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Redfern variance approved and council moves to support library renovations

Councillors made decisions during the first meeting of 2022, via Zoom.
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RM of Wallace-Woodworth office.

Redfern variance approved

RM Meeting

The Municipality of Wallace-Woodworth held their first meeting of the year on Jan. 11 via Zoom.

Payments were approved to Tuthill Construction, Russell Redi-Mix and JR Cousins Consulting Ltd for drainage, Elkhorn lagoon progress and consulting for the project.

An interim budget, to begin the year, of $5,555,000 was approved.

Council discussed the progress of the GIS asset management program, and CEO Garth Mitchell provided information. This database will locate and describe all the municipal capital assets including infrastructure like roads, waterworks and sewers. Currently, the focus is on entering data for the municipal road system, while much of the data entry has been completed for the sewer and water works.

Council passed a resolution approving the maternity leave benefit policy for municipal employees.

Ray Redfern and Lane Wanless joined the meeting to bring a request for a variance of land use policy. Development Officer Cory Nixon attended to bring information regarding the variance order. The applicants plan to convert an existing building to a chemical storage facility, and request that the minimum distance of 1000 feet between such a facility and a dwelling be varied to 270 feet. Redfern informed council that standards within the agricultural service industry have been set at this proximity for this type of facility, and that extensive renovations like fire resistance and berms for liquid containment will be completed. With the information provided by the development officer, council passed the variation order and the conditional use order.

Bill Massey of Hog Watch Manitoba attended the meeting to inform council about the problems with continued expansion of high intensity hog barns. Massey claims that these facilities generate an unacceptable level of air and water pollution and provide little in the way of local employment or benefit to the communities in the area.

Councilor Humphries commented, if such facilities meet the legal requirements and deal with any issues with their neighbours, should they be allowed to exist; he noted that an issue with barn odour had been addressed by a local hog barn in the area to the satisfaction of neighbours.

Humphries also brought news from the Border Regional Library meeting that a $25,000 donation was received from Jack Welsh. After an in-camera discussion a resolution was passed approving the commitment to cover one third of the cost of renovations to the Virden branch.

The Zoom meeting is available to view online.

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