I am very pleased to advise that the Seniors’ Residence in Mount Uniacke is finally coming together and improvements are being made.  Thanks very much to Ed Lake, the government representative who has been working very diligently to assist us with improvements to the seniors’ living quarters.

The following e-mail was received from the Assistant District Manager of Dept of Community Services out of Middleton in response to my many concerns/questions since this “project” started almost 3 years ago.  There was a meeting held on    Jan 8 at the seniors’ residence.  I was not available to attend the meeting but did ask to be kept in the loop.

“You asked about notification:

We are notified of a power outage from our fire alarm monitoring company, of all power outages.  The person who is sent to the building for a fire watch during a power outage would be a Housing Authority employee and they could be coming from either Hants West or Kings County.  They usually work 8 hour shifts.  If we couldn't get there we would contact the fire department.

You also asked about lighting:

There is emergency lighting installed in the building.  It meets the building code. 

The meeting took place on Jan 8/10.  The tenants were advised that the water has now been tested and all results were favorable.  They were advised the water is now able to be consumed and that water delivery would stop          January 15/10. The water will be tested monthly for the next 6 months.  Copies of the most recent water test results are being sent to those tenants that wanted them.  They were also advised that a generator is scheduled in the upcoming year and there was $1000 available for furnishings for the common room.  It was decided by the tenants they would like to get a recliner or a couple of swivel rockers.  One of the tenants agreed to do some shopping and will be working with Janet to get these furnishings.“ 

We will keep our eye on this residence to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

The “special” hangers for our community are on order as mentioned in previous Newsletters and should be ready in the spring for placing on the selected poles.  It has been decided that there were too many flower pots and not enough people to help with the maintenance so another surprise is in the making for our community.  The hangers are unique enough that they could hang alone and still be great but with different thoughts swirling around in people’s heads we are sure the community will like what we hope to finish in the coming spring and summer.

Council is off to a roaring start for 2010 and now that I understand things more and don’t feel like I’m in a humungous vacuum, I hope things will move a little quicker to bring our community “up to snuff” with the rest of the municipality.

The mailbox requirements for our community have not been

forgotten as we continue going through the processes to have

many of the group boxes replaced and/or moved to safer locations.  The Canada Post representative I have been dealing with over the last year has been very helpful in working through the myriad of rules and regulations and we are closer now than ever to having new group mailboxes that don’t leak, will open when you want them opened and will be made safer for all users.  The following report was received from Frank this week: 

"I met with Brad from DOT today.  The Long Lake Rd/East Uniacke site didn't pass.  He sait didn't meet the criteria of being 30 m from an intersection.  The area on Long Lake Rd on either side would pass it on the left side or stop sign side.  It is 30 m down the road minimum and on the right side, 20 m from the light pole (less than the 30 because of the way the road curves.)

Beamish is approved as a site.

For DOT on a gravel road the two main criterion are 30 m from an intersection and 6.1 m from the center of the road.  

I also got an area approved on MacKenzie Lane but it has to be finalized.

I took him to the CMB site at 211 . Uniacke Rd and he's agreed to the suggested upgrade.

I got a signed permit from Uniacke Pizz to place a CMB so I'll put the work order in ASAP.

Also, I went to a large site on Uniacke Mines Rd - 6 GMBs.  I'll have to get DOT to visit it but I'm certain it will meet the criteria.  To meet the 6.1 m from the center of the road criteria I'll lhave to place the CMBs to the left.

I spoke to 5 customers when I was there and they all seemed very pleased with the upgrade to CMB.

Of the 523 customers in GMBs on the two rural routes, the abobve site would upgrade service to 150.  If in the end, I can place one on Long Lake Rd., it brings it to 171 or roughly 1/3 of the total.

                                                                          Regards, Frank Sullivan

                                                                          Delivery Planning, Canada Post

                                                                          Ph:  902-494-4001  ext 44156

                                                                          Fax: 902-494-4784

                                                 e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it       "

Thanks Frank.

I will be speaking with the residents of Long Lake Road regarding their 

GMB/CMB (group mailbox/Community mailbox) to confirm the 

selected/safer location is satisfactory to the residents, advise you of 

same and get it replaced/installed ASAP.            Rosanne

With all the latest media coverage about Kings Transit expanding and Acadian Lines dropping one of three buses to the Valley Region it has enhanced the feasibility of bus routes running to/from HRM through Mount Uniacke/Lakelands to/from Windsor and beyond.  Last year the topic was brought forward to council and reports/presentations have been made by Municipal staff to council regarding this possibility with the latest presentation being made as recently as Jan 20, 2010.  There is government funding available if all requirements are met and it’s time Mount Uniacke was “put on the map” and earmarked for receipt of this funding before it goes elsewhere.  Yes, we have tried to go this route a couple of times over the last 20 or so years and it’s still a dream waiting to be grasped by our community, but the dream is closer than it has ever been to becoming a reality.  We must make attempts to be linked to other parts of the province.

We are almost on the brink of good news for the youth of our community and it is something that I have dreamt about for many, many years.  It is a long, hard road and there is still a lot of work to be done but the wheels are turning and once more definite information is known, the information will begin to be released and the plans will be put forward.  It will require some work from the youth but in the end it will be more than worth it.

There are many other projects being worked on and they all have priorities. The sequencing of them will be determined by the funding, the community’s assistance and drive as well as support from every corner of this community. 

Everything is doable if we believe!

Rosanne Bland,

Councilor District 12,

Mt. Uniacke