By Mark Squibb | Jan. 21, 2021
With the challenges dealt by a particular nasty winter and the COVID-19 pandemic, Bay Bulls Mayor Harold Mullowney said 2020 was a busy year for the town, and he anticipates 2021 will be even busier.
“This was one of the busiest years I’ve ever experience on council. We’ve accomplished a lot. I think council and staff pulled together and attended a great number of meetings throughout the year and made it a very productive year overall,” said Mullowney.
Some of the year’s accomplishments, said Mullowney, include six major road projects undertaken by the Town: Lower Road, St. John’s Road upgrades, Irish Town Phase One, (“which wasn’t even on our agenda for this year, but we managed to squeeze it in there,” said Mullowney), Cemetery Lane West, Station Road, and Solomon Close.
Mullowney also pointed out a number of projects, like the revitalization of the Ryan’s Property through the Landscape NL Horticultural Association’s Forgotten Corner project, a new pavilion, supported by a partnership with the Come Home Year committee, and general community beautification in partnership with HMP, in addition to Christmas lighting contests, food bank hamper drives, seniors’ outreach and other events.
“There was a tremendous amount of stuff in terms of the social well being of the community that was accomplished in addition to the actual capital works projects, so I was pleased with that because you try and do a little something for everybody in the community, and especially in a year when so many people have been affected by the terrible weather we had at the beginning and then COVID afterwards,” said Mullowney.
“Anything at all you could do to make the lives of people a little better was certainly appreciated.”
With 2020 in the rear-view mirror, Mullowney said council has a busy year ahead.
“We’ve got a very busy year slated again stretching out in front of us,” said the mayor. “We’ve looked at completing Irish Town Road, which would be Phase 2, and North Side Road. Council is ready to move on them, but that’s contingent on getting some partnership funding from the various levels of government that we’ve applied for. Another capital works project that many people are going to be pleased with, is that we’ve secured a fair amount of funding for the Long Pond Walking Trail. Originally, that was going to be done over a two to three-year period. But I‘m thinking now, due to accessing other pots of money, we might get that done, at least the majority of it, this year. So, that’s certainly a big piece, and hopefully this summer that is up and running.”
Mullowney said council is looking at completing a Community Asset Management policy, as well as entering Phase 3 of the Climate Change Adaptation Plan with Memorial University, with a particular focus on coastal erosion, especially as it relates to the North side and Quay’s Road area, completion of a Municipal Plan Review, development of a strategic plan and updating the emergency response
“And that’s by no means everything, we’ve laid out,” said Mullowney. “It’s really shaping out to be an incredibly busy year. Looking at just one or two of things in a normal year would seem to be ambitious. We’ve got a very active council, and a very committed staff, and I think that’s what leads us to be able to accomplish these things.”
Bay Bulls, along with all other municipalities in the province, will also be calling an election in the spring.
Council is currently operating, with ministerial approval, with a complement of only five members, and various nomination calls over the last two years have gone unanswered.
“I’m always hopeful that we get good people to step forward and offer themselves for council,” said Mullowney. “An awful lot of people don’t realize the commitment. It’s many hours a week nowadays, and it’s a volunteer council, we don’t get renumeration. And as the community continues to grow, the workload also continues to grow. So, I’m thankful that we have so many committed people who are willing to put in the time and effort to accomplish what needs to be done.”
Mullowny said Bay Bulls is not the only community facing such challenges, noting other municipalities, including Mount Pearl, are operating with less than a full slate. He allowed that regional strategies may, in the future, find it necessary to reduce the normal council complement.
“Maybe the complement of seven might have to be reduced in some areas, as a number of towns are doing the work with five. So, we’ll have to see what the province says on that, especially after the next election,” said Mullowney. “It’s often a thankless job, but I find it rewarding, when you see things getting done for the betterment of your community.”
Mullowny said he has made no definite decision about whether he himself will run again, but did say he still enjoys serving on council and currently feels up to the task.
Also to be worked out in this year are financial commitments to the Witless Bay Regional Fire Department. As per the 2021 budget, Witless Bay has planned for several upgrades to regional emergency services, including hiring a full-time paid fire chief and the building of a new fire hall. Those new commitments will require financial help from neighbouring communities.
“It’s certainly in need of more funds. At some point, I’d like to see an ambulance roll out of that building. So, Bay Bulls is certainly supportive, but we’re still working out the fine details of what we would like to see,” said Mullowney.
The mayor also said that he has been inquiring into the vaccine roll out plan, and though he hasn’t heard any specific dates yet, following Southern Shore and North East Avalon joint council meetings with Eastern Health, his understanding is that the hope is that vaccines will be rolled out later this summer or early fall, and that folks will be able to receive the vaccine in their communities, in much the same way as the flu shot.
“If that were the case, you could possibly see mobile clinics held in places like the Regional Lifestyle Centre in Bay Bulls, where they hold flu shot clinics,” said Mullowney. He hopes that a successful vaccine rollout will put COVID behind us for good.
“COVID-19 has added a new layer of challenges. But I’m hopeful that as the vaccine gets moving, the economy will pick up and we will see some improvements, and hopefully in the off-shore a (new oil) well, because that is what drives this province, and hopefully in tourism. We absolutely need this COVID-19 to be behind us before we can see tourism ramp up again. The number of tourists who come through this area is incredible. So, any individuals involved in that industry are being greatly impacted,” said Mullowney. “This will eventually be behind us. And until that happens, stay safe, stay masked, social distance as much as you can.”
