Council Debrief: Cleaning Up Old Business

In September Council returned to their twice-weekly meetings after meeting just once a month for the summer. The agenda was relatively light, but covered some significant issues for Neepawa all the same.

We continue to see improvements take place throughout the town. Councillor Parrott reported on additional work on the Beautiful Plains Clinic, including a new canopy and roof repairs, and Manager of Operations Denis Saquet talked about road improvements throughout the town. The street patcher came through last week to address some cracking and potholes, though there are several areas that remain to be done. He also indicated they will be paving Commerce Street shortly, which we now know from other sources will be between September 7th and 9th. There is no word yet on when Davidson Street will be completed.

Saquet also explained the process of relining the old clay sewer pipes, some of which date back to 1908, which has taken place in a few areas of town this month.

The multi-use trail park will be receiving some new funding in the near future thanks to the federal government. The park was one of just two projects in Manitoba that were chosen to receive funding under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure program, with up to $550,000 to develop the park for year-round activities. The federal government will be shouldering 80% of the costs, with the town responsible for just 20%. The town is also investigating a partnership with the Manitoba Métis Federation to potentially plant native trees and plants and develop some interpretive signage in the trail park.

The town has also been investigating developing a new cemetery database and adding wayfinding signage. Council passed a motion to fund the new software but CAO Colleen Synchyshyn indicates there is still a lot of work to be done before the information will all be available to visitors.

Council passed second reading of the new water and sewer rates, which were introduced at a meeting in June, and the third reading of the bylaw that will rezone a 40-acre parcel of land at the corner of Highway 16 and Broadway. There has been intense conversation about the rezoning over the summer but Council ultimately voted to pass the motion unchanged. Now that the rezoning hurdle has been cleared, we hope to hear a related announcement from the town or the province in the near future.

Also covered were the regular financial reports and an expanded application to the Storefront Improvement Program.