PORT HAWKESBURY - Shortly after a socially-distanced swearing-in ceremony for Port Hawkesbury Town Council, newly re-elected Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton spoke optimistically about pushing forward with changes and upgrades inside and outside the town limits. 

Acclaimed to her post in 2016, Chisholm-Beaton won a second term by defeating challenger Archie MacLachlan in October's municipal election. With three incumbents from the previous term - Blaine MacQuarrie, Hughie MacDougall and Mark MacIver - also re-elected, the mayor is hopeful that town council can easily pick up where it left off on such files as affordable housing development, a new waterfront improvement strategy, and the next phase of the Destination Reeves Street project for the town's main thoroughfare. 

"There will definitely be no breaks and no rest," Chisholm-Beaton declared. "We're definitely going to be very busy in the next four years."

At the same time, Chisholm-Beaton is putting a high priority to reaching out and starting dialogue with the neighboring municipal councils serving the Town of Mulgrave and Richmond County. Richmond and Port Hawkesbury butted heads this year over the provision of fire services to the community of Point Tupper, but Chisholm-Beaton is optimistic that the arrival of a new council in Richmond County will foster a more positive relationship in the weeks and months to come. :

"We have so many synergies together, so many opportunities where we could be working together to create some efficiencies and shared-service opportunities and even some regional projects that we could work on together," Chisholm-Beaton noted. 

Among the potential shared opportunities for Richmond County and Port Hawkesbury are upgrades to the industrial park the two municipalities have operated for decades, as well as the first-ever joint council meeting between the two sides. Mayor Chisholm-Beaton noted that the joint-council concept was floated in 2016 but fell by the wayside over the following four years. However, she is hopeful that new Richmond Warden Amanda Mombourquette will see the value in pursuing such a course.