'We need a lifeline': The small Nova Scotia town that nobody wants

Mulgrave isn't Nova Scotia's smallest town, but it may be the province's most desperate.

The community of just over 700 people sits on the Strait of Canso, surrounded by the Municipality of the District of Guysborough and overlooking the Town of Port Hawkesbury.

The main road is crumbling and needs more than $7 million in repairs — a number that would "scare anybody off," admits Mayor Ralph Hadley.

The town office was demolished this fall after support beams gave way. The handful of town employees are now squeezed into a strip-mall unit on Main Street, while council holds its meetings at the fire hall.

"We're struggling," Hadley said in a recent interview. "We need a lifeline." 

Findings from a CBC News analysis of council sizes and costs for towns and municipalities across Nova Scotia leave no doubt that Mulgrave is pinching pennies.

The mayor makes $7,375 a year and is the lowest paid in Nova Scotia. Even finding five willing candidates to sit on council has been challenging.

Seeking amalgamation

There would be no other better lifeline out there than amalgamating with a larger nearby municipality — a tactic several other Nova Scotia towns have turned to in recent years.

But on that front, Mulgrave has faced only failure.

Guysborough fought Mulgrave's Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board application over concerns about the cost of repairing the town's main road.

When Mulgrave went looking farther afield for a willing partner, Antigonish County and Port Hawkesbury both said no.

"They didn't rule it out," said Hadley. "But they said not right now. It is tough times; we're struggling the worst."

The town's former chief administrative officer, Kevin Matheson, said Mulgrave's predicament is a cautionary tale for other small Nova Scotia towns that maintain their independence instead of joining neighbouring municipalities.

"You can end up looking at it too late," said Matheson. "And that's when you are not attractive to another place."

As a municipal manager for hire, Matheson was brought in to help Mulgrave work through dissolution when it appeared a deal with Guysborough was in the works.

He also worked with Hantsport and Bridgetown as they transitioned through amalgamation with West Hants and Annapolis County respectively.

Any town with fewer than 1,500 people, he said, "should seriously be looking" for a merger.

Mulgrave barely has enough money to cover day-to-day operations, the mayor said, let alone replace the aging underground pipes or the sewage-treatment plant.

There's more bad news on the way. Despite "fighting the decision tooth and nail," Mulgrave's only school — with 19 students and three teachers — will close for good in June.

Province urges sharing of services

With no appetite at the provincial level for forced amalgamations, Mulgrave's options are few.

Municipal Affairs Minister Derek Mombourquette said he understands the town's challenges and wants to help find a solution. Provincial staff are working with Mulgrave and he's confident municipal workers are being paid.

But he emphasizes that his message to towns and counties across the province is to work together and share services.

For now, Mulgrave has no choice but to keep treading water. It's hired a new part-time CAO who's also agreed to be the town's finance manager for the next two years. It's also signed a deal to have Guysborough collect the town's garbage.

And local officials are holding out hope for an economic boost from the proposed Melford container terminal, which will be located south of town — if it goes ahead.

"That would bring back a lot of our families back that used to live here years ago," said Hadley.