April 15, 2026 - Regular Council Meeting

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Municipality of the District of Clare
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at 7:00 pm
Meeting held at 1185 Highway 1, Little Brook, NS

PRESENT: Council: Warden Yvon LeBlanc; Deputy Warden Eric Pothier; Councillors Danny Hill, Réanne Cooper, Carl Deveau, Steven Comeau, and Nadine Comeau
Staff: CAO, Stéphane Cyr, Executive Assistant, Ashley Hanks, Director of Finance, Christien Deveau, and Communications Officer, Francis Robichaud
Presenters:
ABSENT: Councillor Réanne Evans

1) Call to Order
The Warden called the Council meeting to order at 7:00 pm.

2)  Adoption of the Agenda
The CAO Asked that the following item be added to the agenda:

  • 13.2 Motion to Appoint Community Representatives – EDIA Committee

MOVED BY Councillor Danny Hill and SECONDED BY Councillor Réanne Cooper that the proposed agenda be approved with the above note addition.
MOTION CARRIED          

3) Declaration of Conflict of Interest
None.

4) Presentations
None.

5) Adoption of the Minutes from Previous Council Meetings
5.1 March 18, 2026 – Regular Council Meeting

MOVED BY Councillor Carl Deveau and SECONDED BY Councillor Nadine Comeau that the minutes of the March 18, 2026, Regular Council Meeting be accepted as presented.
MOTION CARRIED

5.2 April 1, 2026 – Council-In-Committee Meeting

MOVED BY Councillor Steven Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Réanne Cooper that the minutes of the April 1, 2026, Council-in-Committee Meeting be accepted as presented.
MOTION CARRIED

6) Business Arising from Previous Meetings
None.

7) Warden’s Activity Report – Warden Yvon LeBlanc
March 19 – Attended the announcement of the modernization project for the salle Marc-Lescarbot.

March 23 – Attended a meeting with representatives of the Havelock Fire Department to advance a plan for a new fire station and community centre.

April 1 – Attended a meeting of the Nominating Committee of the Université Sainte-Anne Board of Governors.

April 2 – Attended, along with council members, a public consultation session led by Stantec regarding draft versions of the Municipal Planning Strategy and the Land Use By-law.

April 8 – Attended a Special Council Meeting to review the proposed municipal operating budget for 2026–27.

8) Official Statements from Members of Council
None.

9) Correspondence
9.1 The Honourable Fred Tilley – Minister of Public Works
The CAO read a letter from the Honourable Fred Tilley, Minister of Public Works. (pdfSee attached)

9.2 Mary Surette – Managing Director, Yarmouth Hospital Foundation
The CAO read a letter from Mary Surette, Managing Director of the Yarmouth Hospital Foundation. (pdfSee attached)

10) Presentation of the 2026-2027 Operational Budget and Corresponding Motions
The CAO provided an overview of the 2026-2027 Operational Budget (pdfSee attached).

The budget is balanced at $ 15,409,355 and calls for no changes to the residential and resource tax rates of $1.10 per $100 of assessment or to the commercial tax rate of $2.13 per $100 of assessment.

10.1 Motion to Adopt Municipal Tax Rates

MOVED BY Councillor Carl Deveau and SECONDED BY Councillor Nadine Comeau that the Council for Municipality of the District of Clare set the tax rates for the Municipality of the District of Clare for 2026-2027 as follows:

  • $1.10 per $100.00 of assessment as the Residential and Resource Tax Rate, and
  • $2.13 per $100.00 of assessment as the Commercial Tax Rate, and
  • $0.25 per acre (below 50,000 acres) and $0.40 per acre (above 50,000 acres) as the Forest Acreage Rates.

MOTION CARRIED

10.2 Motion to Adopt Sewer Service Charges

MOVED BY Councillor Nadine Comeau and SECONDED BY Deputy Warden Eric Pothier that the Council for Municipality of the District of Clare set the sewer service charges for 2026-2027 at $220.00 per unit for the following:

  • Meteghan
  • Meteghan Centre
  • Meteghan River
  • Church Point
  • Belliveau Cove

MOTION CARRIED

10.3 Motion to Adopt Streetlight Area Rates

MOVED BY Councillor Réanne Cooper and SECONDED BY Councillor Danny Hill that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare set the 2026-2027 rates for streetlights as follows:

  • Highway 1 and Patrice Road – Church Point $63.35
  • Highway 1 – Little Brook and Comeauville $38.91
  • Highway 1 – Saulnierville $56.66
  • Highway 1 – Meteghan River $59.83
  • Placide Comeau Road – Meteghan River $75.55
  • Highway 1 and Peter Dugas Road – Meteghan $38.81
  • Highway 1 – Saint-Bernard and Belliveau Cove $39.38
  • Highway 1 – Meteghan (8064 Highway 1 to 7974 Highway 1) $47.08

MOTION CARRIED

10.4 Motion to Adopt Fire Service Rates

MOVED BY Councillor Steven Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Réanne Cooper that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare set the 2026-2027 fire service rates as follows:

  • Fire Protection $0.05 per $100.00 of assessment
  • Fire Truck Purchase $0.06 per $100.00 of assessment

MOTION CARRIED

10.5 Motion to Adopt Property Tax Rebate for Low Income Households

MOVED BY Deputy Warden Eric Pothier and SECONDED BY Councillor Danny Hill that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare set the 2026-2027 low-income property tax exemption amount at $300 for households earning less than $30,000 per annum.
MOTION CARRIED

10.6 Motion to Adopt Due Date and Interest Commencement Date

MOVED BY Councillor Danny Hill and SECONDED BY Councillor Carl Deveau that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare set the due date for payment of 2026-2027 municipal taxes as June 30, 2026, and the interest rate be 1.5% per month, beginning on July 31, 2026.
MOTION CARRIED

10.7 Motion to Accept the 2026-2027 Municipal Operational Budget

MOVED BY Councillor Nadine Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Steven Comeau that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare approve the 2026-2027 operational budget for the Municipality of the District of Clare as presented on Wednesday, April 15, 2026.
MOTION CARRIED

11) CAO Report – Chief Administrative Officer – Stéphane Cyr
The CAO presented his report for the month of April. (pdfSee attached)

12) Committee Reports

12.1 Southwest Nova Biosphere Region Association – Councillor Carl Deveau
The Southwest Nova Biosphere Region Association met on April 18, 2026.

  • As part of its efforts to protect biodiversity, the Association continues to actively purchase lands which it later gifts to various conservation groups.
  • The Association’s tree planting project has been rebranded as Forever a Forest, with an aim to plant 610,000 trees throughout Southwest Nova Scotia over an 8-year period.
  • The Department of Natural Resources is conducting a study of the local lakes, and other lakes across the province, to determine which are suitable for use by water bombers in the event of an emergency.
  • The Association’s provincial funding has been reduced. This in turn will impact its number of projects moving forward.
  • Lastly, Councillor Deveau invited residents to visit the Southwest Nova Biosphere Region Association’s website to learn more about the region and the Association.

13)  New Business

13.1 Motion to Award Tender – Repairs to the Belliveau Cove Retaining Wall
A tender was issued for necessary repairs to the Belliveau Cove retaining wall. The closing date for the tender was Thursday, April 9, 2026, at 2:00 pm. A total of 5 bids were received. Following a review of the bids, it is the recommendation of both the CAO and the Director of Public Works that the tender be awarded to B & G Lombard Ltd. in the amount of $54,700 plus HST. Council agreed and made the following motion:

MOVED BY Councillor Réanne Cooper and SECONDED BY Councillor Danny Hill that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare award the tender for the repairs to the retaining wall in Belliveau Cove to B & G Lombard Ltd. in the amount of $54,700 plus HST and that these funds be taken from the Municipality`s Capital Reserve.
MOTION CARRIED

13.2 Motion to Appoint Community Representatives – EDIA Committee
There are currently two vacancies on the Municipality’s EDIA Committee. To fill these vacancies, a call for expressions of interest (EOI) was launched. Following a review of the applications, it is the recommendation of the EDIA Committee that Council appoint Sara Nemer Gonzalez and Jonathan Dukeshire to the Committee. Council agreed and made the following motion:

MOVED BY Councillor Danny Hill and SECONDED BY Councillor Réanne Cooper that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare appoint Sara Nemer Gonzalez and Jonathan Dukeshire to the EDIA Committee.
MOTION CARRIED

14) Closed Session

PROPOSED BY Councillor Nadine Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Steven Comeau that Council proceed to Closed Session.
MOTION CARRIED

Topics discussed
14.1 Personnel Matters

PROPOSED BY Councillor Réanne Cooper and SECONDED BY Councillor Steven Comeau that Council proceed to the Regular Council Meeting.
MOTION CARRIED

PROPOSED BY Councillor Carl Deveau and SECONDED BY Councillor Danny Hill that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare approve the new pay scale for the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) as presented on April 15, 2026.
MOTION CARRIED

15) Date and time of the next Regular Council Meeting
The next Regular Council Meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 7:00 pm.

16) Adjournment
MOVED BY Councillor Nadine Comeau to adjourn the meeting at 8:41 pm.

Submitted by:
Ashley Hanks
Executive Assistant