Ritchot’s council met on the evening of July 15 to address a variety of items on their agenda. Mayor Chris Ewen was present at the municipal office to chair the meeting. However, the other councillors continued to meet via remote video software.

Despite the province’s move in recent weeks to enact their Phase 3 reopening, the municipality’s council members are being given the option to continue meeting remotely.

Mayor Ewen says fewer councillors who are present in the room, the more members of the general public can attend. He adds that meeting remotely has also become a matter of preference.

“Our administration is in full swing again, but in the summer we will be giving them the option to continue to meet remotely,” says Ewen. “The plan in fall is to meet again in person.”

One notable change afforded by the new meeting format is that online voting software allows council members to vote anonymously. Though the software still has a few hiccups that cause delays in voting, council members are getting used to the software and Ewen says there are benefits to using it.

“The anonymity helps ensure council members are voting true to their opinion, and not swayed by the votes of other council members in the moment,” he says.

The individual votes of council members remain a matter of public record and can still be viewed in meeting minutes.

Fibre Optics Coming to Ritchot

Council is excited about the ongoing plans to bring fibre optic internet to Ritchot. The RM has been preparing to loan $250,000 to JohnQ Public Inc. for the installation of a fibre optic network in their Strategic Fibre Corridor, which includes Ritchot.

JohnQ is a fibre optics group in the Winnipeg Capital Region that has been cultivating a joint effort to install a fibre optic network from Stonewall, to Macdonald, Headingley, Portage La Prairie, Rockwood, and Ritchot.

The agreement will see the municipality loan the money for completing the infrastructure, but residents who desire the service will pay for their own individual installation and monthly fees.

Mayor Ewen says he has also been conducting ongoing communication with JohnQ as to the particulars of their coverage and has confirmed that they plan to expand their route to include the Howden area, residents of which have chronically suffered from poor internet access.

“If we approve this, I had made a decision with the JohnQ group to go to Howden,” says Ewen. “With a bit of a delay in the summer months, we look to be lighting up internet in Howden come October. [JohnQ] will be looking to do community barbecues, obviously with practicing social distancing. They will be door-knocking come September to see who wants this quality internet.”

At the meeting, council unanimously passed the second and third reading of a bylaw to loan the $250,000.

Safety Concerns over Discovery Drive

Council also unanimously passed a development agreement for Heartland Holdings Development Agreement, located at 618 Discovery Drive at the southern edge of Grande Pointe, despite some local concern over the traffic using the existing roadway.

Councillor Janine Boulanger asserted that this stretch of road is currently being used as “a race track for all the cool kids with new vehicles. It’s a free for all in there. In retrospect, maybe gates could’ve been erected.”

Previously, discussion of the development agreement was to be held over until Ritchot’s August meeting, but CAO Mitch Duval commented that the municipality instead decided to bring it up early in the interest of moving forward the planning a little quicker.

An assistant of the municipality has been working on the agreement with the developer to ensure the development will meet municipal conditions. Council has noted that as development progresses, the type of vehicle traffic along Discovery Drive will undoubtedly change.

Water & Sewer Service Repair Policy

Duval then reviewed an update to the RM’s water and sewer service repair policy and what it all entails as far as servicing water and sewer lines.

The update to the policy was completed by the Public Works committee to clarify procedures and responsibilities in the event of a water or sewer line break, including the possibility of a line break underneath a road.

The policy changes will not include a rate increase at this time, but council wants to ensure that local residents are communicated with effectively in the event of any changes that would impact them.

Local insurers will also be notified of the new policy in case the regulations affect insurance rates available to local policyholders.

Rain Barrel Fundraiser Sale

The La Salle Redboine Watershed District is currently selling rain barrels in support of educational programming for students in the area. Sales are available through the fundraising site (see below) and will run until the end of July.

All items ordered will be shipped to the shop at the district’s head office in Holland, Manitoba, and pickup dates will be scheduled for August.

Rain barrels are an environmentally friendly way to help control water coming from downspouts and provide a steady supply of water for gardens and flowerbeds.

The La Salle Redboine Watershed District encompasses a broad swath of southern Manitoba, including the rural municipalities of Ritchot, Cartier, Dufferin, Grey, Macdonald, Norfolk Treherne, Victoria, and the town of Carman.

Telecom Value Report

Over the past three years, Ritchot has invested in a review to upgrade the landline telephone systems at the municipal office in St. Adolphe.

Schooley Mitchell completed the report, which recommends one of two proposals, both of which show cost savings to the RM when compared to the current plan. The report recommends completing minor renovations to update the voiceover IP system from old copper wire and outdated landline port services for phones and computers.

The RM will seek to contract out the renovations to the municipal building to provide the appropriate hookups and ports, which will also improve security for digital communications conducted by the municipality.

Duval is excited to implement a new system, which he called “a new modern system. We are finally moving into the twenty-first century.”

June 2020 Building Permit Reports

Builds and new projects since the start of the year have seen 2020 surge far ahead of 2019, with nearly 100 project permits issued. The building permits reports were unanimously approved.

Duval said the increase is due to “people staying home and having staycations, they are putting their money into their homes.”