Ask the Mayor

Hi Kelly,

A staff report is now being drafted that focuses on the use and the cost of the compost collection program. This report will come to Committee of the Whole in February and will then inform our budget process. 

You can also click here to get more details on what can be added to your green bin for curbside pick-up all year round.

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts on this program.

Sincerely,

Mayor Wendy Donovan

Thanks for visiting Wolfville!

There are chargers at Acadia University and more are on the way in the months and years ahead as we make room for them in our capital budget process.

Some of our local and regional businesses also provide this important service.

Good Morning Elizabeth Ann;

As you will not have received the Town’s tax bill yet I am assuming that you are looking at your assessment, which comes from the Provincial Assessment Agency. On the assumption that you have not recently bought your property then your taxable assessment is under the CAP’d assessment and will have increased about 7 ½ %. Your actual market assessment however (you are not taxed on this) could very well have gone up 30%.

For example (and just using easy numbers to illustrate): If last year your cap’d assessment was $100,000 then this year it would be $107,500 (approx.) and you would be taxed on that amount. At the same time you would see on your provincial assessment that the market assessment might be $200,000. That would be there estimate of what you might get for your property if you sold it. You are not taxed on the market assessment. However, if you sold your property – for say $200,000 then the new owners would for the next year be “off the cap” and pay taxes on the amount they paid for the property. They would then be cap’d until they sold the property – or the cap comes off. 

So my guess is that you looked at the assessed value of your property and not the cap’d assessment, on which we will base your taxes this year.

This is much more complicated than can easily be put in an email and the whole CAP situation is problematic for many – for example the “new” owners of your property should you sell it, in the example above, would be taxed twice as much as you are and they would not receive any different or more services than you did, or than their neighbours continue to receive. However, the CAP is a provincial initiative and while we have asked for years that it be removed we have gotten no where. If the CAP was removed we would be able to lower our tax rate and receive the same amount of revenue – and be fair to all residents new and existing.

Thanks for your question and thanks for staying connected to Council and the work we do.

On our website, www.wolfville.ca, you can find what you're looking for in two different places.

All Council meetings are listed as events so take a look here: https://wolfville.ca/events

For minutes and agendas, we have a section called “minutes, agendas and records,” that can be found under the Town Council heading, which is under the Town Hall heading.

Here's the link: https://wolfville.ca/town-hall/town-council/minutes-agendas-and-records

Hope this helps.

Sincerely, Mayor Wendy Donovan

Thank You for this question. 

One of my favourite sights on a bright winter day is watching skaters on the big pond at reservoir park.

It is a volunteer initiative of a local family, friends and neighbours who clear the ice and measure its thickness. 

I know many are grateful for their efforts. That said,  It is important to note that skating in Reservoir Park is not currently supported by the Town. Those who choose to use the Reservoir for skating do so at their own risk. In our changeable winter weather ice thickness can change quickly.

Town Council has provided direction for staff to undertake a full parks planning process in the upcoming budget. This will look at opportunities throughout the year for outdoor recreation, sport and enjoyment and protection of our open spaces. 

We look forward to seeing what the possibilities may be in terms of providing additional facilitated outdoor winter recreational opportunities.

Sincerely, 

Mayor Wendy Donovan

Thank You for this important and timely question. 

While the Town is not positioned to provide this service – if it was a town service we would need the resources to vet would-be snow shovelers –we could certainly put information on our website, or Councillors' social media, of such services. 

I believe that the Horton Highschool Interact Club is providing this service as a fundraiser. Interact is the high school version of Rotary Clubs. I have reached out to the Interact President and once I have heard back from her we can certainly provide that information for residents. 

I will also reach out to the Acadia Student Union to see if they or any of Acadia’s Clubs or students are interested in providing this service.

Sincerely,

Mayor Wendy Donovan

Thank you so much for this question. 

I am very familiar with the issues you mention having often walked in that area with a dog in tow. When the park is full of activities - soccer, tennis, kids at the playground, it is even more difficult for walkers and the street itself is in need of much repair. Victoria Avenue is slated for renewal within a three to five year window. 

During the upcoming budget season, that begins with a full day council session on November 25th (which is open to the public via Zoom and will be live streamed on the Town’s FaceBook page) Council will begin the annual process of juggling and balancing priorities and available resources. As we move through this process that will continue through to mid March 2022 the timing of projects will be clarified at which time you would see a more specific timeline for this project.

 Thank you again,

Mayor Wendy Donovan

Thank you for your question, one I am sure a number of residents have, is a good one as we look forward to the coming winter months. For an answer I reached out to our Public Works Department who note:

“For most snow events, we use a blade on our sidewalk plows. This leaves an unavoidable windrow of snow at each driveway, similar to the main road plow. For heavy snowfalls, we typically use the blower attachment. Our operators are trained to blow the snow in front of the plow at driveways crossings whenever possible and practical (as snow conditions allow. We will review this practice with our team before the upcoming winter to make sure it is being followed.”

So, it appears that for light snow events the Town uses a blade and it is the heavy events that require the blower and which cause the problem noted. This is an important issue for accessibility, and I will share the issue with the Town’s Accessibility Committee.

Mayor Donovan

As with programming for all ages, the Town bases programming on community feedback and requests, as well as on our sense of what might be popular or emerging activities. 

Programming for seniors may take the form of services provided directly by Town staff e.g., yoga in the park; or through support to other organizations e.g., The Memory Café, an initiative for those with memory loss and their caregivers to meet and enjoy music and conversation, is a collaboration of a local physician, the Town, Charts Café and Mud Creek Rotary; or through the development and maintenance of physical spaces e.g., walking trails, parks, tennis courts, contribution to the Acadia aquatic facility etc. Recreation is incredibly important for all ages and none more so perhaps than seniors. 

 As with all departments Parks and Recreation has a budget approved in March of each year that provides the resources to support programs and develop facilities. Depending on the cost to create new programs or facilities new initiatives may need to wait through another (or several) budget cycles. If there are programs and activities you would like the Town and/or its partners consider providing please contact our recreation staff so that we know of those interests and can consider them in the annual budget and service planning process. 

While budgets are approved in March the planning starts in late fall so now is a good time to share your interest for senior’s programming with us.

Thank you so much for this very important question.

Mayor Wendy Donovan