property owners three solar energy technology options: Solar Hot Water, Solar Hot Air, and Solar Photovoltaic (PV).

The program will target 450 installations per year, with a mix of the three solar technologies, for a total target of 1350 installations over the three-year program period. This will increase opportunities for property owners to save money and reduce their environmental footprint while impacting growth of the local industry. HRM will continue to administer the program on a cost neutral basis to the municipality.

A Local Improvement Charge (LIC) will allow qualified property owners to finance their solar installation through HRM using a unique Solar City account. The LIC is currently being offered at a low interest rate of 4.75% over a 10-year loan that is repaid through a separate bill on the property. SCP development updates will be posted at https://www.halifax.ca/solarcity.

In the meantime, if you have questions or would like to be on the mailing list, please contact them by email at solarcity@halifax.ca or by regular mail: PO Box 1749, Halifax, NS, B3J 3A5.