Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Serving the Hub of the North since 1960
Other revenue 1.37%
Provincial Funding 79.25%
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Sewage plant funding bylaw given first reading ahead of March 10 public hearing
2016/2017 REVENUE Revenue from Property Taxation 19.38%
Volume 56 • Issue 10
KTC Tribal Days Thompson Citizen photo by Kacper Antoszewski Diamond Ray Beardy took home second place in the Keewatin Tribal Council Tribal Days talent show March 5 after performing an original song inspired by his mother’s emotional healing after surviving a residential school.
Chartrand topped Ashton in Thompson and Flin Flon in federal election BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
Churchill-Keewatinook Aski NDP MP was not the first choice among voters in her hometown of Thompson in last October’s federal election, poll-by-poll results released by Elections Canada Feb. 29 show. Ashton received 1,866 ballots from voters in Thompson, Mystery Lake and Paint Lake polling station while Liberal candidate Rebecca Chartrand, who lives in Winnipeg but has family in the riding, was the choice on 1,974 ballots. Conservative candidate Kyle Mirecki received 807 votes from those polls. Ashton did not take a majority of votes in Flin Flon either, being picked on 824 ballots compared to 937 for Chartrand and 640 for Mirecki. In The Pas, Ashton did prevail, receiving 1,032 votes, 21 more than Chartrand’s 1,011, while Mirecki picked up 475 votes. Cross Lake played a big role in Ashton’s election, with her margin of victory there of 661 votes more than Chartrand accounting for about 72 per cent of the total overall difference between the two, which was 912 votes or about three percentage points of the total votes cast. Overall, 30,196 of 51,994 eligible voters in Churchill-Keewatinook Aski cast ballots, approximately 58 per cent.
The proposed bylaw to fund Thompson’s portion of a new wastewater treatment plant underwent first reading by council Feb. 29, moving the process forward to a public hearing at 7 p.m. March 10 at the Royal Canadian Legion. The plant is expected to cost a total of $36.5 million, two-thirds of which will be funded by the federal and provincial governments. Under the bylaw, residents have the option to pay for the new plant on an annual financing basis over 25 years, or as a onetime lump sum payment. The cost depends on the size of the water line that services a property, with the minimum 15 mm line costing either $127.16 a year, or a lump sum of $1625.52. Notably, the lump sum option reduces the total cost of payment by roughly 50 per cent. Costs for the plant are also currently overestimated: proposed interest rates on the repayment are estimated at two per cent higher than current rates to account for fluctuations, and a contingency estimate of $5,576,000 is included in the total cost under the bylaw. The tax will reflect the actual interest rate, and any savings in the predicted cost will be reflected in property owners’ payment amounts. A few residents were present Feb. 29 to express their concerns with the plant, ranging from the city’s responsibility to pay for the plant, to why the plant has to be constructed
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at all. Mayor Dennis Fenske noted that the City of Thompson is obligated to bring the plant up to provincial standards: “The current facility is below provincial standards, and we’ve been mandated by the province of Manitoba to replace that plant. It’s not like wanting to buy a new car just for the sake of owning a new car. We’ve been mandated by the province to upgrade our plant to current standards.” But Fenske stressed that the upgrade of the plant was critical not only from a regulatory standpoint, but for the practical health of the community. He notes that the cost could have been much higher: “Let’s be clear: This is not something we have a choice in. We need to replace this wastewater treatment plant, for the sustainability of our community for the next 25 to 50 years. We need to do this, and we can get two-thirds funding if we follow through the process. I wish they would pay 100 per cent of the cost. But they’re not. We have to pay a third of it.” Coun. Ron Matechuk affirmed Fenske’s statements: “The direction we’re going here is the best option we were given as a council. If anyone can think of a better idea, we’ll be listening March 10.” Depending on the community response at the first public hearing, and their review of the bylaw itself, the Municipal Board of Manitoba may rule that a second hearing is necessary to further evaluate the bylaw.
www.twinmotors.ca THOMPSON 40 Station Road, Thompson, MB 1-800-268-2312 • 204-677-2312 FLIN FLON 110 PTH 10A, Flin Flon MB 1-888-778-3686 • 204-687-3686 THE PAS Highway #10 South & 17th St. The Pas, MB • 1-888-623-6401 DAUPHIN 1212 Main St., South Dauphin Dauphin, MB • 1-888-270-6804