{"id":40025,"date":"2023-12-14T06:58:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T10:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chmafm.com\/welcome\/?p=40025"},"modified":"2023-12-14T10:09:51","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T14:09:51","slug":"council-give-unanimous-green-light-to-trail-and-multipurpose-building-initiatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chmafm.com\/welcome\/council-give-unanimous-green-light-to-trail-and-multipurpose-building-initiatives\/","title":{"rendered":"Council gives unanimous green light to Trans Canada Trail and multipurpose building initiatives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Councillor Josh Goguen at Tantramar Council on November 14, 2023. Image: Youtube screencap<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tantramar council gave the green light for town staff to move forward on two longstanding requests from community members on Tuesday. Staff will now start discussions with the provincial government about a land use agreement for the Trans Canada Trail within town boundaries, and also start to pursue additional funding for a pedway to re-connect the trail where it is bisected by the highway. In addition, council asked staff to form a committee with local groups to work on planning and funding a new multipurpose facility that could serve as a permanent home for the Sackville Farmers\u2019 Market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both motions came from Councillor Josh Goguen, who was visibly pleased on Tuesday. \u201cI’m glad that my fellow councillors saw the value in what I was bringing to the table,\u201d said Goguen. \u201cAnd for wrapping up my first year on council, I think it’s a win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trail motion \u2018not promising anything\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While the vote on Goguen\u2019s first motion was unanimously in favour, one of the selling points seemed to be that it didn\u2019t commit the town to any specific agreements or projects. Here\u2019s the motion as read by Goguen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cI move that council request staff to engage with the provincial government to discuss a land use agreement for the existing Rails to Trails system within the Tantramar boundary, and explore capital funding for a proposed new pedway over the Trans Canada Highway, leveraging the $1 million donation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The $1 million Goguen refers to is an anonymous donation secured by a group of citizens who have been working on the pedway project for about 15 years. In a presentation in June, Christina DeHaas and Jeff MacKinnon told council that in addition to the $1 million donation, the group also has a commitment from Algonquin Bridge, a division of the AIL Group, to build the project at cost, which had been estimated at about $3 million in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Pedway group says non-motorized trail is key to funding, but ATV riders want to share access<\/a><\/blockquote>