Voyent Alert to aid in municipal communication
Voyent Alert, a community notification system, will be set up for the community starting this spring. At the Feb. 2 council meeting, it was announced that staff will be trained on the system in March.
The computer application will be used to send emergency alerts and community event information via text messaging, voice messages to landlines, and email.
CAO Kathryn Clark said Voyent Alert is a really good, useful tool that is already being used in other communities to share information with the public. She said they will promote and encourage residents to sign up once it is ready.
Nackawic High School student proposes tree planting initiative
Council reviewed a letter from Nackawic High School student Cameron Ouellet. Ouellet is currently enrolled in a personal-interest course at NHS and has decided to explore wild seed collection in the local area and sprout the seeds to grow seedlings. These seedlings would then be sold to the town and planted around the community.
“The idea is that each year I would supply a different tree species native to the Wabanaki/Acadian Forest, with the goal of helping to restore the increasingly threatened Wabanaki Forest,” Ouellet stated in his letter.
He said he would also offer to sell trees to individuals within and around the community to further the project’s impact. He listed several benefits of the project.
“The time to act against climate change is now, and meaningful local action is essential in fighting and raising awareness of the climate crisis,” Ouellet stated.
Council agreed they’d like to hear more and will invite Ouellet to present at the next council meeting to discuss the project. Councillor Simpson said the proposal from the high school student was interesting.
Council responds to Central York Rural Community’s request to cancel fire services
In a letter sent to Central York Rural Community Mayor David DuPlessis dated Jan. 20, the Nackawic-Millville Council expressed serious concerns over the municipality’s request to terminate the current fire service agreement.
Fox said the concerns are being raised primarily to protect constituents in the Millville Fire Station service area, who may be exposed to unnecessary and avoidable risks due to a decision he considers misguided and made without appropriate and thorough analysis.
Mayor Tim Fox requested that the decision be deferred until a thorough analysis is completed and both communities have had the opportunity to engage in constructive discussions to identify solutions that best serve the residents of both municipalities.
He went on to say that, regarding mutual calls to the Keswick Valley Fire Department, the Millville Fire Station has been instructed to continue following all appropriate and normal protocols.
