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Future of Service NB location remains unclear Province yet to renew lease at Bicentennial Place By Jim Dumville
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he future of Service New Brunswick’s office in downtown Woodstock remains unclear, but a department spokesperson said all voices will be heard before the government makes any decision on a possible relocation of the office. “Absolutely, no decisions have been made,” said Valerie Kilfoil, communications director for Service New Brunswick. Kilfoil told the River Valley Sun the lease expired on its space in Bicentennial Place, located on King Street in the heart of Woodstock’s downtown core. With the lease expired, she said, Service New Brunswick is simply “doing its due diligence” as it considers the best option moving forward. The issue came to light at the Jan. 27 council meeting when a letter from Woodstock Business Improvement Corporation Inc. president John Thompson, raising con-
cerns about the future of Service New Brunswick, was read into the record. In his letter to council, Thompson stressed the importance of the Service New Brunswick offices to the downtown business community and urged the town council to express its concern to the province. Thompson told the River Valley Sun he is not sure who made the decision, or why it was made, but it was made without any consultation with Woodstock officials. While the provincial department has not officially announced any plans to move Service New Brunswick offices Thompson is confident about the accuracy of the information they received that such a plan is under serious consideration. Thompson said the pushback against such a decision is widespread. “Everyone I talk to think this is a terrible idea,” he said. Following the suggestion in Thompson’s letter, the town immediately raised its concerns with
Premier Blaine Higgs and Service New Brunswick Minister Sherry Wilson. Mayor Art Slipp said the minister and Service New Brunswick staff responded quickly to the town’s concerns, travelling to Woodstock on Jan. 31 to meet with himself, Woodstock CAO Ken Anthony, Thompson and Woodstock BIA consultant Trina MacDonald. While he described it as a good meeting, Slipp said, the minister “made no commitment one way or the other.” Both Thompson and Slipp said they were pleased to have the support of Carleton MLA Stewart Fairgrieve, who is also pushing to keep Service New Brunswick offices in downtown Woodstock. Fairgrieve confirmed to the River Valley Sun he strongly supports leaving the offices where they are. He, Slipp and Thompson all expressed the importance of the offices to downtown vitality. They all agreed mov-
ing the government offices would work against the town’s ongoing efforts to revitalize Woodstock’s downtown core. Thompson said the foot traffic created by people using the Sevice New Brunswick is important to downtown businesses. “It’s bringing thousands of people downtown,” he said. Both Thompson and Slipp noted any decision to move the offices out of downtown flies in the face of the Higgs’ government commitments in its recent Speech from the Throne, calling for a focus of revitalizing small towns, including their downtown core. Slipp said the town already witnessed a decrease in downtown traffic when NB Liquor opted to move its store from downtown to the business district near the Trans Canada Highway. While the province has not confirmed or denied it, Thompson said he has credible information that the NB Power building on Connell Street is being
Bicentennial Place in downtown Woodstock is currently home to Service New Brunswick. (Jim Dumville photo)
considered as the new location for Service New Brunswick in Woodstock. When asked about this by the River Valley Sun, Kilfoil, speaking for the department, simply reiterated “absolutely no decisions have been made.” Slipp said, with the support of Thompson, Fairgrieve and others, the town will push hard to convince the provincial government to keep Service New Brunswick downtown. “We have to be vigilant in keeping what we have in the downtown core,” he said. He said the town has taken strides over the past
few decades to upgrade downtown Woodstock and as part of its nearly completed new 10-yearplan is looking towards major investments in the future. He cited plans for a major expenditure to revitalize the town square, which is in desperate need of work. The mayor said the plan is to create a combination of residential, commercial, retail and green space throughout the downtown area. “We’re trying to encourage people to use the waterfront,” he said. He said keeping Service New Brunswick is an important part of that plan.
Florenceville-Bristol reopens ice surface
Repairs completed at Northern Carleton Civic Centre Feb. 8 By Jim Dumville
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katers in Florenceville-Bristol can don their blades again. After a long shutdown, ice returned to the Northern Carleton Civic Centre on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 8. Chris Stacey, Florenceville-Bristol director of recreation, said the new chiller was installed in the arena at the end of January and crews took the final steps to get the ice plant up and running. The town announced the reopening date with a media release posted during the final week of January. “A few minor jobs still
have to be completed prior to starting the system but we expect to have the system running by the latest, Friday, Jan 31,” Stacey said in the post. He said the ice slab and building were allowed to cool over the first weekend of February, with the building of ice beginning on Monday, Feb. 3. Stacey said the reopening took place, as planned, on Feb. 8 at 8 a.m. “It’s back up and running,” said Stacey on Monday, Feb. 10. He said crews experienced “no issues” following the reopening, adding ice should be available to users through the rest of
the winter, until its scheduled removal for the season on April 3. Stacey said the ice schedule is back in place after the prolonged and inconvenient break. He said most people don’t realize how much the ice surface is used and needed until it’s not available. Stacey expressed his appreciation to area residents for their understanding. “Thank you all for your patience for our unexpected closure during one of the busiest times of the hockey season,” said Stacey on the Town of Florenceville-Bristol website.
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