(Y95 News Photo)
A phone survey funded by the Municipality of Yarmouth has drawn the ire of Yarmouth town council.
The survey asks Yarmouth County residents several questions about their feelings on the expansion of Mariners Centre and the bridge facility at 275 Main Street.
It also asks ‘if one municipal unit backed out of funding the projects, would you still support it?’
Anger and frustration was shown at the town’s Committee of the Whole meeting yesterday, with members calling the survey ‘disrespectful.’
Mayor Pam Mood says the survey crossed municipal boundaries without the town’s knowledge.
“The survey was misleading on every front, where people are being asked questions with information that is simply not true. That’s not fair to the citizens. They crossed every line in doing that.”
Mood says the community is suffering with 275 Main Street closed, and they don’t want a fight on their hands to re-open the building and expand Mariners Centre.
She says the three municipal units need to come together as partners and get this done.
Meanwhile the Warden of the Municipality of Yarmouth says his council decided to conduct the survey in February, with the intention of supporting the projects.
John Cunningham says MODY has already committed two million dollars toward the Mariners Centre build, and $75,000 toward the bridge facility, and are 100 percent behind the projects.
“We just wanted to find out what the feelings of the public are. Since this is a regional project, the Municipality of the District of Yarmouth found it prudent to poll the region.”
He confirms the town and municipality of Argyle were not consulted.
Some MODY councillors have stated they didn’t know what the line of questioning would be in the survey, or when the survey would take place.
Cunningham says MQO Research conducted the survey to find data on how citizens are feeling about the projects, without municipal government input.
