Niverville’s town council met virtually on Tuesday, June 1 for their regularly scheduled bimonthly meeting.
Blue Buffalo Car Wash
After some brief, standard housekeeping issues, they opened a public hearing to discuss the development of a car wash operated by Blue Buffalo Car Wash Factory Inc.
Owner Harsimran Sandhu explained to council that the car wash will have 12 self-service wand wash bays and one automatic wash bay with the potential for a second in the future. The car wash would also have a detailing centre, a convenience store that sells primarily automotive-related items, and propane sales.
There will be a unit available for rent as well which Sandhu hopes will be taken by someone with an automotive-related business.
The car wash will be built in the Drovers Run commercial area and Sandhu hopes to have it ready to open in September of this year. His plan is to continue building after it is open and finish the business completely in early 2022.
The members of council had several questions before taking the vote.
Councillor Chris Wiebe asked if the water from the wash bays would be recycled, but Sandhu said that he did not have plans to do so at this time. Councillor Nathan Dueck expressed concerns about the amount of water a large car wash like Blue Buffalo uses.
To bring further clarity to the matter, CAO Eric King pointed out that the maximum amount of water that could be used by the car wash would be 23,000 litres per day, which would represent one-fifth of one percent of the water available to the town.
These figures are based on the continuing expansion of the Spruce Drive Water Treatment Plant, which is expected to be fully upgraded in approximately two years.
Mayor Myron Dyck clarified at this point that when the phrase “water shortage” is used, it is not a reference to the amount of raw water that the community has access to but instead a reference to how quickly the treatment plant can process the water.
When it came time to vote, Councillor Chris Wiebe recused himself due to a “plan conflict.” The remaining councillors voted unanimously to approve the business.
Water Usage
Mayor Dyck took this opportunity to share some additional information about the water situation in town. Until recently, he said, the town was using approximately 700,000 litres of water per day—but as soon as the warm weather began, the water usage doubled to 1,500,000 litres per day.
Dyck states that he wants the residents of Niverville to be aware that there is a staged process to keep the water usage of the town under control. Currently the town is in stage two, which means that the water usage is organized but not restricted. At stage two, residents in even-numbered homes can water their lawns on even-numbered days and residents in odd-numbered homes can water their lawns on odd-numbered days.
Dyck cautions that there is the potential to move the town to stage three, which would restrict water usage if the Public Works department notes that the water treatment plant is operating at its maximum capacity.
More information on the water usage staging system can be found on the town’s website.
Next on the meeting’s agenda was the standard review and approval for the most recent cheques drawn on the town’s account. The cheques were approved with minimal discussion.
New Business
There were three items of new business up for debate.
First came a request from Niverville Vacation Bible School to waive the rental fees for the picnic shelter in Hespeler Park for the mornings of August 9–13. Dyck asked if there was a precedent for this and King confirmed that council had waived these fees for Niverville VBS in the past. This motion was unanimously carried subject to provincial health orders that may be in place at the time regarding COVID-19.
Next, the builders of 28 Briarfield Court requested an extension for the refund of their building permit security deposit. The standard one-year timeline was unanimously extended to two years with the new deadline being June 21, 2022.
Tree-Planting Update
Finally, Councillor Dueck provided an update on the ongoing tree-planting initiative spearheaded by the local Communities in Bloom committee. Dueck was very pleased with how the planting went this year. He said that each stage was done piece by piece to avoid contact and to follow COVID-19 regulations.
Dueck reported that 78 trees were planted in Fifth Avenue Estates on Wyndham Court, Stratford Place, and Wyldewood Crescent. He expressed his gratitude to TC Energy, Communities in Bloom, and the street captains who helped make this tree-planting possible. Dueck hopes to run this campaign again next year and get more trees planted in Niverville.