Antigonish County Council Warden Owen McCarron said there is still no date set for when
What We Heard Report (Town of Antigonish photo)
council will make a decision regarding the proposed consolidation of the county and the Town of Antigonish.
Previously, McCarron and Antigonish Town Mayor Laurie Boucher said they were aiming for a vote this fall. Following mass power outages in the aftermath of post tropical storm Fiona, the town and county extended the period during which they will receive feedback on the What We Heard Report to until October 18.
As for a petition requesting a plebiscite, brought forward by councillor Harris McNamara during a recent committee of the whole meeting, McCarron said the document with approximately 1,500 signatures is still being reviewed.
Should the petition get tabled, McCarron said council will then have to decide what sort of impact it will have, adding council always looks at petitions. As for a plebiscite, he said the set up would be similar to that of a municipal election with polling stations and returning officers. The approximate cost he said, would be about $103,000.
When asked about the reach of the municipality’s public consultations, McCarron said he feels they did a good job of getting out to the public, adding their consultants advised the municipal bodies that it was one of the most extensive engagements the consultants have been involved in for this sort of topic.
