Jolene Lowes and Boyd Canart attended the RM of Wallace-Woodworth council meeting to report on the demise of the artificial ice plant at the Elkhorn and District Community Centre (EDCC) and the plans to replace it. Lowes represented the EDCC committee and Canart is acting as a consultant on the ice plant project.
In mid-March, during the Tiger Hills Hockey League (THHL) west division final playoff series between Miniota/Elkhorn C-Hawks and Virden Oil Kings, the ice plant failed ending any use of the ice for the rest of the season. In addition to losing the remaining games in the THHL playoffs Canart noted, “We also missed the CanSkate show, and we will miss quite a few ice rentals from teams that are looking to try to finish out their playoff season.”
Lowes said, “It was going to cost about $15,000 to get it back running,” and although the facility lost about $2000, she added, “It didn't warrant us to pay to get it fixed.”
Plans to replace the plant were already in progress and Canart said, “It was 13 years ago that the condenser was added to the unit and that was a Band-Aid at that time.” adding, “There is a worry that we will become financially strapped (and) we have some huge technical difficulties within the facility.”
Lowes said, “We're having a lot of trouble with our kitchen, and we seem to be putting more and more money into it, so if we're trying to get the ice plant going, and we can't open doors that's my concern.”
A new ice plant is in the works, and it will be housed in a C-can shipping container outside the rink. The system will be self-contained and suitable to be moved to a new location. Canart said, “We are running in parallel with a group right now that has interest in a new facility… so we are trying not to put an excessive amount of money into the building but just to maintain its properties as it is to be functional.”
Installing the new plant in a C-can will cost an extra $50,000, and the delegation came to request bridge financing for that amount until approved grants arrive and to provide time for further fundraising. Canart said, “There are grants coming due and there's a few other grants they will continue to apply for, but we can't put those in as actual financials until we receive them.”
Council approved of the bridge financing in theory and will wait for EDCC to provide an audited financial statement to give final approval.
KENTON LUD
Coun. Diana MacDonald reported that the Kenton committee will invite requests for proposals to replace sidewalks in the community. LUD manager Marty Sigurdson has also been advertising for this summer’s Green Team. Two dog waste stations have been ordered that are to be placed in the community, and there will be an animal vaccination clinic on the afternoon of May 21 at the fire hall. A letter was received from concerned town residents about a backup plan for prolonged power outages.
ELKHORN LUD
Coun. Denis Lachapelle reported that the LUD committee discussed items for the town foreman and the LUD manager. Regarding the Citizen of the Year award the Elkhorn and area foundation will team up with the LUD for the presentation. Security cameras for the park are still a work progress. The cemetery mower repairs have been done and it's ready to go.
Two resolutions resulted from the LUD meeting.
Council approved the estimate from Kliever Konstruction for $7,035 to remove and replace 48.5 running feet of sidewalk in the vicinity of the library for a total of 555 square feet.
The resolution to accept the revision of the 2024 spray park caretaker contract to Linda Bajus was passed.
COUNCILOR REPORTS
Coun. Barb Stambuski reported that she attended a veterinary board meeting where there was discussion of a new addition to the clinic. The board is considering taking out a loan to proceed with the project. They will establish a ballpark price to get an idea of how much to budget for financing. The new facility is planned to be 60 by 60 feet, Stambuski said, but is complicated by the fact that, “you have plumbing, you have water in almost every single room.”
She attended the Westman Emergency Group (WEG) meeting. The budget is the same as last year and has been accepted by the province. There is an EMO portal, and it was recommended that each municipality have at least one or two staff persons that can access it. The Disaster Management Conference is coming up Oct. 16 to 18.
At the Manitoba Antique Automobile Museum meeting the budget was finalized. Crane Steel examined the portion of the roof that needs to be replaced. Stambuski said, “It's kind of rusted right through (and) they did gave us a quote of $131,000.”
A donor is offering a completely restored 1957 Mack B61 truck. Stambuski said, “It’s a beautiful truck, completely restored. It’s gorgeous.”
Coun. MacDonald reported that she attended a meeting on doctor recruitment and retention. Enya Rae Wilson from the Virden clinic attended and joined the discussion of the rural week initiative, where doctors in training spend a week in a rural community. This year rural week is May 27 to 31 and there are four students coming to Virden.
OTHER BUSINESS
Elkhorn RTM childcare project, progress payment number six to JQ Build of $766,079.41 was approved. There has been $1.832M spent to date with $ 2.996M left to complete the job.
Fire Chiefs Conference is next year and there is an opportunity for sponsorship, so council approved $1000 for this.
Kola Rec Centre board is seeking donations on behalf of the Kola MTB trails for the purchase of trail signage and the installation of bridges to improve the accessibility of the trails. Council approved the use of the municipality’s tax exemption number for all donations over $50.
An agenda item to review the by-law that sets council compensation was tabled as Coun. Mark Humphries was absent.
Dakota Oyate Gaming Developments requested a general letter of support from council to indicate that the municipality is interested in finding out more information about a new gaming centre and seeing what a possible development would look like. Staff will propose a new letter of support and have discussion with the Town of Virden to see if they are doing something similar. It will be on the next council meeting agenda for discussion.
A Municipal Board hearing will be held on Apr. 30 to consider the subdivision appeal by the applicant of the conditional approval given by the Community Planning Branch on SW 24-10-29. The board has requested the attendance of someone familiar with the file and either Reeve Clayton Canart or Coun. Stambuski will attend.
David Kelvin Taylor applied for subdivision of the property at NW 5-10-24 to separate the existing farm dwelling from the quarter section parcel. Manitoba requires a plan of survey, and an easement for the existing access on the neighboring land and an easement for residual access is required. A variation for new lot width will be required. Manitoba Environment and Climate requires a sewer system be approved or changed, and Manitoba Hydro requires an easement into the property as well. The subdivision was approved with those conditions.
