On Jan. 30, about 25 representatives of local businesses and community organizations attended the third in a series of informational luncheons hosted by the Town of Virden Council. The noon-hour soup-and-sandwich session, held in the Sunrise Banquet Hall at Tundra Oil & Gas Place, was the first since the municipal election in October of last year. The concept initially arose out of the Town’s strategic plan, which identified enhanced communication with the business sector as a key priority.
Mayor and council share their vision
Mayor Tina Williams and her councillors introduced themselves, shared details regarding their roles and responsibilities, and highlighted items from their busy agenda. They invited ongoing dialogue with the citizenry, with a focus on getting the feedback and input needed to move the community forward.
“This is meeting number one today, and our calendar for the rest of the week is full. So we are earning the money that you pay us,” said Deputy Mayor Marc Savy. “If there are any concerns in our community, we need to hear from you folks. We are concerning ourselves with these next four years, and trying to make Virden and area a better community.”
“The reason I ran for re-election this time around is because I see the future of Virden and the potential it has, but I really feel we’re a long way from achieving it,” commented Coun. Bruce Dunning. “Even though we don’t have a big crowd here today, you are the people that are going to initiate this change… because it has to start with our business sector and then it will involve the rest of the citizens. It’ll be up to us as council to work with the businesses and the people to make this potential a reality for our town.”
“As a town council, we are a business,” Williams added. “We have to balance our books. We own buildings we have to upkeep. We have employees we need to hold on to, but we are also a public service who needs to make sure that Virden is a place that people want to live and that’s a balancing act.”
Planning is crucial
Information was shared regarding the Trans-Canada West Planning District (TCWPD) and the role it plays in the development plan and secondary plan for the Town and the R.M. of Wallace-Woodworth. Williams and Coun. Jessie Cruickshank represent the Town on the district’s board, which meets monthly.
Williams said both plans were set up in 2019 and will need to be updated in 2024 to meet the province’s requirement for a refresh every five years. Public feedback will be needed as an integral part of the process.
“If we have to update it, we have to hold public hearings on it,” she said. “We want to engage you but we need you to engage us back.”
The importance of land use planning was stressed during the recent Manitoba Disaster Conference in Winnipeg, which Williams attended along with several councillors.
“As you’re doing your development you want to keep an eye on what your community already has, what needs to be kept safe, what area certain businesses can go in and that is an important part of keeping your community from having… [problems],” she said.
Development officer gives the details
Cory Nixon, the district’s Development Officer, oversees the day-to-day administration of planning and development within both the Town and R.M. of Wallace-Woodworth.
“We have a secondary plan in place to buffer the land uses from the municipality into the town,” he said. “The whole area is protected. Any new development needs to be approved through the planning district and both councils, to ensure we don’t end up with…a farm beside a school.”
One of the things Nixon is doing is standardizing the zoning between Virden and the R.M. of Wallace-Woodworth.
“A lot of it has to go through provincial approvals,” says Mayor Williams. “Nothing is really just that the council likes it or doesn’t like it. Obviously, there’s differences between a rural [municipality] and the town. We’re trying to get it so that you don’t move from town to town (within the district) and there’s entirely different changes in what you’re allowed to do…business wise, housing wise, to keep things a little more even.”
A new TCWPD website is currently being developed, which will improve communication and provide a one-stop clearing house for information. Nixon said that once it is active, the development plan, secondary plan and all applications, including commercial and residential building permits, will be available. It will be linked to both the Town and Wallace-Woodworth sites.
“On the website, the information will be much more accessible for the public,” he said.
Public notices will also be displayed online.
“For a development plan or secondary plan, the notices are (currently) required to go into newspapers with so many days of notice,” Nixon said. “With conditional uses or variation orders, they are also sent to affected landowners within 100 metres of that property. We just issue them as per regulations but councils have requested that we go above and beyond. We’re going to try to get them on social media as well as up on the website so more people know,” Nixon said.
Nixon fielded questions regarding the active status of developments and subdivisions, and whether or not the infrastructure is in place to handle it.
“We are not doing a subdivision right now, but there are developers in the area that do have a few of them (subdivisions) on the go.” he said.
The subdivision process takes about two years, with developers required to enter into a development agreement with the Town or R.M.
“We’re trying to plan properly for expansion so we have our services in place,” he said. “If we just keep expanding the town and our water and sewer doesn’t follow suit, we won’t be able to build a lot of it.”
Nixon said that he is the best person to communicate with regarding any business-related queries, such as procedures to follow at start-up.
“I would recommend (that) you get in contact with me,” he said. “I know everyone else in the town departments and where to point you. I know if you’re going to be able to be situated here or there, what the outlook is for the type of business you’re trying to put in, and whether or not it can be accommodated.”
Nixon stated that the TCWPD has a close working relationship with the economic development personnel in both the Town and R.M.
Williams and Chief Administrative Officer Rhonda Stewart explained that the Town’s Economic Development Manager position is currently vacant and that recruiting into it has presented challenges. The Town recently hired a new person who declined the job offer mere days before the official start date in favour of a position in another community which better suited family life.
“We are not the only ones having a hard time finding a qualified person,” Williams said. She noted that Assiniboine Community College no longer offers training in the discipline.
