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Longtime town engineer Ben Pitman retires
Ben Pitman has left his office at Amherst town hall for the final time.
The longtime town employee decided Nov. 19, 2021, – his 62nd birthday – would be his last day on the job after a 34-year career with the Town of Amherst, the last 13 as its town engineer.
While he officially joined the town fulltime in 1987 as an assistant engineer to Ron Patterson, then the town’s engineer, his association with the town actually began four years earlier while he was a student going to Mount Allison University and the University of New Brunswick, getting degrees in engineering as well as geology and mathematics.
Town of Amherst approves land exchange agreement
The Town of Amherst approved a land exchange agreement at a special meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021, that will bring the sale of the Cumberland Central Landfill in Little Forks one step closer to completion.
Last June, the Town of Amherst, along with the Municipality of Cumberland and the Town of Oxford, agreed to sell the landfill and septage treatment facility to GFL Environmental in a deal that ensures the stable collection of solid waste and tipping fees for the next 25 years while relieving the three municipalities of all environmental liabilities associated with the landfill.
Firefighter Andrew Bickle named volunteer of the year
Firefighter Andrew Bickle has been recognized by his peers as the Amherst Fire Fighters’ Association’s volunteer of the year.
Bickle was chosen for the award via a vote taken among the association’s membership.
Water rates remain low, despite proposed increases
A recently concluded study conducted for the Town of Amherst will result in the town applying to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board for changes to its water rates.
In presenting the study to a special Amherst town council meeting on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, consultant G.A. Isenor Consulting Ltd, in association with Blaine S. Rooney, Consulting Ltd., indicated the proposed increases will allow the town to finance the debt incurred in recent capital projects while allowing the town to continue making strategic capital investments in its water utility infrastructure.
Even with the proposed rate increase, the water bills issued by the Amherst Water Utility, one of more than 50 utilities in the province, will be the sixth lowest in Nova Scotia.