Huntingdon

Huntingdon opens fully equipped kitchen for the community

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Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

The town of Huntingdon inaugurated its new community kitchen on December 17, preparing the way for numerous delicious opportunities for local businesses and organizations working in the food security and preparation sectors.

Around 15 people attended the ceremony, including Huntingdon mayor André Brunette and several municipal councillors. Representatives from the town, the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent, and local community organizations including the La Bouffe Additionnelle food pantry and the Popote Mobile meal delivery service also attended.

Also present at the inauguration were members of the Table de concertation en Sécurité Alimentaire du Haut-Saint-Laurent, including Marie-France Meloche of the Centre Integré de Santé et de Services Sociaux de la Montérégie-Ouest (CISSSMO), who explained that the partnership table will create a sub-committee to coordinate the new space.

Brunette confirmed the kitchen is free to use by the Haut-Saint-Laurent community. “It does not belong to the town. It belongs to everyone,” he explained, saying he hopes the kitchen will become a shared meeting place where different community groups, producers, or small business owners can come together to cook, organize workshops, and prepare healthy and appetizing meals or products.

Huntingdon mayor André Brunette officially opened the town’s new community kitchen on December 17 in the presence of several representatives from the municipality, the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent, the Table de Concertation en Sécurité Alimentaire du Haut-Saint-Laurent, and several community organizations including the Popote Mobile and La Bouffe Additionnelle. (PHOTO Sarah Rennie)

The fully equipped kitchen, which includes large fridges, sinks and wash areas, commercial stoves, and stainless-steel counter spaces and work surfaces is approved by the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation (MAPAQ). It is located at 4 Lorne Street, in the same complex as La Bouffe Additionnelle and the Little Green Library.

Huntingdon received $100,000 in funding for the project from the Ministère des Affaires Municipals et de l’Habitation through Volet 4 of the Fonds Régions et Ruralité: Soutien à la Vitalisation et à la Coopération Intermunicipale. The total cost for the kitchen was around $125,000. The town contributed the remaining $25,000 and will cover the operating and maintenance costs associated with the space.

“We made sure to set up a project that responds concretely to the needs of the community,” said Brunette. “We are very proud to offer community organizations and volunteers a space and professional equipment that will help them in their efforts to guarantee the right to healthy food for all,” he added, noting the town is especially committed to supporting those working in the field of food security.

In 2022, Huntingdon was instrumental in relocated La Bouffe Additionnelle to its current location, and in 2023, the town installed a cold room and freezer chamber in the suite next to the food pantry. Now that the community kitchen is open, the town has also announced it will provide the Popote Mobile with a suite next to the kitchen so they can offer their meal delivery service for seniors from the same building.

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Walker Bridge in Huntingdon remains closed

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Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

The Ministère des Transports et de la Mobilité durable closed the Walker Bridge in Huntingdon on October 29 immediately following an accident involving a cube truck.

The century-old structure, which spans the Chateauguay River, was closed as a precaution after a cube truck collided with the clearance gauge as it approached the bridge.

The Walker Bridge in Huntingdon has been closed since October 29 following a collision between a cube truck and a clearance gauge. (PHOTO Sarah Rennie)

The clearance structure was damaged due to the collision. Marie-Michelle Pilon, the communications advisor and regional spokesperson for Montérégie, says the gauge needs to be repaired, particularly the bases and anchors that support the structure.

Pilon confirms the work will take place “over the next few weeks,” and that this will allow the bridge to be safely reopened.

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Investigation alleges wrongdoing by the town of Huntingdon

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Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

An investigation by the Direction des Enquêtes et des Pursuits en Intégrité Municipale (DEPIM) of the Commission Municipale du Québec has concluded the town of Huntingdon committed wrongdoings in its allocation of tax credits and financial assistance to businesses.

The report, issued by the commission’s municipal integrity investigations and prosecutions branch on October 31, reveals that the town granted a tax credit over ten years to Greenvest Enterprises Inc., the developer behind the restoration of the O’Connor Building, without having first passed a bylaw authorizing it to do so. The report also alleges that financial assistance offered to businesses exceeded the limits imposed by the Municipal Aid Prohibition Act and required citizens’ approval.

Huntingdon’s director general, Johanne Hebert, acknowledges that the town committed an error regarding the awarding of a tax credit to those restoring the O’Connor Building.

The Commission Municipale du Québec has concluded that the town of Huntingdon committed a procedural error in the awarding of tax credits to the developers behind the restoration of the O’Connor Building. (PHOTO Sarah Rennie)

Hébert concurs that the resolution authorizing an agreement between Greenvest Enterprises Inc. and the town was passed by the municipal council on March 13, and that during the same meeting a notice of motion for bylaw 973-2024 was presented. The bylaw established a financial assistance program for the restoration of buildings of special or historic interest in the downtown sector. “The bylaw did not come into force until publication of the public notice to that effect on April 19,” she says. As such, the resolution to authorize the agreement should only have been passed once the bylaw was in force.

“There was no ill intent on our part,” says Hebert. “I think we were just so happy to have succeeded in saving the O’Connor Building,” she adds.

Huntingdon mayor André Brunette agrees, noting it was important to the council that the town’s historical landmarks be saved. The bylaw, regardless of the procedural error, allows the town to offer financial assistance to those willing to help revitalize the town and its older buildings.

Hebert confirms the DEPIM’s report will be deposited during the regular council meeting on December 2, at which time the town will move to repeal the March 13 resolution before passing a new resolution authorizing the agreement with Greenvest Enterprises Inc. in compliance with bylaw 973-2024. This will meet two of the three recommendations issued by the DEPIM as part of its report.

Investigation to be reopened

Hebert says that while she concurs with the DEPIM’s findings concerning the O’Connor Building, she believes the investigators interpretation of article 92.1 of the Municipal Powers Act concerning the town’s financial assistance to businesses is flawed. She disagrees with the report’s conclusions and says she wrote to the investigators with her concerns before the report was published.

Both Hebert and Brunette say they are disappointed that the results of the investigation were made public before discussions could take place to address the town’s concerns. The mayor says the council is now considering hiring a lawyer to respond to the municipal commission and the contents of its report.

Hebert confirms she has been in contact with both the Ministère des Affaires Municipales et de l’Habitation and the commission. She says the investigation will be reopened and that a meeting with the DEPIM’s investigators is already scheduled and will take place shortly.

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Huntingdon releases 10-year sustainable development plan

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Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

The Town of Huntingdon is looking ahead and planning for the future.

Mayor André Brunette and councillor Dominic Tremblay presented the town’s 2024-2034 Sustainable Development Master Plan to citizens on October 29 at the Salle Culturelle Alfred-Langevin. Both referred to the document as the roadmap that will be used to guide decisions concerning the town’s management, development, and planning efforts in the years ahead.

Spearheaded by the board of directors of the Huntingdon Economic Development Corporation, the ambitious 10-year plan is the result of a two-year process that prioritized public participation through workshops, focus groups, and consultations. The municipality received 300 responses to a survey, and over 50 residents took part in an interactive consultation in June 2023.

The finalized plan was adopted by the municipal council on May 28 of this year; however, the document will remain active, and the council has acknowledged that it will have to evolve with the town over the next decade.

The plan is structured around five strategic orientations or objectives that reflect many of the concerns or priorities identified by citizens. These touch on inclusivity, transport and mobility, climate change, the local economy, and the town’s heritage.

The plan includes a list of strategic initiatives and projects to be completed in the short, medium, and long term that address each of the objectives. These include the establishment of a community and cultural centre, the installation of a community kitchen, the development of a town-centre revitalization plan, the creation of a new linear park, the adoption of a greening plan for the town, and much more.

“I think all the ideas and all the intentions from our citizens are in this document, and we’re going to fight hard. We’re going to try and do most of these initiatives, budget permitting,” said Brunette, while noting that several projects were already in place or in progress.

“There are a lot of grants out there, and we are definitely going to try and get funding for each project,” Brunette added, while reassuring citizens that the town intends to develop within its means.

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Commercial development project in Huntingdon faces major delays

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Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

A development buzz continues to resonate across the town of Huntingdon, where housing starts and construction sites seem to be cropping up on nearly every vacant lot. There is one piece of land, however, where the signs of development have remained conspicuously absent.

The field earmarked as the future site of a new Maxi supermarket has remained untouched since the project’s promoters installed a sign and ceremoniously broke ground on the commercial development project in April 2023. Work was expected to begin right away on the proposed 28,000-square-foot grocery store located off François-Cleyn Street, near the corner with Ridge Road.

“The Maxi is still going ahead,” insists Huntingdon mayor André Brunette, while noting that some of the plans for the property have changed. The municipality has also decided to allow for the addition of housing on the lot.

Brunette says that difficulties acquiring permits from the Ministère de Transport to access Route 202 (François-Cleyn Street) are among the issues stalling the project.

Samuel D’Avignon, who is the director of operations for Sphere société immobilière, the real estate developers behind the project, notes the MTQ received the request for permanent access to Route 202 almost two years ago. “The request complies with their regulations, and we have provided them with all the additional documentation requested to answer their questions,” he explains.

The holdup caused by the MTQ is not the only complication resulting in unexpected delays. D’Avignon says that just before the projected start of construction in mid-2023, they discovered the water pressure available at the site did not correspond with simulations and failed to meet building code fire safety requirements for the sprinkler system. “Despite several checks and efforts by the municipality to increase the pressure, it was not enough,” he says.

For the project to go through, the developers commissioned engineers to design an underground 80,000-gallon water basin and system complete with a 1,200 gallon-per-minute pump. D’Avignon confirms that the process, which involved studying and modifying their plans, extended over a year.

D’Avignon says they are currently reworking the budget for the project to ensure all is in line to begin construction. As of now, no start date has been set.

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Huntingdon wants control of in-town section of Route 202

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Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

Huntingdon wants control over the section of Route 202 that runs through the town, which is known locally as François-Cleyn Street.

The busy road is currently maintained by the Ministère du Transport (MTQ), but the town alleges the provincial transport authority is slowing development along the road and refusing the installation of sidewalks.

Huntingdon mayor André Brunette says the town has been in talks with the MTQ for the past several months to acquire the right to manage the one-kilometre strip of highway running from Chateauguay Street to Ridge Road. During the October 7 regular municipal meeting, the council unanimously passed a resolution formally requesting authority over François-Cleyn Street.

Brunette says that along with holding back permits or permissions for future businesses to access the road, the transport ministry has also refused to allow the municipality to add safety features for pedestrians.

“Since 2021, the Ministry of Transport has not accepted out requests to build a sidewalk,” explains Brunette, who suggests other municipalities have faced similar issues when it comes to collaborating with the provincial government. He says in some cases, the MTQ has agreed to relinquish control over sections of numbered highways.

There is a sidewalk along one side of François-Cleyn Street off of Chateauguay Street, but it ends about halfway up the road. Significant commercial and residential buildings have now been built along this stretch, and the absence of a sidewalk is becoming a safety concern.

“We know that the medical centre is very important. We’re happy that it went up. We’re happy about the daycare, but we must have a sidewalk that goes there,” says Brunette, who insists the town is prepared to manage the roadway.

“This will enable us to proceed faster with giving out permits to future businesses that are going to establish on François-Cleyn Street. It will also give us the right to build a sidewalk that will go all the way to the Tim Horton’s,” says the mayor.

“It’s the best way to go, if we want to continue advancing what we have and what we want for the town.”

Brunette says he is hoping to receive a response from the MTQ in the next 60 days. 

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