Dawson Trail Dispatch
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Town of Ste. Anne Facing Rink Woes as Arena Ages
Currently the Ste. Anne arena is in dire need to replace some aging equipment.
By Dan Guetre Faced with an aging arena that requires more money yearly to operate, the Town of Ste. Anne is asking the RM of Ste. Anne to come back to the bargaining table to re-evaluate the multi-year agreement they had signed only a couple of years ago. “Our recreation services are severely lacking funds (this has been the reality for many years) to operate our arena, library, sports fields, etc.,” said Ste. Anne Mayor Yvan St. Vincent. “If we aren’t able to strike a new Rec deal with RM we will have several very hard decisions to make in very near future and we are worried we won’t be able to offer what we’ve always been able to.” Currently the arena is in dire need to replace some aging equipment. “The Town needs a complete ice plant over haul, as most of the equipment is 40 plus years old, and R-22 refrigerant is no longer available,” explained Town of Ste. Anne CAO Marc Dakur. “This is the situation with most rinks in Manitoba. The cost to keep the doors open next season for hockey and curling ranges from $325,000 basic to $1.8 million [for a] new ice plant.” With the high expenses on the horizon, the Town says they are not in a position to write a cheque without help. “This is difficult to achieve alone without granting,” explained Dakur who hopes the surrounding rural municipality can work together and increase their financial share and justify it to their residents as an opportunity for everyone. The lack of funds for recreation
services has been a topic for both the Town council and the RM council over the years. According to a 2022/23 Arena budget provided by the Town CAO, the revenue for the arena is expected to bring in $382,058. General operating expenses are predicted to come to $184,331 leaving the arena $197,726.81 in the black. Unfortunately, the arena facility is carrying over almost $100,000 deficit from the previous year due to Covid19 restrictions and has a budgeted $396,943 in expected capital costs required to perform basis repairs and upgrades in order to keep the arena running, the largest of which is replacing the arena compressor at $350,000. The Town of Ste. Anne and the RM councils have their joint meeting scheduled for around mid-February. This is an annual formal event where mutually beneficial ideas are discussed. According to Randy Eros, Deputy Reeve of the RM of Ste. Anne, that would be a good time to broach the subject. While the RM of Ste. Anne has a plan to build out their own recreation services as part the creation of a development plan, he feels his council will be open to discussing this. The Town of Ste. Anne is also hosting an open house discussion at their office in regards to the arena and curling rink “and its future” on Wednesday, February 8 at 7 pm. The public is invited but they are asking those interested to RSVP their Recreational Services Manager, Sarah Normandeau by emailing rec@steanne.ca to be added to the
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list which will also be used as a sign in for the meeting. “Our facility is in need of some significant upgrades to remain operational,” wrote the Town in a notice sent out. “The Town is facing some big decisions and large costs associated with our facility and the goal of this open house is to gather insights from residents and users.” Following the announcement for an $8 million Federal/Provincial government commitment to help build a new Taché Community Centre in Lorette, Dawson Trail MLA Bob Lagasse is open to talk to the Town. “As always, my door is always open, and when community leaders come to my office with plans or ideas, I do my best to help them execute them, just like we did with the new Tache Recreational Centre project,” said Lagasse. “If they need help with an application process, I am always happy to help with that as well.” Even Chris Maxemuck, who created the first grassroots fundraiser for the Taché Community Centre 20 years ago offered to talk to those in the town who want to create a community led campaign or even talk to the Town council about his experience. He also has some advice. “Based on my experiences I would definitely recommend four key points. One… Have Fun. Two… Be Positive. Three… Stay Focused. And four… Be Determined,” he said. “This can be a long and tiring process, have some fun along the way and always work to improve the lives of others.”
Town of Ste. Anne Invites Public to Discuss Future of Aging Arena The Town of Sainte-Anne will be hosting an open house discussion at the Town of Sainte-Anne Office in regards to the Maurice Chaput Arena/Curling Rink and its future. The meeting will be open to the public on February 8 at 7 pm. “Our facility is in need of some significant upgrades to remain
operational,” the Town said in a written statement. “The Town is facing some big decisions and large costs associated with our facility and the goal of this open house is to gather insights from residents and users.” They are asking that those that wish to attend this open house
RSVP to their Recreational Services Manager, Sarah Normandeau, so that they can accommodate those that wish to be in attendance. You can RSVP by emailing rec@steanne.ca and you will be added to the list that will also be used as a sign in for this meeting.
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RM Looking into Feasibility of a Richer Waste Water System By Dan Guetre At a recent RM of Ste. Anne council meeting they agreed to move ahead with the LUD of Richer Waste Water Servicing Feasibility Study thanks to a cost sharing agreement with Manitoba Water Services. “The RM of Ste Anne received a grant for $100,000 to conduct a feasibility study for sewer systems in the LUD of Richer,” explained Brent Wery, the councillor who represents the community. “We are expecting the study to cost well under that amount and the grant should cover all the costs associated with the study. A cost share would have the RM of Ste Anne covering any costs over that grant amount.” The purpose of this study is to look at alternatives to septic systems, such as a sewer system said Mike McLennan, CAO for the municipality. “It is recognized that to move forwards into the future with dedicated settlement areas which include dense housing and commercial spaces, a sewer system is a necessity,” elaborated Wery. “The study will answer the question of the costs to develop a sewer system and if those costs are feasible with the current population size along with the risk/benefit of incurring such a cost.” According to McLennan, the next step will be defined contingent on the results of the study. Wery explained various scenarios that could play out. “The next step would be to analyze and debate the results. To be debated would be if this would only be an LUD expense, an RM expense, or would a debenture be worth while?” he said. “Should reserves be created to cover the cost? Should we allocate Gas Tax to be used? Is it even worth while?” Even though the results would dictate the direction council takes, Wery was hopeful that council can pivot when the time comes. “I had originally asked that the study would include hook ups to Paradise Village and La Coulee [two other communities within the municipality] but the way things were approved it is only currently covering Richer,” he said. “If the results are not favourable because the area is small, I hope to look into expanding the project into these other populated areas as that is what makes the most sense.” Editors Note: Councillor Brent Wery passed away recently and the above quotes and comments are from emails he had sent prior when responding to the topic.
Stuartburn Seeks Approval from Province for Possible Operating Deficit By Dan Guetre The RM of Stuartburn council has asked their administration to reach out to the Province forewarning them that there may be a potential shortfall in operating capital and a deficit could result. This is just a precautionary action taken by council and they are required to inform the provincial government. “[It’s] just under $90,000, however after audit transfers, the reality likely will not be an anticipated deficit at all,” explained Stuartburn Reeve Michelle Gawronsky. “By the Act, all Municipalities must notify the Provincial Government of a possible deficit which is why the Resolution was passed by Council, so a letter of Notification would be sent to the Province.” “…Council inherited it through no fault of the previous Council,” stressed Gawronsky. “Almost all costs increased for the municipality [with] the main one being snow clearly last winter.” She said fuel surcharges, inflation costs, and higher construction costs also contributed. She explained that since the provincial government has frozen municipal funding since 2016, the increase in costs created a huge challenge to the previous Council without any increased funding to cover the cost. In a year like 2022, she recognizes that every municipality or business has been impacted by inflation costs, increased need and cost of services such as snow clearing. “I haven’t spoken to any Municipality from all across the province that hasn’t shared in increase in the costs,” said Gawronsky. “The rate payers need to know the Provincial Government froze the funding in 2016, off loaded more responsibility to the RM’s without the funding to pay for them.” Stuartburn residents should not feel the pinch if a small deficit is realized. “We are not expecting any affect to the municipal services, any deficit should be covered by the accumulated surplus,” she assured. Gawronsky said residents should not be focused on a small deficit in the RM’s Budget as everyone is aware of, and feeling, the impacts of rising costs of everything. There is a bigger, general picture to look at. “We need to be paying attention to the economy of our communities and our province,” she added.