At the regular meeting, council agreed to make a petition available for ratepayers to sign to register their opposition to the province’s decision to close a number of rural Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) offices to the public. A group of rural municipalities, including Pipestone and Wallace-Woodworth, are calling on the Stefanson government to reverse the move due to its impact on agricultural producers. They no longer have the ability to interact with staff to receive information and assistance without travelling outside their home community. Numerous services have moved exclusively online, and across Manitoba there are only ten such offices which have remained open to provide in-person consultation.
“It’s open, there’s people in it, but it’s not open to the public,” said Mayor Tina Williams in reference to the Virden outlet on Wellington Street across from the Town Office. “If you need to get into an office to talk to someone, you’re now going to Brandon, I assume,” she added. Williams is concerned that if people are going elsewhere to conduct business with MASC, they may be doing their shopping as well, negatively impacting the local retailers and service providers.
On May 10, Mayor Tina Williams and Deputy Mayor Marc Savy will participate in a webinar being hosted by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) regarding the impact of the closures on its membership.
RCMP REPORT
Sgt. Helen Goodman presented a brief monthly policing report to Council and introduced Cpl. Ed Giannico, who has recently returned to the Westman Detachment following postings in Shoal Lake and Shamattawa. Cpl. Giannico last resided in Virden from 2011 to 2017. Goodman, meanwhile, is currently serving as the Acting Staff Sgt. while the incumbent, Scott Fefchak, is on leave. During a brief discussion, Mayor Tina Williams brought forward concerns regarding people she observed on Scallion Creek who were potentially putting themselves in danger while the ice was breaking up and water began flowing.
HALL RENTAL REIMBURSEMENT
Council authorized reimbursement of the $750 rental fee paid by the Catholic Women’s League for the Sunrise Banquet Hall at Tundra Oil & Gas Place. Their event on April 21 and 22 was cancelled due to the poor travel conditions which resulted from the late spring snowstorm.
LIBRARY REPAIRS
Council accepted a quotation, in the amount of $11,970 plus applicable taxes, from Nixon Builders of Virden for the replacement of a support beam in the basement of the Virden Branch of the Border Regional Library. Coun. Travis Penner, the Town’s representative on the library board, reported that the beam has collapsed due to water penetration. He noted that the water leakage issues which have plagued the building for some time appear to have been resolved, as regular monitoring has not revealed any further problems since remedial work was conducted. Only one quote for the work was received, and as a funding partner the Town will be responsible for two-thirds of the cost.
WASHROOMS GRANT
The Town has received a grant of $25,000 from the Virden Area Foundation towards the replacement of the washrooms in Victoria Park.
WIS MEETING SPACE
Council authorized the provision of a meeting space at no charge for Westman Immigration Services to host a “Welcome to Virden” engagement session to gauge the feasibility of sponsoring families from Ukraine and integrating them into the community.
ARTS MOSAIC
Council agreed to a request for a meeting with representatives of Arts Mosaic, which will tentatively occur on May 23. Administration was authorized to provide the organization with a Letter of Support from the Town to accompany future grant applications.
RODEO
The Town will provide a Letter of Support to the Virden Indoor Rodeo & Wild West Daze Committee/Virden Agricultural Society to accompany their application for a grant from the Farm Credit Corporation (FCC) Agri-Spirit Fund to go towards electrical and fencing upgrades at the fairgrounds.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Deputy Mayor Marc Savy reported that representatives of the Town and RM of Wallace-Woodworth had met with officials from Assiniboine Community College (ACC) regarding their strategic plan. ACC currently conducts Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) training in Virden, and the offering of one or more micro-courses was suggested as a means of filling the gap between the end of one LPN session in March and the start of the next one in September. Savy told council that the proposal received a favourable response.
Coun. Bruce Dunning reported that the Pioneer Home Museum is having difficulty filling an assistant curator position for the upcoming season. He noted that the person hired turned it down in favour of working closer to home. In addition, Dunning said that a request would be submitted to have Town staff take over the yard maintenance as the museum has been unable to properly train their seasonal workers or provide them with the appropriate safety gear.
Chief Administrative Officer Rhonda Stewart reported that Tyler McFadyen has been hired as the new Public Works Foreman, replacing Maurice Kernel who is retiring as of April 30.
