Montague mobile office now running at former town hall site

The Town of Montague is coming back to somewhat of a sense of normalcy following a fire that destroyed town hall last month.

The town has set up a mobile office at the former town hall location at 24 Queens Rd., which town staffers began using on Monday.

“We are there in full operation and ready to serve the public in the same location we’ve always been in,” said Montague Mayor Richard Collins during Monday’s committee of council meeting.

While residents can go to the mobile office for any town business, council meetings will be held at Cavendish Farms Wellness Centre for the foreseeable future.

Following the fire on Aug. 2, town administration had moved into the Montague Rural Action Centre until the mobile office was set up.

While the town is currently anticipating an amalgamation with six other Kings County communities, it is still planning to rebuild town hall in the same location.

The Town of Montague is hoping to make its waterfront more accessible to seniors and those with mobility issues.

During Monday’s committee of council, discussion focused on finishing the terracing in front of the waterfront gazebo and bringing it up to the Station Street sidewalk. It would be the first step in making the waterfront more accessible, with hopes that the town could install benches with backing in the future. The terracing would be “stair level” and could also see steps on either side as well as a railing to be more senior-friendly.

“Right now, if you’re down there, you’re either right up next to the sidewalk or down on the terracing. To try and put up a chair (in between), the slope is downhill so it’s really hard to sit in and really uncomfortable,” said Daggett.

An increase in waterfront traffic from locals and tourists, especially during various festivals and events, has led to a need to increase the seating.

Daggett also said while the town previously allowed individuals to plant a tree on the waterfront in memory of loved ones, there is currently little space left.

“We think benches might be a better way to honour somebody. We could put a plaque on the bench,” said Daggett.

Coun. Jim Bagnall, chairman of the waterfront development committee, would like to see a more complete artist rendering before the project was voted on.

However, he agreed the area needs better seating. Montague CAO Andy Daggett speaks during Monday’s committee of council meeting. During the meeting, council discussed the possibility of finishing the terracing at the waterfront.

“The problem is seniors going down there now, they’re a little nervous on that hill and they don’t want to go down to the lower terracing because you have to walk all the way down the hill,” said Bagnall, who advocated for the project to include a railing.

The town heard a contractor estimated the work to be about $30,000. The town had previously budgeted $15,000 this year for another waterfront project that did not see other funding partners join onboard.

Coun. John MacFarlane shared concerns over where the rest of the money would come from, stating that the $30,000 price tag would likely only increase.

“We know this is going to morph into $50,000. So, where is the town’s portion going to come from,” asked MacFarlane. “We

can’t tie the hands of the future council.”

Coun. Debbie Johnston felt there was no need to estimate the cost until a tender was issued, noting there was another $30,000 budgeted for a separate project this year that was not fully completed.

She also liked the idea of having sponsorships for the area through memorial plaques.

“We have a beautiful waterfront and we need to let everybody enjoy it, whether you’re in a wheelchair or with a walker,” said Johnston. “We’re not doing that now, so I think we need to do a better job on that.”

Council decided to move the issue forward to vote on during next month’s regular meeting as long as a better artist rendering is provided.