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ARICHAT - While there isn't a specific plan for cooperation with the neighbouring Town of Port Hawkesbury, the new Richmond County Warden is optimistic about a desire for municipal collaboration that was recently expressed by the town's mayor.

Shortly after Brenda Chisholm-Beaton was sworn in for her second term as mayor in early November, she recalled that Richmond Municipal Council was planning to have a joint public meeting with Port Hawkesbury Town Council in late 2016, but this development - and other attempts for the two neighbouring councils to work together - quickly fell by the wayside. 

Addressing the mayor's desire for municipal cooperation shortly after the December 21 regular meeting of Richmond Municipal Council, Warden Amanda Mombourquette expressed a desire to work more closely with Port Hawkesbury, as well as other levels of local government such as Potlotek First Nation.

"I can tell you that there's no 'plan' - we've only been in the seats for eight weeks," Mombourquette pointed out.

"But there definitely is a desire to be more proactive, especially on the development side...Even throughout my [municipal election[ campaign, we talked about strengthening our relationships with other local governments. I can't really make a commitment on that at this point, but it is definitely going to be a desire of ours to find ways to work more collaboratively."

The potential areas for cooperation involving Richmond County and Port Hawkesbury include the Joint Industrial Park the two units share in the community of Point Tupper, which is found just inside the boundary line between the county and the town.