Proposed Bylaw 27 - Respecting Private Road Maintenance Charges

A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON OUR ASSOCIATION

The Greater Molega Lake Lot Owners Association (GMLLOA) was incorporated in 1977 as a non-profit organization chartered in Nova Scotia. At that time, the three developers transferred title to the Association of all roads and green areas along with the mandate to maintain and service them.

The GMLLOA is the largest recreational land developments in the Atlantic Provinces covering over 3,000 acres on the shores of Ponhook, Molega, Beaverdam, Annis, Hidden, Beavertail, and Black Rattle Lakes. As of 2025 GMLLOA includes 1,233 lot owners, and maintains over 52 kilometres of roadway, 13 boat launches, and 3 bridges. We also maintain about 10km of "K" class roads necessary for providing access for GMLLOA members and others to access their properties.

ROAD LEVY BYLAW HISTORY

In 2019 the GMLLOA began discussions with the Region of Queens on potential road levy bylaw. The Region drafted proposed Bylaw 26 in consultation with the GMLLOA Board and presented the proposed bylaw to us in the summer of 2022. Throughout this process, the GMLLOA Board has kept lot owners informed during AGMs and through posted minutes on our website. During the 2022 and 2023 AGMs, the Board shared our intent to adopt the proposed bylaw, receiving unanimous support from voting members.

In 2024, the Region of Queens Council conducted Community Engagement Sessions with property owners on private roads throughout the region and directed staff to prepare the road levy bylaw for Council’s review. A draft of Bylaw 26 (relabeled as Bylaw 27) was presented at the January Council meeting for First Reading. As this is a new council the reading was tabled to give new Council members time to familiarise with the Consultation report and the Bylaw details.

Our GMLLOA Past President, Dwayne Primeau, and Treasurer, Bruce MacInnis attended the March 25th council session to make a short presentation sharing our position on the proposed bylaw, clarifying some concerns, and offering some alternative solutions.

GMLLOA POSITION ON PROPOSED BYLAW 27

GMLLOA members support all the infrastructure, maintenance, and upkeep of roads through their fees, including annual maintenance, capital improvements, and winter plowing and sanding. The maintenance and upkeep of the roads enhances the value of your property and the existence of the Association is seen as a selling point by realtors.

The number of developed properties has increased significantly since 2000, which when combined with both the increase in members who are living fulltime and the expectation among newer residents to have the roads maintained at a level unheard of 20 years ago, has resulted in the volunteer board struggling to meet the needs of the members. The GMLLOA needs to transition to a professionally managed status with a general manager as volunteers cannot sustain the workload and expectations.

There is much overlap and efficiencies to be gained for all parties involved by having Association fees collected as part of the annual taxation process.

To be able to continue providing critical services to its members, the GMLLOA must be able to collect all the fees for services delivered, direct as much of the fees to services as possible, increase revenues (despite the significant increase in inflation affecting the cost of gravel and fuel surcharges, we have not raised our fees for 3 years), fund the future replacement costs of the bridges, and hire a manager to ensure the roads and other infrastructure are maintained and improved to keep up with growing demands.

Bylaw 27, with some adjustments, would be an important part of securing a sustainable approach to serving our members for years to come.

You can view  the whole presentation and Q&A on the ROQ YouTube site: the 10-minute presentation starts at about 32:50, followed by another 10 minutes or so of Q&A. The presentation slides can be read appended to the agenda for the meeting at https://www.regionofqueens.com/~documents/route%3A/download/3985/

CONCLUSION

Our board and the vast majority of lot owners support the creation of, and adoption of this bylaw. Adopting the bylaw will enable the Association to professionally manage the maintenance of the Association’s infrastructure to ensure the roads and services provided to the members meet their needs and the value of their properties continue to be enhanced. The Molega area represents an important and growing tax base in the region - enhancements of services will help us grow together!