ANTIGONISH: The warden for the Municipality of the County of Antigonish says COVID-19, including the outbreak in Antigonish that occurred in December has slightly delayed the consultation process, but only by a few weeks.
Following the municipality’s regular council meeting on Feb. 8, Owen McCarron suggested while they had thought they’d be able to get out to the community in March, it’s now looking like it’s going to be April before that happens.
“Obviously we’re looking forward to getting out to the community, we’re working with the facilitator, as far as working our way through the community,” McCarron said. “Initially, we thought we’d be on the go by mid-March, but because of the restrictions around COVID, we just felt it was probably prudent to back that off a bit.”
With the province’s announcement of their tiered re-opening plan on Feb. 9, the public consultation in Antigonish will now likely start the first week of April and consultations will continue for four weeks.
“The weather at that point in time is also a little more favourable, and there’s less chance of cancellations due to a storm or inclement weather,” McCarron said. “And hopefully restrictions will be such that we’re able to gather people and there won’t be as much apprehension in getting together in that kind of environment, so we’re looking forward to that.”
The warden said they met as a joint council with the consultant about three weeks ago and had their first session, and this past week, the consultants were sitting down with staff from both town and county to walk through the process, answer questions, and talk about experiences they’ve had.
“They have a vast array of experience and have been involved with municipal operations from around the province,” McCarron said. “So they certainly have good knowledge about the process.”
He indicated county staff met with the consultant on Feb. 9, while the town was scheduled to meet with the consultant the following day on Feb. 10.
“We’re starting to move forward,” McCarron said. “And we’re very much looking forward to getting out and engaging with the public in April.”