Breaking bread together

Mount Pearl churches combine efforts to share the loaf

By Mark Squibb | Vol 7 No. 25 (Dec. 19, 2019)

A collection of business owners and church members in Mount Pearl have been working together over the last several weeks to provide a free community supper weekly to their fellow citizens who may be in need.

Each Wednesday for the last seven weeks, a community chef cooks up a meal, which volunteers from that week’s host church help prepare and serve to upwards of 150 people from the community.

The City of Mount Pearl donates the use of Park Place for the suppers.

“It’s really a huge, huge community project,” explained Scott Hillier of Coffee Maters, a member of the community supper committee and one of the volunteer chefs. “The host church gets the volunteers to come in and help serve the meal and help clean up.”

Hillier, who helped organize the effort, said the current arrangement allows everybody to get involved, without just one group having to bear a massive burden.

“I knew that the churches wanted to do something like this, and I knew that for any one church to take this on would be huge, because you need so many volunteers,” said Hillier. “Only one church has to host one night during this seven-week period. So, even if we move forward in doing it once a week, you’re only asking each church to do it once every seven weeks.”

He said that this not only prevents volunteers from getting burnt out, but also prevents people from closely associating the supper with any one domination.

“It’s not ran by a church; it’s ran by a group of churches in the city,” said Hillier. “And all are welcome.”

Hillier said that it’s a diverse crowd that come out for the suppers, including families, the working poor, youth, and seniors. Some come out just to be able eat a meal in the company of others.

“I’ve always believed in giving back. And I know that as a single dad and coming from a single-parent family, I know that some people struggle really, really bad,” he said.

The first supper was held on Sept. 11, and the last one on Dec. 18, with the committee hoping to decide in January if the suppers will continue into the new year.

No tax increases in $53M budget

City to buy its first electric vehicle, update work fleet

By Mark Squibb | Vol 7 No. 25 (Dec. 19, 2019)

There’ll be no residential or commercial tax increases, and mil rates will remain the same, at 7.4 mils for residential and 11.5 mils for commercial, in Mount Pearl’s balanced 2020 budget.

Council approved the budget during a special meeting of council on Dec. 17, just two weeks until the eve of the new year. By law, all municipalities in Newfoundland must pass balanced budgets before the end of December.

“I think, as I was quoted in the press release, it’s a very practical, and yet progressive budget,” said Mayor Dave Aker. “It fits the times, the economic times, and I think it fits the pocketbook of our residents. Budget 2020 forges ahead on the goals outlined in our strategic plan. It is representative of a city that strikes the balance of practicality and progress. This budget invests in maintaining our strong service standards, while continuing to plan and build for future generations.”

The City will invest $3.8 million next year to replace loaders, trucks, and service vehicles used for snow clearing, pothole repair, and asphalt and curb repair. It will also buy its first ever electric vehicle.

The City also plans to spend $400,000 on economic development, including a new Donovan’s Reimagination Plan, a City Centre Revitalization Plan with a focus on the Waterford River, and a Foreign Direct Investment Strategy, over $170,000 in climate change initiatives, and $750,000 on the installation of new finance, asset management, inventory, permit and payroll systems.

Hikers will be pleased to hear that $125,000 will be spent on renewed signage, as per recommendations in the Trails Master Plan.

The City has allocated $460,000 to operating subsidies for organizations including Admiralty House, Frosty Festival, the Seniors Independence Group and the Mount Pearl Sport Alliance, and has allocated $50,000 for community events such as City Days, Oktoberfest and Best in Mount Pearl awards.

The budget projects that 33 percent of the City’s revenue will come from residential property tax ($17 million), followed closely by business tax, which will supply 24 percent (or just under $13 million.)

As to expenditures, the City will spend it’s largest chunk of it’s budget,24 percent (or, about $13 million), on transportation services, including snow and ice control, vehicle fleet management, street and traffic lights, roads and streets, engineering, and public transit, followed by general government, which includes corporate services, employee benefits and payroll, which weighs in at 17 percent (just short of $9 million).