Kentville is proud of the transparency with which town business is conducted. Any resident who wants to be up-to-date on town business can easily stay in touch. Whether you need by-law information, council meeting minutes, or want to chat with your councillor, you’ll find all Kentville business information right here.

Over a Century of Kentville Town Hall History

• 1887:The offices for the Town Hall were leased for the rental of seventy-five dollars per year.
• 1896:The town conducted its business in the Chipman Building on Main Street, near the present Town Hall.
• 1946:The town purchased property from the Salvation Army for the purpose of constructing a new Town Hall and Fire Station.
• 1953:The town office took up quarters in the new Town Hall, moving from temporary offices at the Cornwallis Inn.
• 1989: The new Town Hall was joined to the old Maritime Tel & Tel building in a ten-month renovation project.
• 1990: The grand opening of the Town Hall was held, on September 28.

List of Kentville Mayors:

• John King  1887-1888
• J.P. Chipman  1889-1890
• Dr. H.B. Webster  1891-1892
• B.H. Dodge  1893
• J.W. Ryan  1894-1895
• R.S. Masters  1896-1897
• G.F. Rockwell  1898-1899
• WM. Yould  1900-1902
• W.F. Roscoe  1904-1907
• Dr. H.B. Webster 1908-1909
• H.H. Wickwire  1910-1911
• Wm. Yould  1912
• J.W. Ryan  1913-1914
• F.A. Masters  1915
• A.L. Pelton  1916-1917
• J.H. Yould  1918-1919
• W. Saxby Blair  1920
• A.L. Pelton  1921
• A.E.H. Chelsey  1922-1924
• A.L. Pelton  1925-1927
• Raymond Crosby  1928-1931
• G.W. Lyons  1932-1935
• B.W. Roscoe  1936-1945
• Gladys M. Porter  1946-1949
• R.W. Rottler  1950-1953
• Gladys M. Porter  1954-1960
• G.L. Calkin  1961-1963
• H.C. Lindsay  1964-1966
• C.R.G. Lowe  1967
• F.H Ripley  1968-1973
• R. Wendell Phinney  1974-1988
• Dorine P. Taylor  1988-1994
• R. Art Pope  1994-1997
• Gary P. Pearl  1997-2005
• David Corkum  2006-2016
• Sandra Snow  2016-2024
• Andrew Zebian 2024-

Accessibility of Council and CAC meetings at Town Hall:

• The Town of Kentville recognizes that participation in council and committee meetings should be available to all residents.

• Council meetings and CAC meetings are usually held in the Town Hall council chambers, which is considered moderately accessible. 

• Physical accessibility of the building is considered to be low to moderately accessible (partially accessible exterior ramp, partially accessible interior ramp, elevator, partially accessible washroom).

• Streaming of our meetings makes them highly accessible to all residents, except for the Public Comments section of the meeting.

The following is the process for changing venue of Council, CAC and committee meetings:

When the elevator in town hall is not available and council chambers is not accessible for a council or committee meeting, staff will make all reasonable efforts to change the venue as follows:

1. Committees can use the conference room on the main floor, when available.

2. For larger meetings, or council meetings, staff can try to move to an alternate venue which is moderately accessible:

   • Main Street Station Ballroom, Kentville Lower Recreation Centre, or Kings County Municipal Building.

3. If one of these venues are available, we will use our own technology in order to facilitate audio, video and recording or streaming (if possible).  For the Kings County building, we will use existing technology.

4. If these venues are not available, staff will reach out to the Kentville Fire Hall for rental of their space.

5. If the Fire Hall is available, staff will reach out to local and regional IT companies who specialize in audio video and live streaming.

6. Once a venue and technology is secured, all information will be shared with Council, staff and the public regarding the change of venue.

7. If these steps do not secure an alternate location, the meeting will be held virtually through Zoom or Teams, with opportunity for resident participation during Public Comments.

Note: The Public Comments section of a council meeting is only one way to bring issues forward to Council.  There is also Emails to Council and staff, Correspondence to Council for the public record, personal calls/emails/meetings to Council and staff.  

Note: Council and staff have been in the process of assessing the building and improving accessibility since 2022, and have a goal of reaching the provincial deadline of being fully (or very) accessible by 2030.