News & Events

News release: MODL to Offer Telephone, Electronic Voting

Details

Published: Thursday, 06 August 2020 09:21

August 6, 2020 / For Immediate Release

MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF LUNENBURG, NOVA SCOTIA – At a special meeting on July 28, Council for the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg unanimously voted in favor of using telephone and personal computing devices such as smartphones, iPads, and computers only for both the Advance Poll and on Election Day in the 2020 Municipal and CSAP elections to be held in October .

“We know electors have concerns for their safety during a potential second wave of COVID-19 in the fall, and our concern for the safety of both electors and election workers at the polling stations was why we made this decision,” says Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson. “We used telephone and internet voting successfully in the 2016 Municipal & School Board elections during the Advance Polls, and are prepared to help all residents use these services again this October.”

Voting will be open from 8:00 am Thursday, October 8, ending at 7:00 pm Saturday, October 17.

“A voting kiosk consisting of a telephone and computer will be set up at the MODL office for those electors who do not feel comfortable voting at home, or for those who may not have the resources such as phone and internet service but still would like to cast a ballot,” says Leah Zinck, Returning Officer. “An election staff member will be available to provide assistance if required. The kiosk will be set up during regular business hours of the voting period as well as from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm on October 17 and will follow all Public Health protocols.”
A helpline will be available every day during regular office hours to answer any questions an elector may have and to assist the elector during the voting process. More details will be available at modl.ca/Election in the coming weeks.

Intelivote Systems Inc provided the service in 2016, and will provide this service again in 2020.

All qualified electors who are on the List of Electors with a correct mailing address will receive a Voter Information Letter in late September. This letter will contain a unique PIN identifier which will be required to vote either by telephone or by internet.

Are you on the list?
Electors are strongly encouraged to verify that their information is correct by 4:00 pm on September 3, 2020, to ensure they receive a Voter Information Letter in late September. To find out if they’re on the list, electors should email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (902) 530-3268.

Revision to the List of Electors will continue throughout the election period. If an elector does not receive their Voter Information Letter by the end of September or if the information received is incorrect, they should contact the elections office.

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Media contact:

Sarah Kucharski
Communications Officer
(902) 541-1328

News release: Municipality Awards Emergency Assistance Funds

Details

Published: Wednesday, 29 July 2020 10:18

July 29, 2020 / For Immediate Release

MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF LUNENBURG, NOVA SCOTIA – The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg has awarded more than $116,000 in emergency funding to support not-for-profit organizations and fire departments impacted by COVID-19 cancellations.

Forty-four organizations received a total of $83,658 from the Community Facility Emergency Assistance Fund. Additionally, Council will transfer $32,500 from the Community Facility Emergency Assistance Fund to the Fire Departments Municipal Grant Fund. This allows Council to distribute $32,500 in emergency assistance funding to MODL fire departments. As a result of this decision, each Fire Department will receive a 50% increase in their annual grant.

“We’re dismayed to see the scope of revenue lost by our organizations,” says Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson. “Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, many groups are experiencing significant financial hardship. We hope this emergency funding will help these organizations and our fire departments during this difficult time.”

View the pdf Community Facility Emergency Assistance Fund list (105 KB) .

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Media contact:

Sarah Kucharski
Communications Officer
(902) 541-1328

News release: Municipality Appoints New Director of Recreation

Details

Published: Thursday, 23 July 2020 09:15

July 23, 2020 / For Immediate Release

MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF NOVA SCOTIA – The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg has appointed Bill Schurman as Director of Recreation.

Schurman has a long career as a leader in recreation in the Maritimes. His career includes a stint as the Director Athletics & Recreation with the University of PEI, almost a decade in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey league acting as GM of the Moncton Wildcats and President/Governor of the Lewiston MAINEiacs, and more than 20 years as the Director of Community Services for the City of Summerside, PEI. Most recently, he spent five years with the Town of Amherst as their Director of Recreation. While in Amherst, Schurman and his team championed Amherst’s vision of becoming the most active healthy community in Nova Scotia and developed a pilot project where all youth program ice time fees at the Amherst Stadium were waived, supporting accessible inclusive recreation. Schurman also helped develop Amherst’s popular off-leash dog park, many active transportation projects and the community's first forum on poverty reduction.

In addition, Schurman has chaired numerous major events and projects, from local to international. Schurman and his teams have been presented with numerous awards including the Innovator of the Year for the NS Recreation Association, Sport NS Difference Maker, and YMCA Peace medal. He has served on numerous boards and organizations, including the Canadian Parks & Recreation Association and Softball Canada.

“We are very pleased to welcome Bill to our team,” says CAO Tom MacEwan. “Bill comes to us with a really exceptional background as a leader in sport and recreation and was responsible for a number of prominent initiatives at Amhurst that were well received. We are lucky to have him joining our team.”

“On behalf of myself and Council, I’d like to welcome Bill to the team,” says Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson.

“I’m looking forward to joining team MODL and working with everyone doing all we can to support and encourage the health and well-being of residents,” says Schurman. Schurman will begin his role with the Municipality on August 4, 2020.

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Media contact:

Sarah Kucharski
Communications Officer
(902) 541-1328

News release: Municipality Launches New Accessible Website

Details

Published: Monday, 13 July 2020 09:06

July 13, 2020 / For Immediate Release

MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF LUNENBURG, NOVA SCOTIA – The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg has launched their new website, designed to be more accessible to all website visitors, including people who identify as having disabilities.

“We’re committed to ensuring our website is as accessible as possible for all users,” says Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson. “To achieve this, we worked with the Association of Municipal Administrators’ Municipal Website Venture, and the website was audited for barriers throughout the development process by the Canadian digital accessibility company, Access Changes Everything.”

“Association of Municipal Administrators (AMANS) believes that information contained on municipal websites should be accessible to all citizens. We were delighted to partner with Access Changes Everything to develop an accessible website for the municipality,” says AMANS President Mike Dolter.

Access Changes Everything conducted a full audit of the public facing website from March to May 2020. This audit was done throughout the website development process and included extensive manual and automated testing. Most importantly, testing was done by paid testers with different disabilities, who used different technologies. This website audit was focused on lowering barriers for people with different disabilities, such as visual, hearing, mobility, speech, communication, cognitive, neurological, intellectual, learning, and those with multiple disabilities.

This audit was done using the international standard that relates to website accessibility, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and 2.2 (Draft) Level AA. The audit went further than WCAG 2.1 or WCAG 2.2 (Draft) Level AA. It included items that are not currently included in WCAG, such as checking for colour combinations problematic for people with colour blindness, font type and style, and lessening other barriers that impact people with cognitive, neurological, intellectual and/or learning disabilities. The audit also included usability best practices, in order to make the site more accessible and usable for everyone.

“Almost all the barriers noted in the audit report were either eliminated, or acceptable workarounds we suggested,” says Lisa Snider of Access Changes Everything. “However, there were some barriers that could not be fully eliminated. Some of these barriers were found in third party vendor plug ins. Not all vendors, or developers, could make their product more accessible by the end of the audit period. These vendors have been asked to make their plug ins more accessible, and we hope to see further progress in these areas. Access Changes Everything is thrilled that the Municipality and AMANS are working hard to make websites more accessible and are encouraging others to follow their lead.”

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Media contact:

Sarah Kucharski
Communications Officer
(902) 541-1328

News release: Municipality Launches Emerg. Assistance Fund

Details

Published: Tuesday, 23 June 2020 13:53

June 23, 2020 / For Immediate Release

MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF LUNENBURG, NOVA SCOTIA – The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg has established an Emergency Assistance Fund for Community Organizations to support organizations impacted by COVID-19 cancellations and is now accepting applications for the fund.

“Due to COVID-19 restrictions, many local groups and community organizations have not been able to host planned fundraising events and activities,” says Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson. “This inability to hold these activities has resulted in significant financial hardship for many groups. This funding will provide up to $2,500 in relief per organization, with a total investment of up to $150,000 by the Municipality.”

To be eligible for the Emergency Assistance Fund for Community Facilities, the Applicant must demonstrate the following:

• The Applicant must be a non-profit (or not-for-profit) community, charitable, fraternal, educational, recreational, religious, cultural or sporting organization.
• The Applicant must own or operate a community facility or community hall that is use for hosting funding events and activities that are open to the general public and the community facility or community hall must be located within MODL with the exception of Royal Canadian Legion Branches which are located outside MODL.
• Royal Canadian Legion Branches which are not located in MODL may be eligible for funding provided that the Branch can demonstrate (1) that it has members who are residents in MODL or (2) that it serves residents of MODL.
• The Applicant must demonstrate that it has experienced a negative financial impact resulting from its inability to raise funds through planned fundraising events and activities that had to be canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions.
• In circumstances where more than one organization is involved in the fundraising event (i.e. one organization holds the event and the other organization provides the community facility or local hall), the hosting organizations is eligible to apply for the lost fundraising revenue notwithstanding the fact that it does not own or operate the community facility or community hall.

The application deadline is 4:30 pm on Friday, July 17, 2020. pdf Read the guidelines (170 KB) or download the Application.

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Media contact:

Sarah Kucharski
Communications Officer
(902) 541-1328

News release: Municipality Supports BLM, Graduations

Details

Published: Tuesday, 23 June 2020 13:26

June 23, 2020 / For Immediate Release

MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF LUNENBURG, NOVA SCOTIA – At the June 23, 2020 Council meeting, Council passed motions to donate to the Black Lives Matter Solidarity Fund Nova Scotia, award sponsorships to three local graduation ceremonies, and grants to two comfort centres. Additionally, the Municipality awarded more than $70,000 in Annual Operating and Major Recreation Capital Grants and launched a new $150,000 Emergency Assistance Fund for Community Organizations to support organizations impacted by COVID-19 cancellations.

“The impacts of COVID-19 are being felt across every aspect of our community,” says Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson. “We feel that it’s vitally important to increase our support for the community during this difficult time.”

1. Council approved a donation of $2,500 to Black Lives Matter Solidarity Fund Nova Scotia

2. Council awarded the following three sponsorship grants:

• $2,500 in support of the PVEC 2020 Graduation Ceremony hosted by the LCLC.
• $1,000 in support of the New Germany High School 2020 Graduation Ceremony hosted by the Royal Canadian Legion – New Germany Branch.
• $230 in support of the CSAP 2020 Graduation Ceremony hosted by the Best Western Plus Bridgewater.

3. Council awarded the 2020/21 Comfort Centre Generator Grant to the Martin’s River Fire Dept. in the amount of $7,000 and to the Tri-District Fire Rescue for $7,000.

4. Council awarded $70,800 in Annual Operating and Major Recreation Capital Grants.

5. Council established an Emergency Assistance Fund for Community Organizations. This funding will provide up to $2,500 in relief per organization, with a total investment of up to $150,000 by the Municipality.

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Media contact:

Sarah Kucharski
Communications Officer
(902) 541-1328

News release: Lunenburg County Accessibility Survey Launched

Details

Published: Monday, 01 June 2020 11:43

June 1, 2020 / For Immediate Release

LUNENBURG COUNTY, NOVA SCOTIA – The Lunenburg County Joint Accessibility Advisory Committee has launched an Accessibility Survey to hear from people with disabilities in Lunenburg County.

As part of the Committee’s efforts to develop improve accessibility in our region, it is vital that the Committee hears from the community about their experience living with disabilities. The survey will allow the Committee to identify barriers from the community perspective, and the information gathered will be part of the development of a regional Accessibility Plan.

If you are a person with a disability, family member or caretaker of someone with a disability, or an organization that represent people with disabilities, please complete the online survey at SurveyMonkey. The survey closes June 30, 2020.

The project is a collaboration between Town of Bridgewater, Town of Mahone Bay, Town of Lunenburg, Municipality of the District of Chester, and Municipality of the District of Lunenburg.

For more information about the project, please visit our website at Accessible Lunenburg County, call (902) 530-2088 to reach our dedicated phone line, or send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Media contact

Sarah Kucharski
Communications Officer
(902) 541-1328
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

News release: MODL Announces Municipal Grant Recipients

Details

Published: Monday, 25 May 2020 12:56

May 25, 2020 / For Immediate Release

MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF LUNENBURG, NOVA SCOTIA – The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg has published its list of Municipal Grant Recipients from the 2019/2020 fiscal year, with a total amount awarded of $113,238.15.

Grants are provided to dozens of non-profit and charitable organizations in a variety of categories, Funding is available to help with annual operating costs, capital improvements, event hosting, youth or elite athlete travel, and more.

“Our community benefits greatly from the facilities and programs that this funding supports,” said Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson. “Some of the things that these funds provide assistance for are the delivery of new or expanded cultural, social, heritage and recreation programs, or for the development of projects, events, or initiatives that promote the area and foster community economic growth.”

The complete listing of 2019/2020 funding recipients is available at Municipal Grants.

Media contact

Sarah Kucharski
Communications Officer
(902) 541-1328
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

News release: Municipal Parks Update

Details

Published: Wednesday, 13 May 2020 10:04

May 13, 2020 / For Immediate Release

MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF LUNENBURG, NOVA SCOTIA - The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg is pleased to announce that we will be opening our parks on Saturday, May 16, with some exceptions.

Pine Grove Outdoor Play Park will remain closed, as will the MARC ballfields. Additionally, all public washrooms will be closed, as we are not able to clean them with the frequency required by provincial guidelines at this time. We are working towards a solution that will allow us to open these washrooms. All beaches remain closed, and all playground equipment remains closed.

Social distancing restrictions are still in place at our parks and on trails. Gatherings of more than five people are prohibited, and you must stay six feet apart from people who are not part of your household. 

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Media contact:

Sarah Kucharski
Communications Officer
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
(902) 541-1328

News release: Municipality Passes 2020/21 Budget

Details

Published: Tuesday, 12 May 2020 18:20

May 12, 2020 / For Immediate Release

MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF LUNENBURG, NOVA SCOTIA – The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg approved the 2020/21 operating and capital budgets at its Special Council meeting on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.

The Municipality approved its annual operating budget of $31,176,000 with no projected surplus. The capital budget is $14,208,700 including $3,250.600 investment in non-owned infrastructure, such as roads, Internet and trails.

“Through the budget process, Council must balance provincial and federal legislation, long-term initiatives, immediate needs and opportunities, and feedback from public engagement sessions,” said Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson.

“We are spending prudently in the areas that are a clear priority to our residents. We have heard loud and clear that access to high speed Internet, improving our roads, cleaning up the lower LaHave River and battling Lyme Disease are important to residents, and to the economy, and we have invested wisely in these areas. On each of these issues, we have developed strong partnerships with other municipalities and other levels of government.”

“We’re also acutely aware of the financial challenges facing some residents due to the economic impacts of COVID-19. We have delayed the property tax deadline, and interest on the newly issued interim invoice will not be applied until September 1, 2020. We’ve made a cash donation to our local food banks, and increased our Community Investment Fund by 50%, from $100,000 to $150,000.”

The approved budget continues the Municipality’s track record of strong financial management, while continuing to meet the needs of residents. Council continues to be on track to be debt free by 2021 while maintaining stable tax rates and contributions to reserves.

The 2020/21 budget focuses on four key themes:

• Making Life Affordable–by maintaining tax rates, reducing sewer rates, and delaying the interim tax deadline by 90 days due to COVID-19.

• Building the Local Economy–through partnerships with the business community and initiatives such as high-speed Internet, significant investment in rural roads, and investment attraction and agriculture.

• Protecting the Environment–through the LaHave River Straight Pipe Program and investments in wastewater treatment, floodplain mapping, and incentives for community litter clean-up.

• Investing in our Community–by supporting a tick awareness campaign and bait station research program, continuing to invest in the Fire Services Recruitment and Retention campaign, and by providing various recreational opportunities across the Municipality through programming, parks and facilities.

The Municipality ended the 2019/20 fiscal year with a forecasted surplus of $1.6M, which is the fifteenth consecutive year with an operating surplus.

Budget highlights

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Media contact

Elana Wentzell, CPA CMA
Director of Finance and Municipal Treasurer
Municipality of the District of Lunenburg
(902) 541-1322
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.