Locke hopes to continue focusing his 'green lens'

By Chris Lewis | July 22, 2021

A familiar face will be back on the municipal ballot in Mount Pearl this September.

For the last 14-years, Jim Locke has served as a member of Mount Pearl City council, including most recently as Deputy Mayor, and when occasion warrants, as Acting Mayor.

Oddly enough, Locke first entered the political realm almost on a whim. He admits local politics was not on his radar at the time, but was told by a friend that he would make a good fit for council during a byelection back in 2007.

After mulling it over with his wife, Locke decided to it might be a worthwhile endeavour.

“It was very heart warming to see all the support that would come in, even back then,” Locke said.

Now, 14-years later, Locke is able to look back on many things the various incarnations of council have accomplished over the years. That, and his evergreen to-do list, are two of the main reasons he’s decided to run again, he says.

“My mantra is ‘thoughts become things,’ said Locke. “Anything that has been developed, someone had to think that up at one time. So, it’s just very rewarding to have seven people around the council table having such a great influence on the direction our city will take. The question is always, how do we better the City of Mount Pearl? I may come up with an idea first, suggest it, and at the end of the day with my council colleagues, the final idea that comes off the table is a modified version that stems from everyone’s perspective.”

Locke said one of the biggest lessons he’s learned on council is that in general no change is immediate. Some initiatives he likened to the planting of a seed, needing time and commitment to fully blossom.

And there are still plenty of projects in the hopper that he would like to see come to fruition.

Locke said there is a sense of pride and commitment to the place he lives.

“The heart of Mount Pearl is the sense of community living,” he said. “People look out for one another. Growing up, my parents did a wonderful job of raising us, but they didn’t do it alone. It was the community at large that did it. Growing up playing sports, being involved in the scouting program, all those things were possible because at the time they were run by volunteers. People in the community, out of the goodness of their heart, built the city from the ground up.”

Locke said his two sons, who now have children of their own, grew up in a similar environment and reaped the benefits of Mount Pearl’s community spirit. Now, he hopes to see his grandchildren afforded the same opportunities. He wants to use his position on council to ensure all families in the city have the same opportunities to enjoy life.

Locke says he is also happy to have provided council with “ a green lens” over the course of the last 14 years. When a decision is made regarding a project, he explained, there are usually three ways to look at the cost: the financial cost, the social cost, and the environmental cost.

“I feel like I’ve brought a little more emphasis on that environmental cost,” he said.

Locke is particularly proud that Mount Pearl residents now use far less water per capita than when he started on council. Back then, the City was often referred to as a ‘water hog’ due to the amount of water residents purchased from the regional water supply – some eight billion litres annually.

Thanks to the purchase of a water correlator, the City was able to discover a number of leaks in its water system. Mount Pearl has since managed to reduce its water consumption on a yearly basis by nearly half, and continues to make use of its correlator to address other water issues.

Although the correlator cost about $40,000 at the time, it has gone on to save the city much more than that in water consumption costs all while reducing Mount Pearl’s impact on the environment.

Locke said the City has had other accomplishments that people may not be fully aware of such as the purchases of electric and hybrid vehicles for city staff, the urban renewal and forestry initiative, and even the purchase of a wood chipper that helps rejuvenate the forests while reducing diesel fuel consumption by shipping less wood down to the Robin Hood Bay landfill.

“It’s really been an honour to serve, and I’ve loved it for these past 14 years,” Locke said. “I’m looking forward to the next council, and hopefully I’m able to work together with them to keep bringing these opportunities to the city.”

Posted on July 28, 2021 .

Old Placentia Road getting new asphalt

By Chris Lewis | July 22, 2021

Mount Pearl City council has approved a contract to  give part of Old Placentia Road a facelift. Council approved the nearly half a million dollars worth of work during its July 13 meeting.

Deputy Mayor Jim Locke presented the recommendation from the City’s infrastructure and public works committee to accept the lowest bid, which came from Modern Paving Ltd, in the amount of $461,840 including HST.

Locke said there are two distinct sections of work being completed. The first stretches from Richard Nolan Drive to Emerald Drive and Murley Drive, consisting of milling and paving along each driving lane in that 600-square metre area. That, he said, comes out to about 325-tonnes of surface asphalt.

“It also involves the removal and replacement of certain sections of our curb, gutter and sidewalk,” he added.

In turn, this means the work will include the application of an asphalt tack coat, leveling course coat, the adjustment and replacement of manholes, catch basins, ditch inlets, valve chambers, and water main valves.

Essentially, he said, this basically includes the entirety of the street infrastructure.

“We’re going to do the full meal deal here,” he said.

The second section of work runs from Emerald Drive and Murley Drive, down Old Placentia Road to the Commonwealth Road intersection. This also includes some mill and fill with asphalt in certain areas.

Posted on July 28, 2021 .

No blocks on your crosswalk? Here's why, says council

By Chris Lewis | July 8, 2021

The City is looking for more answers regarding their crosswalks.

During the most recent Mount Pearl City council meeting on Tuesday, June 29, councillor Bill Antle spurred a discussion regarding the City’s crosswalks, which he says have been a point of contention for many residents who have reached out to him.

The number one question he said he has heard on the subject is when exactly crosswalks in the City will be finished and painted, noting that in some areas there is naught but two white lines with nothing filled in to signify it as a proper crosswalk.

Deputy Mayor Jim Locke stated that painting had been done on the City’s rainbow crosswalks. As for the two solid line issue, Locke said that is something they had done in years past as well, deciding against using the regular crosshatch design seen on other regular crosswalks.

This, he said, was a cost-saving measure and was a standard practice country-wide.

Antle was still concerned about the crosswalk located along Park Avenue, where the trail intersects with Park Place.

“There’s only two white lines there and residents tell me it’s hard to see with the lights flashing,” Antle said.

This is something Locke felt would be appropriate to bring back to the City’s public works committee.

Mayor Dave Aker chimed in as well, suspecting there was a little more to the double line crosswalk issue.

“My understanding was when you cross a road that is perpendicular to an intersection, it’s just the white lines,” he said. “But, when you traverse a major road, quite often the blocks are put there.”

As such, Antle felt as though this particular crosswalk at the very least needed those crosshatch blocks, to which Locke agreed would be brought back to the committee for further review and discussion.

Aker also highlighted a crosswalk at the corner of Smallwood Drive that had the blocks instead of just two white lines, furthering his earlier point.

Locke stated the next meeting of the committee would be held on the following day, June 30, at which point the department would take a closer look at some of the crosswalks.

Posted on July 28, 2021 .

Mount Pearl City Days a go

By Chris Lewis | July 8, 2021

City Days are a go in Mount Pearl.

The future of various celebratory events in the province are still up for discussion in many cases as the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic remain in effect to a certain extent.

In the City of Mount Pearl however, things are looking up for those looking to get active during this summer season.

Although the City’s Memorial Day celebrations had to take a bit of a virtual spin this year, City Days are - as of now - going ahead to a certain degree as councillor Isabelle Fry detailed during the most recent meeting of City council.

“A lot of people have been asking about that,” she said. “We’re planning some activities, but unfortunately we can’t do the full scale that we’re accustomed to. But, we are still going to celebrate.”

While it may be a little different this year, City Days in Mount Pearl have a full list of things to do in and around Mount Pearl during the week of July 16.

Fry said the full schedule will hopefully include something for everyone.

The week kicks off with a senior’s social on July 16, followed by a family drive-in movie that night hosted at the Glacier Arena.

A “princess and superhero” picnic breakfast for youth will take place the following morning at St. David’s Park.

Also on the 17th, residents can expect Centennial Square to be quite an active place. Named “Find Your Centre Day,” The City is planning a day full of live entertainment, food trucks, and sidewalk sales for residents and visitors alike, where they can also learn more about Mount Pearl’s centre city revitalization plan.

Later that night, Centennial Park will be lit up in plenty of colours for a “Pride in the Park” which will feature a drag performance from drag queen Shea Muah.

Bringing the events to a close, July 18 will begin with an afternoon tea event for senior’s at the Admiralty House Gardens, and a drive-in bingo game that afternoon starting at 4:00 in the Glacier parking lot.

“We still have lots to celebrate, and we’re looking forward to seeing residents out and about enjoying it in a safe manner,” Fry said.

Posted on July 28, 2021 .

Mount Pearl commends former councillor Lucy Stoyles

By Chris Lewis | July 8, 2021

Former councillor, and current MHA, Lucy Stoyles got a bit of recognition from Mount Pearl city council this past week.

Council members in the City of Mount Pearl got together in the council chambers again for the first time since January on Tuesday, June 29, having done most meetings virtually via Zoom. This meeting, however, came with a guest appearance by a familiar face: Lucy Stoyles, who had served as a member of City council for some 25-years prior to being elected to the position of MHA for Mount Pearl-Southlands.

Stoyles’ presence at council this night was not necessarily as an MHA, though. She was there on the 29th following an invitation from council, who had a plaque prepared for her in recognition for her lengthy service on council.

Stoyles was first elected to the council chambers in 1996 during a by-election, and was commended for her longevity and lifetime’s worth of effort by Mayor Dave Aker that night as he looked around the chambers to see Stoyles’ face on a number of pictures hung on the wall featuring City counicls of the past.

“Serving is not just here in the Chamber … Some of the work is done here, but much of it is done typically behind the scenes at public and private events,” Aker said of Stoyles’ work as a councillor. “We’re so proud of you, MHA Stoyles.”

Stoyles herself took some time during the evening to speak to her time on council, which she referred to as something of a family setting for her at this point. She said she spent all those years looking forward to making an appearance in the council chambers on Tuesday nights.

With municipal elections coming up, Stoyles said she had met and spoken to a number of people who were thinking about running for City council in September. To those people, Stoyles had a few words of wisdom.

“I always send them to Mona (Lewis) first. She’s the person to talk to about getting involved in public life,” Stoyles said, commending the work of the City clerk with whom she worked closely with during her municipal career.

“If you think you can do this, well, if you want it you can. But you’ve got to work at it. You can’t just put your name on a ballot and think it’s going to happen. This is time consuming, and is something where you’ve got to give it your all. The best person for anyone to go to is not actually me, it’s Mona. She will be able to give people all the information they need.”

Stoyles was presented with a plaque from council that night.

That plaque read “In recognition of your noteworthy accomplishments and advocacy, spanning 25-years, which contributed to improving Mount Pearl for all who live and work here with a strong sense of home. Thank you for your dedication to further building our progressive, independent City.”

Posted on July 28, 2021 .

Football legend Herb Jenkins honoured by MPSA

By Chris Lewis | June 10, 2021

The Mount Pearl Soccer Association has a new lifetime member – Newfoundland soccer standout Herb Jenkins.

Jenkins’s passion for soccer dates back more than six decades. The Mount Pearl resident was introduced to the sport playing pickup games on the streets with his friends, before graduating to all star status with the Guards soccer organization in the 1960s, playing on both junior and senior teams and even serving as captain with some gold medal winning squads in the Provincial Junior Soccer Tournaments of 1964 and 1968.

After his playing days were over, Jenkins carved a second career in soccer as a coach and official. He taught referee clinics in Mount Pearl throughout the 1970s and went on to become the first person in Newfoundland to be named a national referee after taking a refereeing course in England, taught by World Cup soccer officials.

While he started his soccer playing career in St. John’s, Jenkins later became synonymous with the development of the sport in Mount Pearl.

“I took teams from Mount Pearl across Canada, playing in different provinces, brought them over to England and Wales … I’ve been everywhere, man,” Jenkins said, jokingly referring to the Hank Snow classic country song.

Jenkins’ U-12 and U-16 Mount Pearl teams won provincial and Atlantic championships. He also managed the Newfoundland team that played in the 1981 Canada Games, held in Ontario.

“I just really love the sport. Just absolutely love it,” Jenkins said.

Although Jenkins has been inducted into Halls of Fame in the past, he said the event held on June 3rd to induct him into the Mount Pearl Soccer Association as a life member was one of the most humbling events of his life.

“I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed it,” Jenkins said, adding how impressed and honoured he was by the recognition.

Posted on June 18, 2021 .

Aker outlines future 'City Centre' during Mayor's Outlook

By Chris Lewis | June 10, 2021

Mount Pearl Mayor Dave Aker provided residents with an outlook on the City’s future this past week.

The annual presentation, offered this year online instead of in-person because of Covid-19 restrictions, was hosted, as usual, by the Mount Pearl - Paradise Chamber of Commerce.

Aker said the city’s strategic plan had to be adapted over the past two years to deal with the unique challenges posed by the pandemic.

“As we continue to do things differently, health and safety remain paramount,” Aker said. “We continue to guide our decisions and planning for the future with these considerations top of mind.”

The mayor made clear the City is still committed to ‘digital transformation.’ This includes the rolling out of new payroll, taxation, utility billing, and accounts payable systems – all of which was being done by staff working from home.

He described the City as becoming a more connected and accessible organization.

Over the next year, Aker added, the City hopes to work toward an improved permitting software and asset management system.

Another item in the strategic plan, Aker noted, is citizen engagement.

“We actively participated in food drives and fundraisers, and continued our investments in community groups and associations,” Aker said. “The business community supported essential (Covid testing) workers who stood on the front lines in our city, providing meals and snacks to those workers in true Newfoundland and Labrador winter conditions.”

This year, a citizen engagement platform titled “Hey Mount Pearl” was launched, which got a warm reception, he added. It gave residents a chance to provide feedback on initiatives such as the City centre revitalization plan, and the 2021 budget.

The City’s urban forestry plan, Aker reported, was also a success last year, resulting in the planting of more trees. Over the course of this summer, he said, the City will spend some $100,000 on tree planting.

After consulting the general public, Aker said, the City found its residents desiring more places to enjoy the outdoors. That resulted in trail lighting for Power’s Pond, and a focus put on grooming trails throughout the winter.

“We’ve also been focused on reducing energy consumption, both to support our climate change action plan, and to decrease our overall electricity costs,” Aker said.

From this, the City has projected some $70,000 being saved in electricity costs –something he sees as a major positive in the face of increased costs to come once Muskrat Falls comes onstream.

‘Find Your Centre’ is another initiative Aker touted. In recognition that change is happening, Aker described a slowing in the city’s population growth compared to previous years and an increase in the average age of its citizens – a challenge faced by the entire province.

As well, Aker said, economic and business activity has shifted with the boom and bust of the oil industry. The City’s strategic plan is meant to address those challenges.

The Find Your Centre project will, Aker said, set the stage for the revitalization of Mount Pearl’s core over the next two or three decades.

“It’s a long-term vision that outlines strategies for public and private real investment that will encourage the city’s centre to grow and thrive well into the future,” Aker said.

The plan is rooted in what he described as the three Rs: recreation, relaxation, and retail and will promote developments that encompass those three ideas.

“While conceptual, this framework will inform and guide decision making in future development in the city’s centre,” said Aker. “In turn, this will ensure the city’s centre becomes and remains a distinct core that contributes to a rich quality of life, a strong sense of place and a prosperous economy.”

A concept model of the future City centre will be on display at City Hall in the coming months, he said.

Posted on June 18, 2021 .

Mount Pearl joins the mail-in voting list for City election

By Chris Lewis | June 6, 2021

Mount Pearl’s voters will have more voting options this coming election.

The municipal election is slated for September.

Like other municipalities, because of Covid-19, Mount Pearl is making plans to offer more voting options besides in-person vote casting at the ballot box.

At Tuesday’s public meeting, councillor Bill Antle said this election will feature mail-in voting for the first time.

In order for that to work, there were some things council needed to iron out.

The first of those was to approve the City’s entry into a four-year agreement with Datafix for the arrangement of an election management system. This will come at a cost of $41,700 plus HST.

“This will ensure that we can have in-person voting and mail-in voting,” Antle said.

Deputy Mayor Jim Locke questioned why it needs to be a four-year agreement.

City Clerk Mona Lewis explained a four-year agreement is not out of the ordinary.

The City, she said, maintains the voter list for four years in the event there is a by-election in between regular elections.

“We’d use the same voter list, and would need the same support that Datafix would provide,” she said.

Antle’s next motion regarded the dates for nomination of candidates. Nominations, Antle said, will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 24 and 25 from the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Lastly, making the third motion of the night, Antle put forward a motion following a recommendation from the corporate and economic development committee to hold an advance poll on Saturday, Sept. 18 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The three motions carried unanimously.

Posted on June 10, 2021 .

Mount Pearl entrepreneur goes old school for share of games market

By Chris Lewis | June 6, 2021

A Mount Pearl start-up is trying to get people around the kitchen table again.

In a world where most things take place in front of a screen, Brad Hiscock and his company Convivial Games are hoping to see people sit back with a few cards in their hands again.

The members of the Convivial team see their games all the way through, starting from the ideas phase, right up to the playtesting stage. Hiscock described them as designing board games “from scratch.”

Although Convivial Games has not yet released a game onto the market, they plan to open things up with two games that feature very different styles of gameplay: Feuds & Favours, a strategic card game with a medieval theme, and Free Agents, a Eurogame akin to Settlers of Cataan but with a hockey twist.

“The strategy card game has you in direct opposition with other players, whereas (Free Agents) is more about you trying to reach a more personal goal before other people,” Hiscock explained. “Those are the more immediate differences between them aside from the fact that one has a board and one does not.”

Hiscock, originally from Conception Bay South, came up with the idea for Feuds & Favours about a decade ago. At the time, he said, he thought the game would be a good bit of fun for him and his family, but eventually saw an opportunity to make something bigger.

“I just played it a little bit in my friend circle before putting it aside,” said Hiscock. “As I started developing it and bringing other people around to play it, I realized it was something everyone could get into. Creative-wise, I feel like I’m always at a project. Always keeping myself busy.”

The process of bringing a game from idea to manufacturing to market is not easy.

Hiscock compared it to producing a t-shirt, explaining that while the final product may look simple, there were a lot of moving parts that went into the shirt’s creation that are not immediately obvious to the person wearing it.

Hiscock admitted he is not an artist but still required art in order for Feuds & Favours to be a visually appealing game. So, he has been outsourcing that work to artists, all of which played a role in the game’s finalization.

Now, in only a few short weeks, Feuds & Favours will be gearing up for the next milestone in its creation: crowdfunding.

That’s a popular method of finding the funds to complete a project, allowing would-be buyers to aid in the financial costs of getting a project like Feuds & Favours off the ground. In return, when said project is complete and available, those early investors will be provided with things dependent on how much they contribute. In some cases this may include having their name credited somewhere on the project, or having access to early versions of a game.

For this, Hiscock has turned to Kickstarter, a crowdfunding website and plans to launch that part of the project in the coming weeks.

As for the board games themselves, Hiscock said the community has only grown in the face of an increasingly technological world.

Although he said this may be chalked up to the extra time people have been spending indoors during the COVID-19 pandemic, board games have seen an exponential increase in popularity over the course of the last 10 years.

“You’re seeing games like Wingspan or even Settlers of Cataan – which started with crowdfunding – becoming household names now just as much as your Hasbro games would be, which is really nice to see,” Hiscock said. “I find that people are starting to bond over these games in a way that wasn’t really done before. I think board games have only expanded, and a lot more people are coming together over a table than they were even a decade, two decades ago.”

Posted on June 10, 2021 .

City approves $103 per hour standby rate to NL Power

By Chris Lewis | May 27, 2021

The City of Mount Pearl is preparing to pay NL Power technicians some $100 an hour for work on city facilities, but some councillors have questions.

During council’s May 18 meeting, Deputy Mayor Jim Locke raised the subject of upgrades at Badcock Place, which involve some NL Power infrastructure underground.

While preparing to upgrade some of its own infrastructure, Locke said, the City reached out to NL Power to see if the company was interested in upgrading its own infrastructure in the area as well, rather than having to come back down the road and dig into the road once again.

In response, the City received a quote acceptance form, allowing an on-site technician from NL Power to be on standby during the work while the City comes close or adjacent to the utility’s equipment.

That form, Locke explained, allowed for a technician to be on site during trenching at a standby rate of $103.50 per hour, with the overtime standby rate reaching $139.45 per hour.

The contract schedule estimates about 40-days at 10-hours per day, coming to a lump sum estimate of $43,000, plus HST.

“This is the upper limit of what it could cost if the technician was on site for the full 40-days, but we don’t anticipate that,” Locke clarified. “It’s just, when we’re doing work in the area and we come upon their underground services, or if they’re there doing work on their own services, it’s at those times that this technician would be required to be on site. But, this is the limit of what would be expected if they were there every day.”

Locke recommended approval of the agreement, with Mayor Dave Aker stating he saw it as a good thing.

Councillor Bill Antle, however, had some concerns.

“They’re going to charge us $103 an hour just to stand by in case something goes wrong, is that how that works?” Antle asked.

It was actually Gerry Antle, the City’s Director of Infrastructure and Public Works, who came with an answer.

The director said while it was technically a standby rate, the technician would be there and expected to do inspection services for work on the infrastructure that the City does not have the expertise to do.

Director Antle added that, if during the inspections, NL Power finds more work for them to do, it will not fall back to the City to pay for it.

“The infrastructure piece that’s being done on Badcock Place is being done through our contractor,” he said, “Newfoundland Power is just providing the materials. So all the materials, the conduit, and all of the connections are being done by Newfoundland Power.”

Director Antle said when the City is doing work on its streets and need to call NL Power, it is because the work is being done on the company’s services and the City does not get charged.

Councillor Antle, meanwhile, welcomed the infrastructure work getting under way. He said he was simply skeptical about how it was being done.

Director Antle also stated that while the City will be upgrading NL Power services along the way, it is actually something that would have been done far into the future if NL Power were to simply follow their own schedule, and had the City not reached out before starting the work along Badcock Place.

“This is upgrading ahead of time,” he added. “We’ve asked for it to be done and coordinated with our work. So, it’s our cost.”

The motion to approve Locke’s motion carried unanimously.

Posted on June 4, 2021 .