PORT HAWKESBURY - A town councillor here feels two neighbouring counties need to step up their financial contributions to the Strait Area Pool. 

Jason Aucoin is calling for joint meetings with the municipal councils serving Inverness and Richmond Counties within the next two months, and he insists that pool funding be on the agenda for both meetings. Aucoin requested this month's regular town council meeting at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre. 

Since it opened in 1977 as part of the Strait Area Education and Recreation Centre (SAERC) high school complex, the Strait Area Pool has received funding from the municipalities of Inverness and Richmond. However, Aucoin feels these two municipalities have ignored several months' worth of pleas from Port Hawkesbury to increase their share of contributions to a level that matches actual pool usage by residents of these counties. 

Council voted to have Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton, Deputy Mayor Mark MacIver and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Terry Doyle speak to their counterparts in Richmond and Inverness Counties to set up face-to-face meetings on the issue as quickly as possible. 

Also on this week's TELILE 24/7: 

* 0:58 - Nova Scotia's Department of Public Works is insisting that tenders will be called within days for the construction of the new Port Hastings Roundabout, which is now slated to wrap up in the fall of 2025. 

* 15:25 - The Parks Protection Officer for Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, Sandra Fraser, is encouraging local residents to comment on a new proposed management strategy for Pondville Beach Provincial Park prior to the upcoming deadline of January 31. 

* 28:30 - Richmond Municipal Council is debating over whether to incorporate electronic voting into its traditional paper-ballot system for this fall's municipal elections. 

* 38:20 - Some Port Hawkesbury Town Councillors want the local RCMP and the town's Public Works staff to have the power to tow vehicles that violate Port Hawkesbury's overnight Winter Parking Ban. 

* 49:14 - An all-terrain vehicle club from eastern Richmond County is investigating the possibility of accessing land located near the former landfill site in L'Ardoise, prompting Richmond Municipal Council to dig deeper on the issue before doing follow-up communications with the club.