Niverville’s town council met for a regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, December 7.
Mayor Myron Dyck began with a report about the past weekend’s annual town council planning session. Dyck says that he and the council spent 20 hours in meetings discussing plans for Niverville for 2022 and beyond.
He extended appreciation to his council and staff members for their time and input in the meetings.
Mayor Dyck also mentioned that the town received a letter indicating that Niverville is no longer considered to be part of the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region. Dyck and CAO Eric King will be meeting with the co-chair of the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region Board, Scott Gillingham, to discuss the issue.
“We want to be a good neighbour,” said Dyck, “but at the end of the day things are about cost and benefit.”
Dyck then informed council that he has two other upcoming meetings with the province to discuss the town’s future needs. One of is with Minister of Municipal Affairs Derek Johnson and the other is with Minister of Infrastructure Ron Schuler.
Council Raises Salaries
Next up was the first and second reading for a bylaw governing the annual pay of council members. According to King, normally the pay is increased by two percent, a figure which is tied to inflation.
This year, however, the suggested increase is five percent.
“We have seen inflationary pressures this last year, so this is in keeping with policy in that regard,” said Mayor Dyck.
These readings were unanimous and carried.
In a separate bylaw, council approval a plan to also increase the wages of town staff, although by a smaller, unspecified percentage.
Odds and Ends
Each year around this time, an interim budget must be passed to allow time for the official budget to be introduced some time in the spring. This year’s budget allocation of $8,878,150 was unanimous and carried.
In a small item, council unanimously passed a resolution to make some amendments to the Open Health employee handbook. The amendments are scheduled to come into effect on January 1.
The next motion involved adding the expense of operating street lights on two streets to Niverville’s account with Manitoba Hydro. This includes the lights on Drovers Run, for an annual cost of approximately $850 per year, and Turnberry Cove, for an annual cost of $1,040.
Currently, the town pays approximately $100,000 per year in street light costs to Manitoba Hydro.
A new responsibility has been given to the town’s bylaw enforcement officer, who will now be required to enforce the Noxious Weed Act. This task will begin on March 1, 2022.
After a due tendering process, the four-year contract for digging cemetery plots was awarded to ValleyWest Landscaping Inc. They had submitted the lowest bid of $920 per grave and $250 per urn.
The town’s information technology contract was awarded to BRD Network Solutions for an annual cost of $30,000. The term is currently for one year, but the length of the contract is expected to be extended.
Council then approved another year-long term for fire chief Keith Bueckert and deputy fire chiefs Brad Wasilinchuk and Stan Hiebert.
The meeting ended with Mayor Dyck offering his gratitude to all members of the fire department.