Funding to Upgrade Community Infrastructure in Colchester County

Colchester County residents will see enhancements to community facilities with provincial grants announced today, July 25.

“Funding for community infrastructure is essential, as it serves as primary locations for social interaction, personal growth and safe refuge for everyone to utilize,” said Tom Taggart, MLA for Colchester North, on behalf of Allan MacMaster, Minister of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage. “Each of these community-led facilities receiving funding enhance regional engagement, and we are proud to support their initiatives that benefit residents.”

The Tatamagouche Centre, formerly the Atlantic Christian Training Centre, is a transformational learning and conference centre that received funding for thermal insulation to improve the building’s energy efficiency.

The Middleton Community Hall Association outside Tatamagouche received funding to replace the hall’s roof and siding and upgrade the kitchen.

The Colchester Ground Search & Rescue Association received funding to install a generator at its home base in Debert so it can be a gathering place during prolonged power outages. The volunteer-led organization conducts searches for lost people, assists RCMP with evidence searches, performs wilderness rescues and helps during emergencies such as flood evacuations.

Other organizations are also upgrading community facilities through provincial grants:

• Creamery Square Association, Tatamagouche – improve restrooms in the heritage building and the entrance system at the farmers’ market, as well as support for a canoe-building project
• Earltown Community Centre Society – repair building exterior and replace windows and doors of the centre
• Kemptown Community Hall – resurface the hall floor
• Brule Community Centre Association – install a heat pump
• Bayhead Community Hall Society – install a heat pump
• Northumberland Arts Council – make accessibility improvements to a ramp and paving at the Fraser Gallery in Tatamagouche.

These community grants are part of a series of announcements taking place across the province.

Quotes:

“As a volunteer emergency service provider for the Municipality of Colchester and the Province of Nova Scotia, we, as a team, wish to further support our local community right here at home. With the increase in extreme weather events, we’ve witnessed the usefulness and need for local comfort centres when these events happen. This generous donation towards a generator system for our facility moves us one step closer to being able to open our doors when the need arises for our community to gather, rest and recoup.”
— Jeff Winters, Administration Section Chief, Colchester Ground Search & Rescue Association

Quick Facts:

• grant recipients and funding amounts:

  • Tatamagouche Centre – $50,000
  • Middleton Community Hall Association – $50,000
  • Colchester Ground Search & Rescue Association – over $40,000
  • Creamery Square Association – over $39,000
  • Earltown Community Centre Society – over $17,000
  • Kemptown Community Hall – $15,000
  • Brule Community Centre Association – $10,000
  • Bayhead Community Hall Society – over $6,000
  • Northumberland Arts Council – over $4,000

• the Province’s accessibility strategy, Access by Design 2030, outlines how the government will achieve its goal of an accessible province by providing people with disabilities equitable access to programs, services, information and infrastructure

Additional Resources:

Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage grants and programs: https://cch.novascotia.ca/investing-in-our-future

Online grant finder tool: https://beta.novascotia.ca/find-grants-offered-through-department-communities-culture-tourism-and-heritage

Access by Design 2030: https://novascotia.ca/accessibility/access-by-design