Jennifer Robinson

Jennifer Robinson, LJI

West Bolton will be consulting residents – all 700 of them – starting at the end of February to find a solution to an issue that has dogged the town for almost four years.

What to do about the town hall building? Renovate and expand the building and lot? Or, build a new town hall in a new location?

Everyone agrees that the current town hall – while picturesque – is not ideal. The septic system and well need upgrading. Accessibility and ventilation are not up to code. Space is tight for meetings, and the current lot is too small to expand the building or parking lot. The cost just to bring it up to code as a public building has been estimated at more than $450,000 – not including septic and water issues.

“We need to understand what residents want and then make a decision based on what they want,” says Margarita Lafontaine, the town councillor who heads the committee overseeing the town hall project. It is not decided yet how the consultation will be conducted.

But residents will be watching closely, given West Bolton’s track record on the issue. Just recently, a group of citizens won an Access to Information case against West Bolton, which revealed that the former administration had attempted, without the knowledge of residents, to purchase land on Route 243 for the purpose of building an expensive new town hall, community centre and other facilities.. The main individuals involved are no longer in office.

Asked why it has taken so long for the town to consult residents, Lafontaine said there had been changes in personnel and other issues, but that the town was now forging ahead. She said there is still a lot of work to be done to understand the costs of expanding the existing property and building, or any other option that residents might support.

West Bolton residents are facing increases in property taxes this year of about 25 per cent. On average, evaluations have increased 84 per cent.

Jennifer Robinson, LJI

A group of Knowlton residents opposed to development behind St. Paul’s Anglican Church is on the offensive once again to block a high-end housing project on church property that borders Knowlton’s Mill Pond. The church, which is struggling to make ends meet, has already signed a contract to sell the land to a developer for $1 million, with the view of using the money to generate income to fund church activities for years to come.

In an open letter dated Oct. 23, the group lambasted the project, calling it a ‘tragedy” and “nothing short of a money grab exploiting millions of dollars” already invested by the Town of Brome Lake and others in the Mill Pond sector.

Ken Smarzic, one of six signatories of the letter, told Tempo his group members are against any development on the site and they have come up with another plan to help the church. The group is proposing that it “lead” a fundraiser to raise money to buy the land back. The land would then be donated to a nature reserve to protect it from development in the future. Details and targets for such a fundraiser have not been developed. The group is asking to meet with church officials to discuss.

Smarzic said his group believes most people oppose development on that site. That, however, is not clear and the town’s ongoing strategic planning process so far does not have a vision for what could be done on that side of Mill Pond, which by any measure is a desirable location at the town core.

The developer, local businessman Reed Bousada, is pressing forward, and hopes to be in a position to present a formal proposal to the Town in the new year. The latest plan, https://imkor.ca/projets, first unveiled at a public meeting in June, is for the construction of three buildings, each with two luxury townhouses of about 3000 square feet. This is significantly smaller than the original 20-condo complex suggested three years ago, with fewer units, a smaller footprint, built further from the pond, fewer trees felled, and with a stunning new design that echoes Knowlton’s distinctive historic architecture.

In addition, the developer would transfer just under half of the property – almost two acres – to the Brome Lake Land Foundation so that no other building could occur closer to the pond on that property.

Since June the developer has been knocking on doors explaining the project to the 220 citizens in the neighbourhood who need to be consulted for zoning changes and to give their ok.

“We feel the consultation is going really well,” said a spokesperson for Imkor. He said that discussions with residents will continue for several weeks more. He would not comment on the letter from the residents’ group. He said simply that the plan has been significantly altered to address concerns raised by residents, and that Bousada is known for his commitment to community and the church.

Jennifer Robinson, LJI

When it comes to culture, the Town of Brome Lake punches above its weight. Over a long period, volunteer groups have built an impressive set of cultural institutions that places with 10 or 20 times the population do not have. We can start with the theatre, which puts on a wide variety of events and is home to the Knowlton Film Festival. As a venue, the theatre and its lobby are unmatched in the area.

The Knowlton Players, the amateur theatre group, consistently put on performances that match professional quality.

There are two literary festivals, one English and one French. The Knowlton Literary Festival has evolved from a local event to one where renowned writers are more than willing to come here. Author Kathy Reichs this year, for example. Building the festival to its current level took work and imagination. In a world where small bookstores are being crushed by the likes of Amazon and Indigo, the Brome Lake Book Store flourishes. Its connection with author Louise Penny – herself a local and international literary treasure – attracts visitors from Canada and the United States on a pilgrimage to the fictional Three Pines.

Then there is the library, a beautiful century-old building that is in many ways the cultural anchor of the town, serving the population in French and English. Its coming expansion will only enhance its importance. There are five art galleries in town and many artists and writers live in the community.

Since 1897, the Brome County Historical Society has been proudly preserving and promoting the heritage of the area through the Lac-Brome Museum, an outstanding historic and educational organization that makes this area unique among small Quebec communities. It began at a picnic in 1897 on a farm in West Brome to celebrate the centenary of the first land grant in Brome Township.

Finally, we have our own radio station, which recently expanded its broadcast footprint and two newspapers, something large cities are hard-pressed to support. This impressive cultural repertoire did not come from any central plan; it was built by the imagination and work of the people behind them and the support of the community which enjoys the fruits of their labours.