The mayor of Saint Andrews is reflecting on what he describes as a great year for the coastal community.
In a year-end interview, Brad Henderson said the town’s population continues to grow after years of decline.
“We have the fastest growing population in New Brunswick,” Henderson told our newsroom.
“Our population last census grew 14.8 per cent, and every indication over the last year is that we’re going to continue to grow.”
But Henderson said with that growth comes challenges for the town, particularly as it relates to housing.
The town has worked with a number of developers to help add more housing stock to the community.
“Compass Housing just literally welcomed its last group of residents. So those are 42 new units that people are living in,” said Henderson.
Town council voted to contribute $500,000 toward the project as part of the development agreement with Compass Housing.
The two-storey building at Mowat Drive and Bar Road features six one-bedroom units, 31 two-bedroom units and five three-bedroom units.
“The cost of homes and the cost of rent continues to be a struggle, not just in Saint Andrews but everywhere across Canada,” said Henderson.
Power outages were a big problem in Saint Andrews this past year as the town dealt with multiple power outages on sunny days.
Henderson said they later learned that three outages that occurred in the spring were caused by osprey activity.
“Then even on July 1st, which is one of the biggest economic days of the year, a squirrel went into a power station and basically knocked down the power for the entire community,” he said.
Frustration from council and the community prompted NB Power to hold an information session in the town in August.
Henderson said it gave them a chance to see what the challenges were and what type of action NB Power was taking to avoid significant disruptions in the future.
“I’ve got to give credit despite how there’s been challenges … it’s no indication of the people they have as an organization. It’s just we had challenges and we needed real solutions on how they stop in the future,” he said.
