Incentives for healthcare workers, a change in fire services for Keswick, and acknowledging past capital projects also discussed
The Community Wildfire Resiliency group is tasked with drafting an emergency plan for the community. The group held a meeting at the beginning of the new year. Council representative Colin Trail told the municipality that they are looking at local deficiencies.
He said the main fire hall in Nackawic doesn’t have a generator and noted that other areas of the community, such as the Nackawic Health Centre, also lack one.
Councillor Trail recommended that a committee be established to oversee steps to ensure the fire hall can be used by the community during power outages. He said they need to develop a list of volunteers who can help seniors and assist in other areas during emergencies.
CAO Kathryn Clark said a set of guidelines needs to be developed and used for other areas of the municipality as well. Mayor Fox said the municipality is also looking into a new phone messaging system to alert seniors who don’t have a computer or internet access.
Council exploring ways to offer incentives to new healthcare workers
At their Jan. 19 meeting, council reviewed an email from Faye Budrow-Palmer, Manager of Primary Care at the Harvey, McAdam, and Nackawic Health Centres.
She told municipal leaders that a second Nurse Practitioner has started her orientation at the Nackawic Health Centre, but is renting an apartment in Fredericton. She is currently travelling for work, but hopes to move closer to the community. Council learned that a third Nurse Practitioner plans to join the centre once she completes her training in July.
Recently, Budrow-Palmer gave a site tour to two physicians who are planning to start a practice in the rural community in the summer of 2026.
In her letter, she wondered whether the town could offer any incentives to help these healthcare workers relocate locally.
Deputy Mayor Greg MacFarlane said that recruitment and retention are a competition for communities across the country. He said recruiting is a challenge, and keeping them here is even harder. He wants to see the town help people move here and live here.
MacFarlane suggested maybe helping with community assets. MacFarlane stated that there was once a fund that received annual contributions used to support health care at the clinic. He told fellow councillors that it is important to take the lead in finding a way to provide and replenish the fund.
It was decided to write a letter to the health centre inviting them to attend a council meeting to provide an update on their plans, and for the council to see what it could do to help. MacFarlane said they have a real opportunity to be a leader in the province with the Nackawic Health Centre.
Central York Rural Community cancels fire protection services agreement
Council received a letter notifying them that the Central York Rural Community would be cancelling its fire protection services agreement with Nackawic-Millville.
In a letter, Central York CAO Duncan Walker said that at the municipality’s Jan. 13 meeting, a motion was passed to terminate the arrangement and notify the Office of the Fire Marshal of the impending change.
The letter explained that the decision was made based on recommendations in a recent fire service review in Central York.
Central York noted that they still owe the 2026 fee of $63,462 and will pay it, but will also transition the current coverage provided by the Millville department to Central York Fire Services as soon as possible.
The letter said the municipality appreciated the services provided by the Millville station over the years to the Hainesville and Crabbe Mountain areas, and that it hopes the Nackawic-Millville council will support the decision and help make the change as easy as possible.
During this time, the Keswick Valley Fire Department will request mutual aid for all service requests in Central York for areas currently covered by the Millville Fire Department.
Their decision was met with dismay and concern from the Nackawic-Millville Council.
Deputy Mayor MacFarlane noted that the response time from Millville to Crabbe Mountain, for example, was 12 minutes, while responding from Keswick would take approximately 20 minutes.
He noted that if he lived in the ski-hill area, he’d be wondering why the municipality was making the decision.
Councillor Trail mentioned that home insurance rates could increase due to the extra response time.
Mayor Tim Fox said he didn’t think this was the most responsible decision.
Fox believed the decision was based on a consultant’s report, and no risk assessment was done.
Council is sending a letter of acknowledgement, outlining the municipality’s concerns. Fox said a letter will also be sent to the New Brunswick Fire Marshall’s office, asking that these changes be reviewed before the transition takes place.
Showcasing the history of municipal capital projects
Councillor Robert Simpson would like to see a collection of pictures created for any capital projects completed in the community.
“Pictures are a living history and have a story to tell,” Simpson told the council.
He envisions photos with inscriptions explaining each one, which could be hung on a wall at the town hall.
“A picture is worth a thousand words,” he said.
Deputy Mayor MacFarlane said this is an awesome idea and that pictures of infrastructure work need to start being collected for the project.
Mayor Tim Fox agreed, calling it a great idea.
