News & Events

News release: MODL Sells Former Administration Building

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Published: Wednesday, 14 April 2021 10:28

April 14, 2021 / For immediate release

Municipality of the District of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg will close the sale of the former Administration Building to a numbered company belonging to Cody Hebb, Tyson Broome, and Nadeem Jan on June 15, 2021. Both Hebb and Broome are from the Lunenburg County area. The new owners plan to renovate the building and create a business centre with commercial space to lease.

“I am pleased that the former Administration building has been sold to new owners,” said Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson. “Their plans to renovate the building and offer commercial space to lease are sure to be welcomed by the community.”

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Contact:

Sarah Kucharski
Communications Officer
(902) 541-1328
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News release: MODL Sets 2030 GHG Emissions Reduction Target

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Published: Tuesday, 13 April 2021 14:09

April 13, 2021 / For immediate release

Municipality of the District of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg has set an ambitious 2030 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Reduction Target.

The setting of this target meets Milestone 2 in the Partners for Climate Protection Program (PCP). Council declared a climate emergency in October 2019 and joined the PCP to help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the Municipality. Milestone 1 of the PCP program was achieved in September 2020.

The reduction will use the Municipality’s 2019 GHG inventory as the baseline year from where GHG emission reductions will be measured. The GHG reduction target of 40% by 2030 will ensure that MODL is doing its part to help limit warming.

“This target provides a tangible goal that we can work toward through the development and implementation of local plans and policies,” said Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson. “Some of the actions the Municipality plans to take to reach this include transitioning municipal vehicles to electric vehicles, adding solar power to the Municipal Services building and other municipal buildings, and retrofitting older buildings to electric or geothermal heating where possible. Climate change is affecting our communities, and MODL must take a leadership role to address this crisis.”

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Contact:

Sarah Kucharski
Communications Officer
(902) 541-1328
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News release: Municipality Seeks Resident Input on Active Living Strategy

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Published: Tuesday, 16 March 2021 11:44

March 16, 2021 / For immediate release

Municipality of the District of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg is in the process of reviewing and refreshing the Municipality’s Active Living Strategy, created in 2014, and is asking residents to complete a simple online survey, available at https://engage.modl.ca/activelivingsurvey

“Active Transportation is getting around using human power whether you are walking, cycling, wheeling, skateboarding, etc. We need resident input to ensure that our plans reflect the needs of the citizens of the MODL,” said Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson. “The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete and asks questions like what kind of recreational activities residents engage in, what they’d like to see more of, and the impact of the pandemic on their activity level.”

”I look forward to receiving feedback from our MODL residents so that we can work together at enhancing opportunities for everyone to be able to engage in a healthy active lifestyle,” said Karen Geddes-Selig, MODL Active Living Coordinator.

One respondent will be randomly selected to win a draw prize of $100 gift card to a local merchant. The survey closes April 16, 2021.

The results of this public survey will assist MODL in decision making related to supporting the active lifestyles of citizens of all ages. This review and refresh process is expected to be completed by the fall of 2021.

If you require any support in completing this survey, or if you would like to complete it by phone with one of our staff, please call (902) 541-1343 to make an appointment.

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: Municipalities Endorse Lunenburg County Accessibility Plan

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Published: Monday, 15 March 2021 10:14

March 15, 2021 / For Immediate Release

MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF LUNENBURG, NOVA SCOTIA – After 18 months of effort, the five municipalities in Lunenburg County have endorsed the Lunenburg County Accessibility Plan, created to improve accessibility in our region and meet the provincial mandate outlined in the Accessibility Act. The municipalities involved include the Town of Bridgewater, Town of Mahone Bay, Town of Lunenburg, Municipality of the District of Chester and the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg.

The Accessibility Plan was developed by the Joint Accessibility Advisory Committee, a committee of the five municipalities. The Committee is made up of members of the community with disabilities or with organizations that represent people with disabilities, staff, and Council members from each municipality. The Committee provided advice on identifying, preventing, and eliminating barriers experienced by people with disabilities in municipal programs, services, initiatives, and facilities, and worked with staff on the development and oversight of this plan.

Throughout the process, we heard from hundreds of people with disabilities and organizations that represent people with disabilities. The plan outlines the overarching goals for improving accessibility in Lunenburg County. It includes a summary of our community consultation and outlines how we will further identify, remove, and prevent barriers, and ways to evaluate the effect of our policies, programs, practices, and services on accessibility.

“Developing an accessibility plan for our county is a significant first step in reaching barrier-free communities. The journey we are collectively taking to erase those barriers is deliberate, responsive, and sensitive to our residents. It’s a journey I am personally happy to be making along with my colleagues and partners.” Warden Allen Webber, Municipality of Chester.

“Fostering a culture of accessibility, encouraging the prevention and removal of barriers to participation, and building capacity in these areas amongst municipal staff, Council members, and the public is of vital importance to the municipalities in Lunenburg County. I thank all of the members of the public who contributed to the development of the plan, and the Committee that moved this plan through to completion.” Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson, Municipality of the District of Lunenburg.

“The Lunenburg County Accessibility Plan is a great example of what can be accomplished when our local governments work together with the best interests of our residents in mind.” David Mitchell, Town of Bridgewater.

“Accessibility is an important part of Lunenburg’s new Comprehensive Community Plan, with a focus on mobility throughout the town, facilities and services, and our built heritage. We look forward to working with our adjacent municipalities to improve accessibility for the town and all of Lunenburg County.” Mayor Matt Risser, Town of Lunenburg.

“It is important to our Council and our citizens that Mahone Bay is an inclusive town, one that is open to everyone; the development of this Accessibility Plan has been a tremendous first step to identifying ways that we can accommodate all who wish to enjoy our community.” Mayor David Devenne, Town of Mahone Bay.

Working towards equitable access for all members of our community means that every

For more information about the project, please visit our website at www.accessiblelunenburgcounty.ca, 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 Awards Emergency Assistance Funding

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Published: Tuesday, 23 February 2021 13:52

February 23, 2021 / For Immediate Release

MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF LUNENBURG, NOVA SCOTIA – The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg has awarded a second round of funding support for not-for-profit organizations that operate community facilities and fire departments impacted by COVID-19 cancellations.

In the first round of funding awarded in July of 2020, 44 community organizations that operate community facilities received a total of $83,658 in funding. Additionally, $32,500 in emergency assistance funding was given to MODL fire departments. In this round of funding, 55 organizations that operate community facilities received a total of $81,165.

“We continue to see staggering revenue losses by these important community organizations,” says Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson. “Since introducing this program, the Municipality has donated a total of $197,323 to our community organizations that operate community facilities. We hope this emergency funding will help these organizations during this challenging time.”

pdf Complete list of 2021 Funding Recipients (122 KB)

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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: New Fibre Internet Projects Coming to MODL

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Published: Monday, 25 January 2021 14:48

January 25, 2021 / For Immediate Release

MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF LUNENBURG, NOVA SCOTIA – The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg announced today that it will contribute $176,305 to provide approximately 533 homes and businesses access to Bell Canada’s all-fibre network. This project, through the provincial Internet for Nova Scotia Initiative led by Develop Nova Scotia, will provide residents with download speeds of up to 1.5 Gigabits.

“Over the past year, the new projects announced by Develop Nova Scotia, with municipal financial contribution, will bring fibre based high-speed Internet to every district within the Municipality,” said Dave Waters, Director of Business Development, Tourism and Infrastructure. “I’m pleased that today’s announcement continues this work. We will also continue to work on connecting any remaining underserved residents through Develop Nova Scotia and alternative projects.”

There are 10 new projects for the Municipality:

• Tancook Islands
• Camperdown East
• Crouses Settlement
• Newcombville
• Petite Riviere
• Masons Beach
• Blue Rocks
• Clearland
• Voglers/Broad Cove
• Bayport/Kingsburg

“Improving high-speed Internet connectivity continues to be a high priority for this Council,” says Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson. “Since 2016 we’ve increased high-speed Internet connections from approximately 60% to 72%. With today’s announcement by Develop Nova Scotia, we will increase our fibre footprint to over 98% by the end of 2023.” Access to connections will be ongoing up to and including this date.

The Municipality intends to keep working to connect residents not covered by these projects.

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Media contact:

Dave Waters
Director of Business Development, Tourism and Infrastructure
Phone: 902-521-5945
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News release: MODL Launches Multi-Year Planning Project

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Published: Tuesday, 12 January 2021 12:12

January 12, 2021 / For Immediate Release

MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF LUNENBURG, NOVA SCOTIA – The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg has launched their two-year planning visioning project, dubbed MODL2040, and is seeking resident input on the first phase of the project.

“To kick off MODL2040 we’ve created a video to introduce some of the main planning concepts and provided a survey to help us begin to understand the community priorities of our residents,” says Darren Shupe, Senior Planner. “The results of this survey will be presented to Council in the spring of 2021 to identify the things that are important to our residents and communities as we look to create a vision to 2040.”

As part of MODL2040, the Municipality will draft a new Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS), which is a long-term, high-level policy document. The MPS describes all aspects of development and land use within the Municipality. It sets policy for where growth and different land uses can happen.

The first stage of the project involves providing information on topics the Municipality needs to address, including drinking water, flood risks, agricultural lands, infrastructure, and housing. These five topics are reviewed in the first set of background topic papers. Additional topic papers will be released over the course of the project to provide a deeper dive into areas that the community and Council consider important to support the work of determining a greater vision for our Municipality.

“This is just the first step – there will be additional opportunities to participate in this project over the next two years and we encourage residents, businesses and community groups to get involved in every step of the process.” says Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson. “No one knows their community better than those who live, work and play in the community, so we have designed the public engagement part of the project to have regular check-ins to make sure we are including your feedback. We will start with surveys and expect to provide online and in-person opportunities to meet and work through the larger themes and more specific aspects of the documents as needed.”

To learn more about the project, read the background topic papers, watch the video provide feedback, or stay informed on upcoming engagement events, visit https://engage.modl.ca/modl2040

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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: Municipality Accepting Applications for Emergency Assistance Fund for Community Organizations

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Published: Wednesday, 09 December 2020 09:26

December 9, 2020 / For Immediate Release

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

The Application Period extends from October 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021. Applicants can apply for emergency assistance for fundraising events and activities that were scheduled to take place during the Application Period but had to be cancelled because of the Covid-19 restrictions. For this round of funding, organizations not located within the Municipality can apply, providing they can demonstrate they serve Municipal residents.

“We recognize how difficult this year has been for our community organizations, and that a return to normal operations before the spring is unlikely,” says Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson. “This funding will provide up to $2,500 in relief per organization, with a total investment of up to $150,000 by the Municipality over the two rounds of funding.”

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 used 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.
• Applicants that are located in Towns surrounded by the Municipality are eligible to apply providing they meet the other eligibility criteria and can demonstrate that they serve Municipal residents.
• 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, January 15, 2021. Applications are available at https://www.modl.ca/grants.html

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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: MODL Mayor Elected as NSFM Rural Caucus Chair

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Published: Tuesday, 08 December 2020 09:03

December 8, 2020 / For immediate release

Municipality of the District of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities (NSFM) has a new Rural Caucus Chair. MODL Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson was elected by members during NSFM’s annual conference and AGM.

“I look forward to representing rural caucuses throughout Nova Scotia at the Provincial table,” said Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson. “Thank you for your vote of confidence.”

NSFM represents the provincial interests of all 49 municipalities in the province and the 375 mayors, wardens and councillors who govern them. NSFM's board, made up of regional representation from across Nova Scotia, play an important role in keeping municipal issues front and centre.

In addition to Bolivar-Getson, other members of the board elected at the conference include:

President: Emily Lutz (County of Kings)
Vice President: Amanda McDougall (CBRM)
Past President: Pam Mood (Town of Yarmouth)
AMANS Representative: Alain Muise (District of Argyle)
Towns Caucus Chair: Brenda Chisholm Beaton (Town of Port Hawkesbury)
Towns Representatives: Sandra Snow (Town of Kentville) and Andrew Tanner (Town of Bridgewater)
Rural Representatives: Patti Durkee (District of Yarmouth) and Deborah Wadden (Municipality of Pictou County)
Regional Caucus Chair: Waye Mason (HRM)
Regional Representatives: Pam Lovelace (HRM) and Eldon MacDonald (CBRM)

About the NSFM
The Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities (NSFM) has been the collective voice for municipal governments across the province since 1906. With 379 members comprised of Mayors, Wardens and councillors, NSFM represents the interests of municipalities on policy and program matters that fall within provincial jurisdiction. Members include all 50 of Nova Scotia's municipalities. Learn more by visiting their website: https://www.nsfm.ca

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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: Students Raise Funds for PRO Kids

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Published: Friday, 04 December 2020 15:04

December 4, 2020 / For immediate release

Municipality of the District of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg has received one of the largest single donations ever for the PRO Kids program, in the amount of $7,300.

Grade 12 students Adam Culbert, Finn Kimball, Drew Bolivar and Callum Corkum of Dirt Brothers Apparel and Lawn Care raised $3,650 towards PRO Kids by walking 28km from Park View Education Centre to Crescent Beach. Mike Anderssen of TD Wealth generously matched their contributions to bring their final total to $7,300.

“This was really an incredible accomplishment,” says Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson. “The mission of PRO Kids is to aid as many children and youth as possible who are unable to participate in sport, recreation and cultural activities due to financial limitations. This donation will make a difference in our community.”

Positive Recreation Opportunities for Kids! PRO Kids is a unique concept that was developed by the City of Thunder Bay in Ontario and is now implemented in many communities across Canada, including the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg. This is a program that provides financial assistance to children and youth from the Municipality of Lunenburg who, due to lack of funds, are not able to participate in sport, recreation and cultural activities. This program strives to remove financial barriers to ensure every child and youth has an opportunity to participate. In addition to Municipal funds, PRO Kids relies on the support of community agencies such as the United Way of Lunenburg County, groups, organizations, schools, businesses and private individuals for continued support.

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Contact:

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