The Town of Wolfville is seeking a Candidate to compete in the Leadership Competition of the 84th Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival. The chosen Candidate must be a graduate of high school and no older than 23 by December 31, 2016. Candidate must also be available during Festival week (May 25th - May 30th). Please contact Katelyn Pelton at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 902-300-2043 for further details.
Please note that the deadline for applications is April 11th.
Join your fellow community members for dessert and coffee as we take a moment to appreciate volunteerism in the community!
April 7th from 7:00PM until 8:30PM.
Tickets available at Town Hall - 359 Main St. - or the Public Works Building - 200 Dykeland St.
Please take a moment to read through the Prevention of Excessive Noise Bylaw Draft which will be received by the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, April 5th, 2016.
Early Bird Registration for Acadia's Summer Camps closes this Friday, April 1st so make sure to get over to Acadia Atheltics and register your kids now!
The winning team will be announced Sunday, April 3 during broadcast of Rogers Hometown Hockey in Winnipeg!
As announced tonight on Rogers Hometown Hockey, the 22 teams competing in the Cheer Like Never Before contest have been revealed, getting one step closer to the ultimate hockey experience (full list of teams below). Voting gets underway tonight and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, April 1, with the winner of the cross-country contest to be announced during the final Rogers Hometown Hockey broadcast of the year by Ron MacLean on Sunday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT on Sportsnet.
The team receiving the most votes will win the trip of a lifetime: a trip to an NHL game, VIP Game Day Experience and the chance to perform their cheer in an NHL dressing room. Fans, families and friends can vote once per day for their favourite “cheer” video at www.hometownhockey.com/cheer. As part of the contest, teams from across the country uploaded their team cheer, with the top 5 vote-getters from each location performing their cheer in front of a panel of judges during the Rogers Hometown Hockey festivities. One winning team was chosen from each town of this season’s tour to represent their community For more information on the Cheer Like Never Before contest, visit www.hometownhockey.com
Cheer Like Never Before Top 22 Teams:
Kitchener Lady Rangers Atom B – Kitchener, ON
Ice Boltz Atom B – North Bay, ON
Fredericton Kent Kanucks Atom A – Fredericton, NB
Glace Bay Pee Wee AAA Miners – Sydney, NS
Corner Brook Atom B Royals – Corner Brook, NL
Valley Wild Atom A Female Hockey – Wolfville, NS
Brantford 99ers Minor Pee Wee AAA – Brantford, ON
Capital District Cyclones Atom Girls – Summerside, PEI
Lambton Shores Novice Rep – Sarnia, ON
Oshawa Lady General Atom AA – Oshawa, ON
Neebing Novice Devils – Thunder Bay, ON
Swift Current Initiation Penguins – Swift Current, SK
Grande Prairie Pee Wee AA Boston Pizza Knights – Grande Prairie, AB
Team Envirolube – Whitehorse, YT
NWMHA H3C1 – New Westminster, BC
Abbotsford Atom A1 Hawks – Abbotsford, BC
Saanich Braves Atom C1 – Victoria, BC
SA766 Bantam Avengers – St. Albert, AB
Penticton Wolverines Minor Pee Wee – Penticton, BC
KAOS Cheer Pee Wee 1A Girls – Calgary, AB
Prince Albert Atom II Foxes – Prince Albert, SK
Fort Garry North Flyers PeeWee A1 – Winnipeg, MB
The Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour presented by Scotiabank and Dodge rolls into 24 communities across Canada this season with a weekend of free outdoor hockey festivities for all ages, culminating in an outdoor viewing party of an NHL game broadcast every Sunday on Sportsnet, with Ron MacLean hosting live on site from the Sportsnet Mobile Studio. For more tour information visit www.hometownhockey.com
Environment Canada and the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness have issued a Special air quality statement issued for Kings County at 1:00pm, Friday March 24, 2016:
An ongoing fire at a dump located southwest of Kentville will continue to burn throughout the weekend and possibly early next week. Smoke being produced by the fire will impact any surrounding communities based on the wind direction over the next several days.
A ridge of high pressure is currently building over the region giving light and variable winds, but a warm front approaching overnight will bring some mixed precipitation Friday morning before changing over to rain in the afternoon. Winds are expected to shift to the southwest Friday afternoon and then more northerly Friday night and into Saturday morning.
The public is advised to stay inside if you have breathing difficulties.
Individuals may experience symptoms such as increased coughing, throat irritation, headaches or shortness of breath. Children, seniors, and those with cardiovascular or lung disease, such as asthma, are especially at risk.People with lung diseases, such as asthma and COPD, can be particularly sensitive to air pollution. They will generally experience more serious health effects at lower levels. Pollution can aggravate their diseases, leading to increased medication use, doctor and emergency room visits, and hospital visits.
Be air aware! Check your local weather forecasts and alerts so you know when to take extra care.
For information on how to reduce your health risk and your personal contribution to pollution levels, as well as for current and forecast AQHI values, please refer to www.airhealth.ca.
Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada and the Town of Wolfville's Emergency Management Coordinator via Twitter @EMO_Wolfville
Source: Environment Canada
The Town of Wolfville's 2016-17 Operations Plan & Budget was approved at the March 22, 2016 Town Council Meeting
Click Link: 2016-17 Operations Plan & Budget
For full details of the Town of Wolfville Press Release click here
“The Town of Wolfville takes its regulatory obligations very seriously. The Town, its Building Official, Planning Department and Lawyers have been working in cooperation with the owner of 336 Main Street to create a plan for work to be done on the building to comply with the May 1, 2015 Order. This plan will address all aspects of the Order including accessibility. This process is different in every situation, and can take varying amounts of time. In this particular situation unfortunately, it had to be done in the context of litigation involving not only the Town and the owner, but two other parties. This has also meant that public comment on the progression of the matter has necessarily been minimal.
The Town of Wolfville and the owner of the building, Micro Boutique, wish to assure the citizens of Wolfville that the matter is not sitting dormant. We hope to be able to release more details in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we also wish to assure the citizens, and particularly the tenants of 336 Main Street, that neither party is aware of any safety concerns that would warrant an Order to Vacate”.
Mayor Jeff Cantwell
The Town of Wolfville invites interested parties to submit a proposal for the lease or purchase and maintenance of four (4) photocopiers and associated services at the following locations:a.
Closing Date: March 22, 2016 (4:30pm)
View Addendum (Issued March 14, 2016)
The 2016 Municipal Election will take place on Saturday, October 15, 2016. If you are interested in running in the election you must be an ordinarily resident of the Town of Wolfville by March 13, 2016.
The Municipal Elections Act defines an ordinarily resident as follows:
16 (1) A person is ordinarily resident in the place where the person lives and to which, whenever absent, the person intends to return.
(2) A person may be ordinarily resident in only one place at a time.
(3) A person does not cease to be ordinarily resident in a place by leaving the place for a temporary purpose only.
(4) Where a person usually sleeps in one place and has meals or is employed in another place, the person is ordinarily resident in the place where the person sleeps.
(5) Where a person has temporary residential quarters, those quarters are considered to be the place in which the person is ordinarily resident only if the person has no other place the person considers as that person's ordinary place of residence.
(6) Where a person is being provided with food, lodging or other social services by a shelter, hostel or similar institution, the person is ordinarily resident in the shelter, hostel or institution.
(7) Where the rules set out in subsections (1) to (6) are not sufficient to determine the place where a person is ordinarily resident, the place where the person is ordinarily resident must be determined by the appropriate election officer with reference to all the facts of the case.
(8) A person who, on the ordinary polling day,(a) is a student;(b) is ordinarily resident in a polling district or polling division other than that of the person's family home; and(c) is qualified as an elector,may elect to be included on the list of electors in one or the other of the polling divisions, but not both, and is deemed to be ordinarily resident in that polling division.
(9) A person is not ordinarily resident in a residence that is generally occupied by the person only between the beginning of May and the end of October but that is generally unoccupied between the beginning of November and the end of April unless the person does not have another residence in the Province where the person resides between the beginning of November and the end of April.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact the Town's Returning Officer, Jennifer Boyd at 902-542-2400 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The 2016/17 budget process formally started in the fall of 2015 at the November Committee of the Whole meeting; however, it should be noted input on budget matters takes place throughout the year.
It is important to highlight that the increase in taxable assessments for 2016 are relatively small in the residential sector and that, in fact, commercial assessments have declined. With no change in tax rates, the 2016/17 taxable assessment base will only generate $64,900 in increased revenue. This compares to $243,000 increased revenue in 2015/16 budget, and $165,000 increased revenue in 2014/15. The reality is that the Town had less new assessment from construction, and a very small increase from cost of living increase applied to assessments via the Provincial Capped Assessment Program (CAP).
Draft Version 1 was presented to Council at a Special Committee of the Whole meeting on January 21, 2016 and had a short fall in excess of $300,000.
The following direction was provided to staff to prepare version 2:
Revenues
| The following expenditures would be funded through the Town's Operating Reserve* | |
| 2016 Municipal Election | $25,000 |
| One year term position for building inspection (part-time) | 38,600 |
| Term employee for Phase II of the MPS Review (part-time) | 19,800 |
| Capital Funding Requirement | 48,000 |
| The estimated revenue for parking fines was increased | 16,000 |
| Employment grant for GIS summer student | 8,200 |
Expenditures
| Partial Implementation of Compensation Plan | $30,000 |
| Reduction in Professional Development Budget | 20,000 |
| Remove allowance for additional staff hours in finance | 9,600 |
| Reduction in contract services for the CAO | 3,000 |
| Decrease in tax exemption expenditure for 2016 assessments | 3,400 |
| Reduction to Festival & Events Program expenditures | 10,000 |
| Total Reduction in Shortfall | $241,600 |
*Staff recommended using operating reserves for these expenditures in accordance with the Town's Reserve Policy (140-006).
Click here to view the January 21, 2016 Special Committee of the Whole Agenda Package.
Draft Version 2
Draft Version 2 was presnted to Council on February 2, 2016 at a regular Committee of the Whole meeting with a short fall of $88,200. The following direction was provided to staff to prepare version 3:
| Remove the Student Liaison Officer Position | $18,100 |
| Remove the marketing outreach associated with the Student Liaison | 2,000 |
| Remove additional marketing monies to maintain previous year budget | 5,000 |
Staff outlined the impact of Tax Rate Changes to Council leading Council to indicate support for a Tax Rate increase for 2016/17, but only after full review of the Operating Budget for other possible savings.
If 1 cent is added to the residential tax rate, it would have the following impact:
Click here to view the February 2, 2016 Committee of the Whole Agenda Package
Draft Version 3
Draft Version 3 was presented to Council on February 16, 2016 at a Special Committee of the Whole meeting as a balanced budget.
Changes made to reach a balanced budget are as follows:
Revenue
| Add 1 cent to residential and commercial tax rates* | $41,300 |
| Adjust revenue for sale of service (Planning) | 4,500 |
| Remove grant related to GIS Summer Student | (8,200) |
| Reduce estimated festival/events revenue | (12,000) |
| Remove Municipal Physical Activity Leadership Program grant revenue | (25,000) |
| Add conditional recovery of summer wine bus staff | 7,700 |
| Change in Revenue | $ 8,200 |
*Staff included a 1 cent increase to the commercial rate in addition to a 1 cent increase to the residential. A 1 cent increase to the commercial rate means that:
Expenditures
| Reduction in Professtional Development, net change in salary/wages | $ 1,800 |
| Increase estimate of RCMP contract | (37,000) |
| Remove Student Liason Position and related expenses | 20,100 |
| Remove Alternative Justice initative | 5,000 |
| Reduce contracted service in solid waste | 5,000 |
| Remove GIS Summer Student | 12,300 |
| Net reduction in consolidation of two positions (merge Events & Recreation) | 55,000 |
| General reduction of marketing budget | 5,000 |
| Reduction in operating equipment and supplies in Festival/Events | 10,000 |
| Reduction onf Festival/Events program spending as a result of re-org. | 6,500 |
| Add seasonal/part-time wages for after school program position | (13,000) |
| Reduction in employee benefit estimate | 1,000 |
| Reduction in estimate for Valley Waste Resource Management | 12,000 |
| Increase estimate for Regional Housing Costs | (2,000) |
| Change in Expenditure | $80,000 |
WBDC - Business Development Area Rate
Based on preliminary indications, the budget will include an amount of $39,500 to transfer to the WBDC. This means:
Click here to view February 16, 2016 Special Committee of Whole Agenda Package
Click here to view the February 16, 2016 Budget Presentation
The 2016/17 Operating, Capital and Water Utility Budgets and Operating Plan will be discussed again on March 1, 2016 at a regular Committee of the Whole meeting with the hopes of being approved at the regular March 22, 2016 Town Council meeting. Check back for more updates!
