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PORT HAWKESBURY – A low-income seniors’ housing unit that drew the ire of town councilors back in March is undergoing a series of repairs and clean-ups this month.

Sunset Manor, located across the street from the Port Hawkesbury Nursing Home, is getting much-needed attention from the Cape Breton Island Housing Authority (CBIHA), according to Port Hawkesbury’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Terry Doyle.

During a virtual town council meeting held on September 1, Doyle confirmed that the housing authority has hired companies to carry out several improvements at Sunset Manor. These include replacing the flooring, particularly in the building’s common areas, installing new lights in the kitchen, and overhauling vents for clothes dryers so the resulting air is not recirculated in the common areas of Sunset Manor.

Doyle also confirmed that the CBIHA has hired a pest control company to rid the facility of silverfish, and he expects this process to be completed by mid-September.

The CAO's update drew sighs of relief from Deputy Mayor Blaine MacQuarrie and town councilor Hughie MacDougall, who thanked town staff for pressing the housing authority and Nova Scotia's Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing when MacDougall and former town councilor Trevor Boudreau first brought up the issues at Sunset Manor this past winter.

MacDougall also praised Doyle and Port Hawkesbury Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton for passing along a video he had taken at Sunset Manor to the proper authorities. MacDougall's video showed unclean air from dryer vents being released in common areas, a topic to be address by the CBIHA this month.