Council passes new maternity leave motion

By Mark Squibb/December 21, 2022

Mount Pearl councillors passed a motion last week that they hope will make a seat at their table more attractive for parents — or parents-to-be.

Councillor Jim Locke had made a notice of motion during a previous meeting that he would be bringing the motion forward at a future time. He made that motion during last week’s public meeting.

“The Corporate Services and Public Works Committee recommends adoption of the proposed amended Council Remuneration and Reimbursement Regulations, as attached, which, if adopted, will ensure that the City of Mount Pearl supports accessibility, diversity, and the inclusion and dignity of all people,” said Locke. “The amendment will also remove the need to obtain the discretionary approval of council prior to taking maternity or parental leave which approval would present a gap to full inclusivity, diversity and inclusion.”

Under the new policy, councillors will be given a maximum of 61 weeks leave, inclusive of the permitted, less than 3-month absence allowed for under the City of Mount Pearl Act. It can begin following the sixth month of pregnancy if the councillor requesting leave is the pregnant spouse, or also following birth or adoption.

Deputy Mayor Nicole Kieley seconded the motion.

“I am exceptionally proud, along with my colleagues here, to be introducing this today,” said Kieley. “The value of this, at its core, is absolutely inclusion and diversity.”

Kieley said such policies will ensure diversity within the council chambers.

Councillor Chelsea Lane found herself in a very good position to discuss the motion.

“I only just had a baby on Thursday, so it takes a barrier away from me personally as well,” said Lane. “And I know there’s probably lots of other people who are in my position who would love to be able to join something such as City council, but the fact that that barrier was there and is now removed, I think this is truly a step in the right direction, and it’s great to see that we’re preparing for the future. I’m very proud of this decision.”

Councillor Isabelle Fry noted Lane was the first ever sitting councillor to have a baby, and councillors expressed their congratulations to Lane and her family.

Lane hasn’t missed a committee or council meeting yet — sometimes attending with little Max in tow.

In an unusual turn, the Grinch was collecting donations, rather than trying to steal Christmas presents, in this past weekend’s Lion’s Club Santa Claus Parade in Mount Pearl. Mark Squibb photo

State of the art environmental technology paying off for Summit Centre

By Mark Squibb/December 9, 2022

The City of Mount Pearl is paying $79,750 to replace the system that monitors the pool’s water.

“It was determined that the Summit Pool water chemistry controllers required replacement to permit more effective and efficient monitoring of the pool’s water balance and its control systems,” explained councillor Isabelle Fry during last week’s meeting.

Council awarded the contract for the supply and delivery of pool water chemistry controllers to the lowest qualified bidder, Water & Ice North America.

Councillor Jim Locke asked whether it was the first time for the replacement of the controllers, as he had no memory of them being replaced in the past, and asked what the regular maintenance costs were.

Manager of Facilities Matthew Jones confirmed that it was indeed the first time replacing the system, and the new controllers are more advanced, and can be monitored remotely from a cell phone.

Later in the meeting, council also took a moment to celebrate two full years of continuously heating both Summit Centre Pools solely through recovered energy from the Glacier Eco-Chill System, which council said resulted in annual savings of approximately $65,000. Essentially, the energy normally removed from the Glacier’s ice surfaces during their operation is transferred as heat to the pools next door.

“To put that into perspective, that’s the equivalent of approximately 40 homes,” said Fry. “Council of the day invested in the technology at the time, and we’re now seeing the end results, and the savings, accordingly. So, that’s really exciting news. Two years of not using any heat to heat the pools. That’s awesome.”

Councillor Locke noted the news came with environmental gains as well as the financial gains and befits the City’s ‘green lens’ of looking at things.

“I and the mayor were a part of this decision-making process when this Eco-Chill came before the council table, and it was a tough sell, because there was an additional expenditure of capital upfront,” said Locke. “But the council of the day, and kudos to them, recognised both the environmental impact, the environmental savings, and the financial savings.”

Locke and Fry both tipped their hat to Jones, whom they said played a critical role in the process.

And while the City is saving money by recycling energy to reheat swimming pools, the price of pool chemicals has unfortunately increased.

“On October 11, 2022, the awarded vendor Bilroc Industries, the lowest bidder,

supplying the City of Mount Pearl with 205 litres of chlorine for the treatment of our pool water advised that they were no longer able to continue to supply this product for the tender price bid in January 2020,” said councillor Bill Antle. “The new chlorine price quoted by Bilroc for 205 litre units is $280.85 per unit, an increase from $182.45 per unit, which will have a total annual increase of $9,348.”

Council unanimously accepted the increase.

City hires outside contractor in case snow clearing crews don't want to work overtime

By Mark Squibb/December 9, 2022

For the first time in the city’s history, Mount Pearl council has tendered snow clearing to an outside contractor so that it’s unionized crews don’t have to work as much overtime.

“As our residents know, snow clearing in Mount Pearl is second to none in our region, and something we take great pride in,” Deputy Mayor Nicole Kieley said at last week’s council meeting. “We have a great level of service for our residents and really, truly work hard to maintain that level of service.”

She then noted a number of extreme circumstances the City faced over the last number of years, including adverse weather, such as the Snowmageddon of 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Then, we have to look at responding to staff in amongst these very difficult, demanding issues, who seek additional work-life balance and to opt out of overtime,” said Kiely. “This is a time we know that strain, mental health, and work-life balance has become more of a priority over the years — as it should be.”

The City also, of course, suffered through a labor strike this summer.

Kieley said that as a result of the latest collective agreement, the City will rely less on overtime by staff to better support employees’ work-life balance.

“So, for the first time in our city’s history, we’re doing things a little different and we’re opting to issue a tender for snow clearing services,” said Kieley. “While this has been done in all sorts of municipalities it is designed today to support our existing services and mitigate against the risk of decreased service levels caused by any of the concerns I’ve just mentioned. This is us creating a safety net to ensure our services are at the utmost but is also reflective of the realities in which we are living.”

Mayor Dave Aker noted the tender approval “amounts to a contingency, not quite an insurance policy.”

Director of Public Works Glen Dollimount said that prior to the start of the contract, staff will meet with the winning bidder, Farrell’s Excavating, to review service documents, staff expectations, and snow routes.

The contract is valued at $531,875, HST included, per year.

“There is going to be a learning curve here for sure,” said Dollimount. “But based on the past number of years I think that it is a very important part of a contingency plan in the event that we require extra equipment for our snow clearing.”

Both councillors Isaballe Fry and Jim Locke asked how the tender would work in relation to the work done by City staff, and Dollimount clarified that, essentially, the tender was budgeted as a contingency plan in case staff becomes overwhelmed with either COVID-19 or massive snowfall amounts, or do not wish to work overtime hours. Dollimount said the tender is based on yearly averages, and that the City may not spend the full amount.

Meanwhile, councillor Chelsea Lane reminded folks the winter parking ban would be soon coming into effect.

“It’s that time of year again,” said Lane. “As a reminder to the public, snow clearing regulations will come into effect starting December 1 through to March 31, 2023. An unattended vehicle is not permitted to be parked on any street or City- owned land within the City between the hours of 1:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. For further information including fine amounts, visit the City website. And so obviously, the weather is beginning to pick up out there, and snow will be coming and it’s very important that we abide by these regulations. Nobody wants to get a ticket this winter, so make sure you park in your driveway.”

On the heels of Lane’s reminder, Mayor Dave Aker noted that the good news at least, is that Santa Claus is coming to town, as Lane’s next item was a reminder of the upcoming Breakfast with Santa at the Reid Centre on Sunday, December 18th from 9 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Tickets will be $5 each, and can be purchased online beginning Wednesday, December 7 . Children under 2 are free, though no no meal or seat is provided.

“This is an event that is always very well attended and often sells out, so I remind residents, that if they are interested in going to see the big guy with their children, to make sure that they log on Wednesday to get their tickets because they will absolutely sell out,” said Lane.

The Mount Pearl Senior High Huskies captured the 4A High School Boys indoor soccer championship last weekend beating Holy Heart of Mary of St. John’s in the final. The team members, who are also all members of the Paradise Minor Soccer Association, include, from left: Coach Jonathan Healey, Matthew Burridge, Evan Stuckless, Kyle Button, Marcus Paterson, Brody Wright, Alex Manning and Coach Matt Hart. Missing from the photo is Luke Walsh. Kelley Button photo

Mount Pearl Intermediate’s Grade 9 boys volleyball team recently won the Newfoundland and Labrador Volleyball Association’s Grade 9 and Under Regional East Male Tier 2 competition. From left to right are coaches Claudette Warren and Natalie O'Donnell, and players Tyler Marsh, Gavin Penney, Jax Montague, Ethan Whalen, Nick Bishop, Luke Parrott, Jeffrey Pinsent, Jacob Fleet, Zach Earle, Blake Mullaley, Riley Hogan and coach Valerie Penney. Submitted photo

Summit Centre generator replacement delayed by COVID-19

By Mark Squibb/December 2, 2022

Mount Pearl council voted this week to replace a generator at the Summit Centre that went bust two years ago, and it could take another year on top of that for the unit to actually arrive.

“In December 2020 the Summit Centre’s Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) failed and was deemed unrepairable,” explained councillor Isabelle Fry. “I think everyone can remember that, when the Summit Centre was down for a period of time. It was determined that a new emergency lighting power source would be required to keep the facility open. So, our committee was advised that our electrical service contractor, Pro Circuit Electrical, was asked to source no less than three quotations on the generator unit, as well as a quotation for all electrical equipment, materials, and labour for the installation of the unit.”

That quote came in at $129,916, HST Included.

Fry said the lead time on the generator is about 50 to 60 weeks, so it will be about a year before the City receives the new generator.

Councillor Bill Antle questioned the delay in tendering the unit.

“If this happened in 2020, why did we wait until 2022 (to order one)?” asked Antle.

Matthew Jones, Manager of Facilities Maintenance, answered Antle’s inquiry.

“There was some time during COVID when we were delayed getting the engineering work done on the generator unit, and that delayed the process,” said Jones. “We’ve just been able to move this forward and get quotations.”

In the interim, the City has used a portable generator.

Council voted unanimously to award the supply and install contract for the new generator to Pro Circuit Electrical, as per the electrical service contract.

Legal bills continue to pile up at City Hall

By Mark Squibb/December 2, 2022

The ongoing legal battle between the City of Mount Pearl and two former councillors and the former CAO, as well as some legal help used this summer during collective bargaining with its union made for a list of hefty lawyers’ fees to be paid this week.

Six separate invoices, totalling over $136,350 for McInnes Coper’s legal services were up for approval during this week’s meeting.

“These are relating to the ongoing appeals (by the former councillors) and the collective bargaining support,” explained councillor Jim Locke.

The six invoices were amongst 19 invoices totaling over $987,450 up for payment.

In addition to the legal fees, there were two invoices from Canadian AV totaling over $17,000 for services rendered during Oktoberfest and City Days.

Council also approved payment of an invoice to The Idea Factory for $35,075 for a ‘cultural attraction’ promotional video filmed during City Days. Locke noted that ACOA actually funded 75 percent of that project.

Locke also spoke to an invoice totalling $13,656 for consultant Thomas Cooper in relation to the development of the City’s strategic plan.

“We’ve been working hard on this,” said Locke. “It’s a little delayed, but we do have some great initiatives moving forward, and we’re all excited to jump on this again in the new year. So, our residents and the public can continue to look forward to hearing some of our ideas in early 2023.”

Other invoices for payment included the St. Johns Transportation Commission for October’s Metrobus transit fees ($45,328), Ignite Technology for IT security ($41,400), and St. John’s fire protection fees for November ($451,179).

In addition, to those invoices, council also published its payment register for other expenses incurred by City staff. For the latest time period, those expenses totaled some $305,188 and included everything from staff meals to office furniture and parts for trucks.

The payment register is posted with each council agenda.

Mount Pearl students do well in scholarship competition

Mount Pearl Senior High graduate Abby Gosse is the latest Constable W.C. Moss Scholarship winner.

The prize was among a number announced last week when the Province released its annual list of Electoral District and Centenary of Responsible Government Scholarships, all valued at $1,000, as well as one Junior Jubilee Scholarship, valued at $2,500.

Some 201 recent high school graduates are receiving scholarships this year.

as part of the Provincial Scholarship Program last week, and a number of Mount Pearl Senior The Moss scholarship is awarded to a child of a member of the RNC or RCMP with the highest scholarship score other than the Junior Jubilee Scholarship recipient.

Apart from Gosse, Mount Pearl Senior High graduates Lauryn Pitcher, Brooke LeDevehat, Eric Goulding, Lauren Button, and Claire Dinn were all awarded Electoral District Scholarships. Over at O’Donel High, Isabella Burry, Kobe Loveless, Sarah Earle, and Robert Parsons also earned Electoral District Scholarships.

The scholarships are awarded to the three high school graduates in each electoral district who achieve the highest Department of Education public exam scores.

Mount Pearl Senior High graduates Claire Murphy, Keira Gullage, and Matthew Earle earned Centenary for Responsible Government Scholarships. O’Donel graduates Ryan Murphy, Meredith Hudson, Lucas Pike, Claire Clifford, Lucas Daugherty, and Karen Greek also received the scholarships.