2021 New Years Message From the Mayor - Town of Springdale

2021 New Years Message From the Mayor

On behalf of Town of Springdale Staff and Council I would like to wish all residents a very Happy
New Year. I am very pleased to present a balanced 2021 budget of $3,271,844.95 million, with
no tax increases to the residents of our community. It is a balanced budget that reflects our
commitment to maintain our infrastructure and our intent to provide quality services and
amenities to our resident’s while being conscientious of our financial position.
While 2020 was certainly a challenging year due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, I would like
to highlight some of the many accomplishments and improvements which did take place over
the course of the year. 2020 Multi Year Capital Works projects included the upgrades in water
and sewer services and asphalt on Peter’s Lane, Windsor’s Road and Redwood Road. In
addition, Riverwood Drive received an upgrade to asphalt and storm drainage as part of the
Town’s Gas Tax Infrastructure Projects.
Council would like to thank residents for their cooperation and understanding during
construction season as traffic delays did pose some inconveniences.
On the Recreation/Tourism side of things, George Huxter Memorial Park Green Space received
further upgrades with the addition of lighting and a communal fire pit. 2020 saw the
completion of our new Dog Park and the addition of an asphalt basketball court adjacent to the
Aquatic Center. The Springdale Community Garden is nearing completion with many upgrades
taking place over the course of 2020. Thank-you the Community Garden committee for their
contributions.
The 2021 budget will see us remain steady on our priorities of road upgrades, community
infrastructure investment and the commitment of maintaining and improving frontline services.
The Town of Springdale were successful in an application for funding through the Federation of
Canadian Municipalities to develop an Asset Management Plan. Asset management is a
systematic process of developing, operating, maintaining, upgrading, and disposing of assets in
the most cost-effective manner (including all costs, risks and performance attributes). This Plan
contributes to systematic governance and decision making over the long-life span of Publicly
owned infrastructure.
For 2021, a number of important initiatives have been targeted which include:
-Water, Sewer, and Storm Drainage upgrades on Booth Avenue.
-Asphalt and ditching upgrades on Noel’s Place.
-Extension of Asphalt on Oxford Place and Main Street in the East End of Town.
-Replacement of the Board Walk along the West End Section of the Indian River Walking Trail.

We realize 2021 will bring challenges but with each challenge presents a new opportunity and
our Council will approach each issue with that in mind.
Thank-you to all residents, businesses and organizations for working with Council in aid of a
common goal which is improving the quality of life for all who live in our community.

Property Taxes
PAYMENT METHODS - The Town of Springdale accepts cash or cheque for payments. Please be advised
that payments can also be made online through your banking institution. Citizens can now make
payments at Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC or online.

PAYMENT PLANS - For your convenience the Town will accept equal payment plans in order to keep
your account in good standing. For your convenience post-dated cheques can be mailed or dropped off
at the town office.

DUE DATE - Taxes are due, in full, by March 31, 2021. Tax balances owing after March 31, 2021 will be
charged interest.

DISCOUNT DATE – All taxes are due and payable by March 31, 2021. Citizens will receive a 2% discount
on property, business and water & sewer if paid by March 31, 2021. However, seniors (aged 65 and
over) will be eligible for a 5% discount on property tax and 2% discount on water & sewer if paid in full
by March 31, 2021.

PROPERTY ASSESSMENT -Property Assessment is the process of establishing a dollar value for property
tax purposes. The Municipal Assessment Agency completes property assessments for the Town of
Springdale. The Town is not involved in any way with the property assessment process. The Assessment
Act, 2006 requires a re-evaluation of property every three years. The current assessments are based on
the market value of a property as of January 1, 2020 and have been calculated based on property's
physical characteristics and property sales in the area. Also please be advised that the appeal period will
be 60 days from the date of the assessment notice.

If you have any questions, please contact the town office at 709-673-3439 or email
info@townofspringdale.ca

Snow Clearing Policy Reminders
The Town of Springdale Public Works Department would like to remind our Resident’s to our
Snow Clearing and Winter Damage Policy. This new policy is a way to help the public
understand how we operate - during and after - a snowfall event, the routes we travel and the
equipment we use. Some of the important highlights that we would like everyone to focus on
are:

-Resident’s and Contractors are not permitted to push snow into or across a public roadway.
-Resident’s are reminded about our Traffic Bi-Law, prohibiting the placement of vehicles near or
on the public roadways from 01-December to 31-March during the hours of 1:00AM and
8:00AM. Tickets will be issued by the RCMP and the vehicle will be towed if found in violation.
-Damage claims must be submitted in writing, on an official Town form. Our policy clearly states
what will and will not be accepted as damages.
-Wooden garbage boxes will no longer be replaced if damaged by snow clearing equipment. In
an effort to clean up our community, residents will receive a one-time replacement of a heavy
duty garbage bin on wheels if a wooden bin is damaged.
This policy and damage claim forms can be found online at www.townofspringdale.ca or at the
Town Hall. We thank everyone in advance for their cooperation!

Leak Detection
The Town of Springdale are moving towards leak detection in the community and want to
understand how many of these homes are using “bleeders’ in the community.
Any homes who currently have a water line “bleeder” (a mechanism that causes a continuous
flow of water, typically used during the winter months to prevent water line freezing on
shallow-bury water lines), to notify the Town.
This purely to help us better understand how our system operates to help better serve the
public and all information will be confidential.

Message from the Fire Chief:
Happy New Year to all! Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. As we move into
2021 here are some fire safety information to consider.
When you call the fire department emergency phone line 673-4333 please keep in mind that
the call will not be a live call. The call will be answered by an answering machine. After the
recording leave you name, location, nature of emergency and a call back number (this is in case
we need more information) as you are leaving this message, it is played live on each fire
fighter’s pager. Once a call is received our volunteer members respond to the fire hall and then
to the scene.
In addition to calling our local emergency number you can also call 911, a call taker will get your
information and connect you to our emergency line, where you will leave the same information
as above.

Most importantly when leaving a message please remain calm and speak clearly.
If you call our emergency line in error please say wrong number than we will know it not an
emergency call.
As residents are aware, this winter has brought warmer than usual temperatures. The
Springdale Fire Department encourages all residents who have wood burning fixtures to check
their stove pipes or chimneys frequently as cooler burning temperature’s can increase the
build-up of creosote and potential for chimney fires.

Reminder For Business Start-ups

Re: Business Permits and Service NL Approval
The first step to obtaining a business permit from the Town of Springdale is to submit plans and
specifications to Service NL for a required plan review. The purpose of the plan review is to
ensure projects are in compliance with the Fire and Life Safety Code as well as the Buildings
Accessibility Act and Regulations. Service NL registration is subject to a final inspection before
occupancy. Once the final inspection is complete and all requirements are met, the Town will
then issue a permit to occupy. Please be reminded that if this is a new construction, a
development permit is also be required.

Plans and Specifications
 Plans and specification’s for new construction, alteration, renovation, extension, and/or
change of use or occupancy of a building (including patios or decks) shall provide sufficient
information to show that the proposed work will conform to the National Building Code of
Canada (NBCC), the Fire Protection Services Act and regulations and the Buildings Accessibility
Act and Regulations. For plans and specifications for all NBCC Part 3 buildings, the designer shall
be a professional architect or engineer skilled in the work concerned except for Group A
assembly occupancies (ie church, arena etc) where the buildings total occupant load does not
exceed 50 persons.

For more information visit Service NL website at
https://www.servicenl.gov.nl.ca/licenses/index.html

If you have any further questions please contact the Town Office at 673-3439 or by email at
info@townofspringdale.ca