Approximately 50 residents turned up for a town hall meeting hosted by the Niverville Chamber of Commerce (NCC) on the evening of Monday, October 1 at the Heritage Centre. While Niverville residents won’t be casting ballots this year for the mayor or councillor seats, with all members of council having been acclaimed, they were still provided the opportunity for an extensive question and answer period.
Dawn Harris, NCC’s executive director, emceed the event, posing a variety of questions to council. These questions had been previously submitted by residents and covered almost every aspect of community life from economic development to recreation opportunities, from town growth to council’s intentions when it comes to keeping the community safe.
The interrogation opened with a forecast on the future: “Where do you see Niverville in 2028?” The responses were varied: more seniors housing as the majority of boomers age out, a second elementary or middle school to meet the needs of a growing population, a robust business sector providing jobs and shifting the town away from a bedroom community, a town square to provide more community connectivity, a police station, and more services and amenities.
“What I see is that it will be a big change driving into Niverville,” said Councillor Chris Wiebe. “You’ll drive into town and see a traffic circle at Sixth [Avenue]. You’ll proceed to downtown and see businesses on Main Street with residential units above them. As you continue, you’ll see crossings at the railroad and things like bicycle paths and [pedestrian thoroughfares]. As you leave town, you’ll see a lot of [new business development] and then see another major traffic circle again [as you leave town].”
The question of pedestrian safety was also posed, asking about the possibility of adding more crosswalks along Main Street. Councillor John Funk suggested that council would need to take a hard look at the effectiveness of crosswalks. Statistically, he says, they have not proven to reduce accidents between pedestrians and vehicular traffic.
In the short term, however, Funk hopes that the province will produce the funding that was promised to Niverville for traffic lights at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Main Street. This, he said, would help alleviate pedestrian safety at that busy intersection. Additionally, talks are underway between the province and CP Rail about introducing a safe pedestrian passage across the railway tracks.
Another question on people’s minds: will Niverville ever see a library?
“We’ve discussed libraries over the last 16 years and how financially viable they are,” said Councillor Kevin Stott. “They are very expensive things to run and staff. Looking into the future, I wonder what the longevity of the library is going to be, but what we are hoping, with our partnership with the Hanover School Division, is to be able to use their library and to be able to come up with a [plan] in the near future.”
Stott said that discussions between the town and the school division are already underway.
Another inquiry was made regarding council’s intent on maintaining a small town feel amidst rapid growth and change. Councillor Nathan Dueck suggested that the answer to that question lies as much with each resident as it does with council. Involvement in the community’s various volunteer committees, he pointed out, is the best way for people to kindle that small-town feeling. He added that educating citizens on the town’s rich cultural history also plays a role in that effort.
In reference to the new high school, council was asked whether any consideration has been given to a collaboration with the province and school division to bring co-op education and mentorship programs to students of Niverville, which would serve to support economic development and keep young people working in the community.
Councillor Funk, himself a retired vocational teacher, couldn’t have agreed more with this line of thinking. However, he said that council can only do so much to convince the province of this need.
“Hanover School Division has [a vocational school] in mind, but the province dictates,” said Funk to the audience. “Everybody needs to talk to the leaders at hand, and it has to be impressed on them that we want vocational programs. We want co-op programs. Right now, the [provincial] government says no. We will just be a [regular] high school.”
