Albert the dinosaur will have new home in Albert County Museum

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Albert, a dinosaur skeleton that helped draw thousands of visitors to the Moncton Museum last year, is moving to the Albert County Museum, where it will become the focus of a new exhibit on fossils and minerals, city council was told Monday night.

Sophie Cormier, director of Resurgo Place/The Moncton Museum, told council that the 50th anniversary exhibit and celebrations were successful, with close to 17,000 people visiting the museum from June to January, and 6,627 visited the 50th anniversary exhibit, and more than 700 attended the museum’s birthday party. A museum colouring book, featuring art by local students, is now available at the gift shop.

The exhibit included a Picasso painting called “Lamp and Cherries” and the skeletal cast of Albert the Albertosaurus Sarcophagus, a dinosaur similar to the Tyrannosaurus that lived in Alberta 71 million years ago. The skeleton first appeared in Moncton as part of a travelling exhibit in 1985 and returned in 2023 thanks to the Thunder Bay Museum in Ontario.

Cormier said the Ontario museum decided to let Moncton keep Albert, and an arrangement has been made for the dinosaur to be displayed at the Albert County Museum in Hopewell Cape. Dawne McLean, president of the Albert County Historical Society, said Albert will be a catalyst for a new educational exhibit about the tides, minerals and fossils of Albert County. One of the natural minerals, Albertite, was discovered in 1820 and was used by New Brunswick geologist Abraham Gesner to create kerosene.

“The petroleum industry was started in Albert County and we want to tell that story,” McLean said.

• Moncton City Council voted Monday to approve a lump sum payment from the Moncton Wildcats Hockey Club Limited for sponsorship fees due under a May 2018 sponsorship agreement between the city and the Wildcats. The vote in a regular meeting of council was taken after the issue was discussed in a private meeting of council on April 8.

According to a background document, the city and the Wildcats entered a 20-year sponsorship agreement in 2018 relating to the Avenir Centre. The agreement called for the Wildcats to pay the city $50,000 per year for 20 years. In 2024, there was an $800,000 outstanding balance and the city agreed to accept a lump sum payment of $550,000 to discharge the financial obligations of the agreement.

“Upon receiving the lump sum payment, the city will invest the funds into appropriate investments over the remaining term to provide a return that will equal or exceed the $800,000 currently outstanding,” the city said. “The Moncton Wildcats and the Irving organization have supported the community and the Avenir Centre since it opened in 2018.”

• The City of Moncton has approved a new lease agreement with Tennis Moncton Inc., which operates the tennis club in Centennial Park.

• Supt. Benoit Jolette, Supt. Benoit Jolette, officer in charge of the Codiac Regional RCMP, told council that officers are making presentations to students at local schools, and the crime reduction unit has made several arrests in connection with illegal drugs, cigarettes and firearms. He said a recent investigation into complaints of sexual assaults over 10 years ago resulted in charges. He encouraged victims of sexual assaults in the past to have the courage to come forward. Jolette also said the RCMP recently reached an agreement with the Avenir Centre to provide a dedicated police presence during events like concerts.

• Council voted Monday to begin the process of rezoning land off Horsman Road and south of Berry Mills Road for an expansion of the Moncton Industrial Park West. Planning director Bill Budd said a public presentation on the expansion will be held May 6, followed by a public hearing on June 17. The proposed park will provide approximately 40-50 new industrial lots and require three new public streets and a bridge over the CN Rail line.

• A public hearing will be held May 21 for the proposed rezoning of 680 Salisbury Road, where the owner wants to expand the parking lot of an auto dealership.

• Council voted in favour of a rezoning at 306 McLaughlin Road, which will allow developer Quest Properties to demolish an existing house and build a two-storey, eight-unit apartment building. Budd said there were some objections to the plan, mainly about drainage and traffic concerns, but none of the objectors spoke at the public hearing.

• Council voted in favour of several street reconstruction and resurfacing projects in the city. Coun. Charles Leger expressed concern about the condition of St. George Boulevard, near Centennial Park and the fire station, which he said is in very rough shape. He said there are safety concerns with people travelling at very high speeds.

• Mayor Dawn Arnold announced that Kimberly Christie-Gallant has been appointed as a new member of the Codiac Regional Policing Authority. Christie-Gallant is a retired teacher who, in 2022, went to city council with a petition called “Make Moncton Safe Again”. Her petition sparked a series of public meetings where residents vented their frustrations about property crimes, drug use and vagrancy. Those meetings formed the basis for an action plan by the city and RCMP.