Media Releases

Committee recommends street name change

Amherst town council’s committee of the whole is recommending council change the name of Copp Lane to Ernie Lane.

The committee made the recommendation during its Feb. 18, 2020, meeting when it referred a request to change the name to council’s Feb. 24 session for approval.

Council received a request in January to change the name of Copp Lane to E.J. Mills Lane in recognition of the late Ernie Mills, a local craftsman and tradesman who contributed greatly to the town. However, the request was rejected in order to avoid duplication as the town already had two streets with the name Mill in it.

At the time, staff were directed to see if the Mills family found Ernie Lane acceptable. The family indicated it was.

During Tuesday’s meeting, staff noted there was only one home on the street that would be affected by the name change and it belonged to the Mills family, which initiated the initial request to change the street’s name.

The town’s street naming policy requires the town to give all residents and property owners a six-month notice of a street name change, which means the renaming of Copp Lane to Ernie Lane would take place until Sept. 1, 2020, if council approves the recommendation at its next meeting.

Temporary borrowing resolution

The committee approved a staff recommendation to send a temporary borrowing resolution for slightly more than $1.2 million to council’s Feb. 24, 2020, meeting for approval.

In making the recommendation to the committee, staff noted the main purpose in passing the resolution now is to obtain ministerial approval so the town can borrow funds for capital projects in either the spring or fall debenture issue – if needed.

Staff also noted the motion does not mean the town will borrow money for the capital projects, which included the Willow Street upgrades, purchasing a new backhoe and fixing the Community Credit Union Business Innovation Centre roof. Nor does it commit the town to long-term financing.

 Mandatory Provincial Contribution Area Rate

 The committee approved a staff recommendation to send the mandatory provincial contribution area rate of 39.7 cents per $100 of assessment to council’s Feb. 24, 2020, council session for approval.

The rate is 0.8 cents lower than the 2019-2020 rate and will collect $2,122,017, which is $4,488 less than last year.

The area rate provides funding for education, assessment, corrections, housing and library services, all services for which the province mandates the amount to be paid by the town.