South Centre Ward: December 2018

During Monday's regular city council meeting, I made an enquiry into the surface break in the 500 block of 13th street.

Here is the full enquiry, and the response...

Enquiry
I note that an underground repair in the 500 Block of 13th St was completed this past fall. Recently it settled leaving an uneven road surface for motorists and a potential safety issue. Was this a City repair and what are the plans to ensure this type of situation does not occur again in the future for any other areas of the City where underground repairs occur over the winter months before proper repairs may be done in the following summer construction season?

RESPONSE (provided by Mark Yeomans, Director of Public Works)
An excavation was undertaken at a residence to address a service line leak.
The dig was done on November 28, 2018. The private underground portion
was repaired by a private contractor and the City repaired the city portion
on the street. The site in question in the 500 block of 13th Street has been
filled and leveled twice by City staff as required when the surface becomes
uneven or a safety concern.

Winter excavations on City streets generally freeze solid quickly with
normal winter temperatures resulting in minor settling issues until the
thaw in the spring. The current winter season has seen warmer than
normal December temperatures. While the warmer temperatures are
being enjoyed by the residents of Brandon, our sewer and water excavation
sites have been settling far more this winter than normal.

The normal procedure that Public Works uses in excavation sites to
monitor site settlement is as follows. The excavation site is added to an
inspection list. The Sewer and Water section will regularly inspect the
excavation sites on the inspection list for signs of settling. If signs of settling
are noticed, then granular base or asphalt grindings will be added to the
excavation and the area smoothed down by a loader or grader to ensure
the site poses no traffic hazard.

Welcome

It’s Edition Three of my newsletter.

As the countdown to Christmas continues it’s easy to become distracted by the hustle and bustle of preparations.

Don’t forget that one of the most important things of the season is the ability to spend quality time with family and friends.

Always take advantage of these opportunities.

If you wish to receive this newsletter via email, please send me your email address. I will also be posting on my Facebook Page (Search for South Centre Ward) or on my blog at http://southcentreward.blogspot.com/

Now, here are some things that have happened since my last newsletter two weeks ago.

AMM Convention

I had an opportunity to spend one day (Monday, November 26^th) at the AMM Convention in Winnipeg.

The morning session was information for new council members, like me, but a great majority of the information given had already been covered through my local orientation session with our fantastic City Clerk Heather Ewasiuk.

I had an opportunity to listen to speeches from outgoing AMM President Chris Goertzen and Premier Brian Pallister, among others.

Agree or disagree with some of Pallister’s policies, he is a strong speaker and seems focused on following the path the Provincial government has chosen regardless of the backlash.

The highlight of the day was listening to the inspiration speech from Mike ‘Pinball’ Clemons.

This is the third time I’ve seen Clemons speak and the one thing I give him credit for is his ability to adjust his speaking notes to the audience he’s speaking to.

I was unable to attend the final two days of the AMM Convention due to work commitments.

Second Meeting of Council

The regular City Council meeting took place on Monday, December 3^rd at Brandon City Hall.

Some highlights from the meeting:

Approval of a conditional $75,000 grant from the Accommodation Tax Fund for the hosting of the 2021 World Clydesdale Show to be held at the Keystone Centre (July 14-18, 2021)

The show is expected to feature approximately 600 Clydesdales, 130 different exhibitors and generate around 3,000 room nights in Brandon.

It’s also expected to welcome the world famous Budweiser Clydesdales!

After attending the Keystone Centre Annual General Meeting on November 29^th, I reported to council that the complex financial year the ended on July 31, 2018 saw a $93,874 – which is about $140,000 better than budgeted.

I also had a three-hour meeting with Keystone Centre GM Jeff Schumacher last week got me up to speed on what’s going on with the facility.

As a new member to the Keystone Centre board, I came away impressed with some of the behind the scenes work that’s being done there.

Monday’s meeting also saw the approval of the Downtown Brandon Encroachment Incentive Program.

In a nutshell, it will allow businesses in the downtown hub to create opportunities in front of their businesses without having to pay an encroachment fee to the City of Brandon.

The effect on the City’s coffers is minimal, with only $1,150 collected from the fee last year.

It’s another strategy to continue the revitalization of downtown Brandon, and allow businesses to use site features (awnings, attractive outdoor displays, signage, etc.) to enhance the look of the downtown.

There still needs to be some clear guidelines put in place to ensure pedestrian traffic is not affected by these site features, but the Brandon Downtown Development Corporation Executive Director Elisabeth Saftiuk assured council that would not be an issue.

I made an enquiry into the effectiveness of the Snow Angels program, which matches willing volunteers with needy residents when it comes to snow clearing their sidewalks and driveways.

Last winter (2017-2018), 11 volunteers and 14 applicants were registered for the program.

Those are somewhat low numbers for what I consider to be a worthwhile program.

I encourage anyone that can provide or needs this service to register for the program at

· Website: www.snowangels.brandon.ca

· Email: snowangels@brandon.ca

· Phone: 204-729-2186

Bits & Pieces

The City of Brandon is currently updating its Recreation Facilities Master Plan.

The plan will guide the provision of recreation facilities such as community centres, arenas, pools, sports fields, trails and courts through the next two decades.

The public is invited to ‘weigh in’ on what they feel the City’s recreation blueprint should be by completing a short survey online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/brandonrecsurvey

I am particularly interested to see what people’s thoughts are on the future of recreation in the City of Brandon.

I have my own thoughts and ideas and, in a perfect world, we’d look at constructing some type of indoor/outdoor sports complex in the next four years.

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The NOT EVEN ONCE (NEO) – Brandon Fighting Addictions and Youth Wellness Day(s) were held this past Thursday and Friday.

The prevention program featured Joe Roberts, AKA “The Skid Row CEO”, at a number of educational/inspirational events for Brandon high school students and a public event Friday evening.

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The City of Brandon recently launched four textile diversion depots across the community.

It’s part of a national research pilot program led by Diabetes Canada and York University.

It’s hoped this program will see fewer items, particularly clothing items, end up at the landfill.

The four locations are the Keystone Centre grounds (southeast corner), East End Community Centre, Rideau Park and Kin Park.

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Congratulations to two members of the Brandon Police Service.

Inspector Greg Hebert and Constable Christopher Stupak received Excellence in Law Enforcement awards in recognition of outstanding contributions to their communities and police services from the Provincial Government last month.

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I had a chance to attend the inaugural meeting of the Riverview Ward Patrol Crime Deterrent Program last week.

The initiative is the brainchild of Riverview Councillor Glen Parker, and would see regular citizens patrol the area for four hours on a nightly basis in an effect to help deter crime, particularly petty crime.

Glen approached private businesses in Brandon to support the program, coming up with over $12,000 that will be used.

Although similar to Citizens on Patrol or the Brandon Bear Clan, Glen feels having people patrolling strictly in their corner of the City might allow them to take more ownership of the initiative.

Councillor Parker also noted at the meeting that it’s part of a pilot program and, if successful, could be something to launch in other wards in Brandon.

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The City of Brandon’s Community Services Department has opened the Manitoba Hydro Power Smart Waterfall of Lights display.

The display is located immediately west of the City of Brandon’s Community Services Complex on McGregor Avenue.

The display is turned on from approximately 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on a nightly basis through the winter season.

Upcoming Events

Dec.10 – Human Rights Day Event (City of Brandon Cultural Resource Centre)

Dec.10-12 – 43^rd MCDA Conservation Conference (Keystone Centre, Brandon)

Dec. 11 – Poverty Committee Meeting

Dec.17 – Regular Meeting of Brandon City Council

Dec.20 – Keystone Centre Board Meeting

Jan.25-26 – Budget Deliberations

Did You Know?

A Human Rights Day event will take place on Monday, December 10^th from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the City of Brandon’s Cultural Resource Centre (638 Princess Avenue).

This year’s event is themed around the global topic of human displacement and features a screening of “Human Flow”, a documentary about the massive human migration that has taken place across the globe since World War II.

Tuesday 18 December 2018

Enquiry on Condition of 500 block 13th Street

Saturday 15 December 2018

December 17 Agendas

Sunday 9 December 2018

Council Lore (December 9, 2018)

Sunday 2 December 2018

December 3 Meeting Agenda