We jump right in with councillor reports at this week’s meeting of the Neepawa Town Council.

Councillor Nadeau reports on a few upcoming events at the Yellowhead Centre, including the return of the circus, a new lacrosse league looking to start up, and ice bikes that will be making their first appearance later this month. The bikes were actually announced last year, but the Yellowhead has only recently become insured to be able to let the public use them. He also shares the draft MOU, or memorandum of understanding, that participating municipalities will sign with the Rossbun Trail Association to clarify who is responsible for what. Currently each municipality looks after its own maintenance and repairs, but the association has applied for some funds to help with those costs and will be covering a portion going forward.

Councillor Sisley attended a vet board meeting this month and reports that they will be hosting a veterinary student this summer. As well, she was able to elaborate on the ice bikes that are coming to the Yellowhead, which are being trialled with young people over spring break and also with Kinsmen Kourts II residents. Councillor Gerrard reports on preliminary discussions of the finance committee, and Deputy Mayor Parrott talks about making long-term plans for utilities and transportation needs as well as the upcoming LPN program that was just announced by the provincial government

Manager of Operations Denis Saquet brings news that conversations with the province and the school division regarding the crosswalk on Mountain Avenue at Hospital Street have been fruitful. The town has been granted permission to relocate the crosswalk to the north side of the intersection from its current location on the south side. Work will commence after school lets out for the summer. Other projects including the lagoon project phase II and the golf course bridge repairs are proceeding as expected.

The Province of Manitoba has increased the pot for funding municipalities for the first time since 2016. Neepawa’s portion of the pot is increasing by over $255 thousand compared to last year, which also factors in a new per capita calculation based on the most recent census data. Given the number of ongoing projects in the community right now, there is no doubt that the additional funds will find a good home.

The Province announced last week that they are investing $2.1 million in a one-time program to train practical nurses on site in Neepawa. This is a long-anticipated announcement, and CAO Synchyshyn outlines the journey the town along with the RHA, ACC, Settlement Services, and Westlake Employment had to take to put the pieces in place for the program. While the provincial money is intended to cover operating capital for the program, which will include equipment, the town itself will be responsible for the facility. They will be renovating the old RCMP building to be able to run the program, now that the detachment has moved to their new location on the former CN property. They are aiming for a start date of January 2024 for the program, though that is dependent on how quickly the pieces can come together.

Finally, the town has received an offer to purchase a small piece of land directly to the north of the Chicken Delight property at the corner of Highways 16 and 5 north. The sale is subject to the purchase of the adjacent property and consolidation of those properties, as it is not a viable commercial property on its own. The sale is not a done deal yet, but it sounds like something might be happening on that highly visible property which has been sitting vacant for some time now.

Also covered were the RCMP quarterly report, the appointment of a new weed inspector, an increase in fees for construction and demolition waste at Evergreen Environmental, and an increase in fees for issuing a tax certificate.