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MUNICIPAL COUNCIL
AGENDA
Thursday,April 12, 2018
Chester Municipal Council Chambers
151 King Street, Chester, NS
1.MEETING CALLED TO ORDER.
2.APPROVAL OF AGENDA/ORDER OF BUSINESS.
3.PUBLIC INPUT SESSION (8:45 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.)
4.MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING:
4.1 Council –March 29,2018
5.COMMITTEE REPORTS:
5.1 Any other Committees.
6.MATTERS ARISING:
6.1 Letter from NS Dept.of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal regarding
the approval of the list of approved projects and the cost estimates under the
Cost Share Agreement.
7.CORRESPONDENCE:
7.1 Presentation by Nancy Green, South Shore Housing Action Coalition regarding
Review of Households, Income and Housing Census Highlights: 2006 -2016.
(appointment at 9:00 a.m.)
7.2 Email from UNSM dated March 19, 2018 regarding South Shore -HRM Regional
Meeting –April 23, 2018. RSVP deadline required by April 18th as well as
Agenda Items to be forwarded to Debbie Nielsen at dnielsen@unsm.ca.
7.3 Letter from Herbert F. Lawrence dated March 25, 2018 regarding Lloyds Landing
–Lot #10 -PID#60649241.
7.4 Letter from Nova Scotia Department of Justice, Public Safety and Security
Division dated March 27, 2018 regarding twelve months’ notice that the
Additional Officer Program may experience changes including both structure
and functions on or after April 1, 2019.
Page 2 of 2
7.5 UNSM Spring Workshop 2018 –Yarmouth NS –May 10-12th, 2018.
(Registration required by May 2, 2018)
7.6 Letter from Nova Scotia Gaelic Affairs dated March 30, 2018 regarding the
request to proclaim the month of May as Gaelic Nova Scotia Month in the
province.
8.NEW BUSINESS:
8.1 Request for Decision prepared by Erin Lowe, Economic Development Officer
dated April 3, 2018 regarding Next Steps for Rural Broadband –CIRA Test.
9.IN CAMERA:
9.1 Section 22 (2)(e)of the MGA –Contract Negotiations –Legal Services
10.ADJOURNMENT.
APPOINTMENT
9:00 a.m.Nancy Green, South Shore Housing Action Coalition regarding Review of
Households, Income and Housing Census Highlights: 2006-2016.
7.7 Letter from Bill Church, Church Memorial Park (CMP) dated April 7,2018
regardingTip Fees.
REQUEST FOR DECISION
Prepared By:Erin Lowe Date April 3, 2018
Reviewed By:Date
Authorized By:Tammy Wilson, CAO Date April 6, 2018
CUR RENT SITUATION
On February 28, 2018, the Broadband Network Design & Implementation Report, completed by
i-Valley Intelligent Community Association, was presented by the consultant at a Special Council
Meeting. This meeting was held jointly with the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg
(MODL)and the Region of Queens Municipality (ROQ). The study was undertaken to provide
the partnering municipal units with a high-level overview of the overall network design
throughout the districts; recommended technology; and i -Valley’s recommended ownership
model.
Following the presentation,a discussion around conducting a Canadian Internet Registration
Authority (CIRA) Internet Performance Test (IPT)in order to better position the municipal units
to apply for future funding opportunities was identified as a potential next step.
Since that joint council session, both MODL and ROQ have agreed to fund $4,500 each to
conduct a regional CIRA internet performance test contingent on the Municipality of Chester
also contributing $4,500 for a total project cost of $13,500. This project is proposed to be sole
sourced to i-Valley. i-Valley has put forward a proposal which includes:
$7,500 for one regional landing page:CIRA charges $3,000 for one landing page. The
extra $4,500 from the i-Valley proposal includes:
o Analysis and customization:While CIRA provides custom map views, i-Valley will
provide periodic custom reports in the order of every month to 2 months
depending on the rate of test uptake. These will consist of graphic heat map
views with data for each municipality separately, and one for the region as a
whole. The heat map will consist of a colour view with legend, with see -through
to a street map to allow the municipal units to determine the areas of interest
with precision. As part of the setup for the program,i-Valley plugs in all the
REPORT TO:Municipal Council
SUBMITTED BY:Erin Lowe, Economic Development Officer
DATE:April 3, 2018
SUBJECT:Next Steps for Broadband-CIRA
ORIGIN:Economic Development Strategy
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request for decision
municipal boundaries within each municipality for CIRA, and these can be visible
on the see-through layer as well if that is desired.
o Bonus: Inclusive to Region:The municipalities will not only get their municipal
information but will also see the South Shore region as a whole to assist in
funding readiness.
$6,000 in consulting fees (40 hours at $150/hour):The lander is only a small part of
what makes the IPT successful;we also need a Communications Program.Although we
have an internal Communications Officer,i-Valley proposes it is cheaper and more
effective for us to get their package than to invent it from scratch. The $6,000 consulting
fee includes:designing the regional communications plan, writing all the content, and
working with our internal staff (EDO and/or communications officer)in tweaking the
content multiple times until sign -off.i-Valley will also coordinate the delivery through
multiple channels.
Total of $13,500 / 3 municipal units = $4,500 each.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council approve a pre‐budget allowance of $4,500 to conduct a CIRA Internet
Performance Test in partnership with the Region of Queens and the Municipality of the
District of Lunenburg in preparation for future funding applications
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
CIRA Internet Performance Test:The CIRA Internet Performance Test provides evidence‐based
mapping of speed,quality,latency and 100 other measures that help communities plan and
advocate for funding and support.Currently,some 7,000 speed tests have been conducted by
residents and businesses in the Annapolis Valley,leading to a map that can demonstrate areas
of need and the extent of that need:https://performance.cira.ca/AnnapolisValley.
The CIRA Internet Performance Test provides tests of actual Internet speeds and quality.The
test nodes are located in Internet exchange points, rather than within an ISP’s architecture. This
allows CIRA to measure the actual performance of an Internet connection in real network
conditions.Typically,an Internet Service Provider (ISP)will do an on-net test -so they only test
their performance,on their network.That does not represent a user’s true experience, a user is
inevitably going to cross other networks when utilizing their home internet service.
Considerations:
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request for decision
The license fee is a 12-month renewable license. This is to ensure we gather as much
information as possible and allow for enough time for residents to go online and do the
test. The more residents that conduct the test, the more accurate our data is.
The success of our CIRA Internet Performance Test is directly related to our residents
being engaged enough to go online and take the test.
The results of this project would assist with identifying and prioritizing our most
underserved communities and provide evidence and justification for future
infrastructure funding applications.
Recent Provincial Announcement:On March 15, 2018, the Province of Nova Scotia announced
more than $120 million in one‐time funding, generated from offshore revenues,that will help
expand and improve high‐speed internet service to homes and businesses (see attached Press
Release).There are very little details as to how the funds will be distributed.The Premier did
indicate that an arm’s length trust,headed up by Margaret MacDonald,a former Deputy
Minister of the Province,and two other individuals (one with a financial background and one
with a technical background)will sit with partners to evaluate projects moving forward.It was
indicated that the Province will work with existing ISP’s such as Bell,Eastlink and other
operators to deliver the service.
The Province also released the Brightstar Report (see attached) identifying speed, coverage and
timeline goals for the middle mile strategy. Highlights from the report include:
A recommended speed goal for last mile Internet service of at least 50 Mbps in the
download direction. In areas where a wired solution is not practical, a speed goal for
wireless last mile Internet of 10 Mbps download is recommended.
Expected coverage: 95% of populated rural property locations. The majority of the
balance of populated rural property locations could then be serviced through satellite
technologies, which do not rely on middle mile infrastructure. Satellite speeds of up to
25 Mbps download will be possible with the launch of new satellite services.
Middle mile infrastructure can be implemented within 2 to 4 years of contracts being
awarded.
Buy-in and support from the private sector was seen as critical to ensure accuracy in the
engineering and financial analysis, as well as to ensure involvement of the private sector
in the implementation phase of the middle mile strategy.
Brightstar confirmed that a condition of market failure exists. This demonstrates a need
for public sector support to build the expande d middle mile; the conditions are not
sufficient for the infrastructure to be built by the private sector alone.
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request for decision
The Brightstar team has determined that, under most scenarios studied, middle mile
broadband Internet wholesale revenues are insufficient to o ffset operating costs for the
expanded infrastructure, making the infrastructure nonviable regardless of any
government subsidy.However,when last mile revenue is also considered,Brightstar has
determined that a business case exists with government subsidization.
Brightstar has identified that if there is a market failure condition, the following process
should be considered:
o Use a competitive procurement process to identify the most cost effective (i.e.,
requiring the least amount of government subsidy to achieve universal service
objectives) way to close the gaps between supply and demand.
o Negotiate service-level agreements that require private sector broadband
Internet providers to continue ongoing infrastructure investments in the future.
Next steps for the Province of Nova Scotia to undertake:
o commence implementation of the middle mile strategy
o complete the development of the last mile strategy and then implement
.
IMPLICATIONS
Policy
N/A
Financial/Budgetary
This would require pre-budget approval in the amount of $4500.
Environmental
N/A
Strategic Plan (Goal)
Promote conditions conducive to fostering economic prosperity
Work Program Implications
N/A
ATTACHMENTS
Provincial press release
Brightstar Report on Provincial Middle Mile Strategy