ARICHAT - The man originally tabbed to oversee economic development for two Strait Area municipalities has accepted a new post to guide them into an upsurge in renewable energy activity. 

In 2023, the Cape Breton Partnership (CBP) hired Martin Thomsen to serve as Innovations and Economic Development Officer for Richmond County and the Town of Port Hawkesbury. The partnership has now seconded Thomsen so he can serve for the next three years as the Manager of Energy Sector Development for the two municipal units. 

Speaking to Telile LJI reporter following Monday's regular monthly meeting of Richmond Municipal Council in Arichat, Warden Amanda Mombourquette spoke enthusiastically about Thomsen, whose new duties include developing a Local Port and Infrastructure Strategy and an Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence. 

"Martin has been working on this for quite some time, and he's been a great asset to the economic development landscape here in Richmond County," said Mombourquette, who travelled with Thomsen to his native Denmark as part of the Nova Scotia delegation to the WindEurope 2023 conference.

At the same time, the warden is hopeful that Thomsen's replacement will help the municipality implement many of the economic development goals in its latest strategic plan. She added that a twelve-month tourism sector is among the council's top priorities in this regard. 

Also on this week's episode of Roundtable: 

* 1:53 -  Richmond council's desire to see the former West Richmond Education Centre in Evanston converted into a housing development took a step forward at the municipality's latest regular meeting. Council voted unanimously to approve amendments to the Central Richmond Secondary Plan and Land Use By-Law, which would allow so-called "institutional buildings" such as schools to be repurposed for low-income housing. The county put the building up for sale at its February regular council meeting. 

* 8:38 - Following a leak of refrigerant from the main refrigeration unit at the Richmond Arena in Louisdale, Richmond officials have voted to purchase new refrigerant - totalling roughly $35,100 - within the upcoming 2024-25 fiscal year. The only opposing vote came from District Three Councillor Melanie Sampson, who said she would prefer to see this spending happen during the current fiscal year. 

* 20:33 - Stan Johnson, who is now serving as the interim coordinator of the Cape Breton-wide organization Pitu'paq, gave an update to Richmond Municipal Council's Committee of the Whole about the latest efforts to preserve and protect the Bras d'Or Lake shoreline. Pitu'paq is comprised of all five Cape Breton municipal units as well as the island's five Mi'kmaq communities.