Hartland municipal council briefs

April 3 meeting sees mayor get award, discussions on tourism, unsightly premises

By Sandra Hanson

Platinum Jubilee Medal presented to mayor Carleton MLA and New Brunswick Education and Early Childhood Development Minister

Bill Hogan attended Hartland council’s April 3 meeting to recognize Mayor Tracey Demerchant for her service to the community and province.

“It is my pleasure,” said Hogan, “to be here tonight to present Mayor Tracey Demerchant the Queen Elizabeth 2nd Platinum Jubilee medal in recognition of her contribution to the Province of New Brunswick.”

Demerchant thanked Hogan for the honour.

“I consider it a great privilege to serve as mayor for Hartland, and I appreciate the confidence the council has put behind me,” she said. “I hope that together we can continue to do great things for our town.”

Tourism website development deferred

With the loss of the Tourism and Economic Development position, town staff asked council to defer the development of their proposed tourism website.

In response to questions about a replacement, CAO Rob Webber explained that the position will remain unfilled for now because of the deficit.

He said that the Western Valley Regional Service Commission (WVRSC) is now doing more with tourism. They are providing some of the services lost with the termination of Hartland’s tourism position. He added the website would not generate enough revenue to justify the cost.

“Because of our lack of restaurants, shops, and motels, like you’d see in a place like Saint

Andrews, a tourism website for us isn’t as necessary,” he said.

Webber explained that the WVRSC is considering creating a regional tourism website featuring Hartland.

“If that happens, we’ll be aggressive in getting ourselves in there and sharing what we have to offer,” he said. Unsightly premises enforcement coming soon

Hartland updated its Unsightly Premises Act to reflect the added power in the province’s Local Governance Act.

In 2017, New Brunswick passed the Local Governance Act to replace the Municipalities Act.

The new act contained expanded provisions regarding dangerous and unsightly premises, including municipal responsibilities. Since the Town of Hart -