Dauphin will head into the New Year with the issue of recreation funding remaining unsettled after City council rejected a recent funding proposal from their counterparts in the Rural Municipality.

The RM forwarded the proposal to the City on Dec. 11 and rejected the plan at a meeting, Dec. 13, and informed their rural counterparts by way of a letter.

In part the letter read, “City council reviewed the RM joint services proposal dated Dec. 11, at a meeting held on Dec. 13. After very thorough review and discussion the city council agreed unanimously that it could not accept the proposal as presented. As indicated in your letter, for 2025 the City of Dauphin chooses to revert to the RM of Dauphin’s July 23 resolution. As Dauphin Recreation Services organizes to reflect the situation, please be advised that RM participation in the DRS board for 2025 remains unchanged. It is our intent to continue a dialogue with your council to find a long-term solution for DRS funding. The city looks forward to meeting with the RM soon to resume our liaison community meetings as there are many topics we can discuss that affect and benefit both of our municipalities including, your suggestion of proportional funding for other RM and City agreements.”

RM of Dauphin reeve Ernie Sirski said his council is extremely disappointed with the City’s decision to reject the proposal put forward.

“After only having it in their possession for two days,” he said.

“How serious of a discussion did they have in that short period of time? The RM council and management spent untold hours on the project, after the City’s request for the RM to submit a proposal. The RM proposed a structure that would have the City and RM be true partners in recreation and we are disappointed that the City rejected this concept so quickly.”

On the financial side, the RM proposal called for joint operating to be shared on a per capita basis, adjusted annually.

Additionally, the proposal called for capital cost to also be funded jointly on a per capita basis with the annual maximum contribution from the RM capped at $50,000.

Finally, the proposal called for the RM to receive a per capita share of the recreation portion of Dauphin’s Accommodation Tax.

The financial details of the proposal are materially the same as what the City was asking for from the RM, said mayor David Bosiak. Where city councillors have trouble supporting the proposal, he added, is around the RM’s vision of the board structure.

According to the RM proposal, while Dauphin Recreation Services will continue to operate as a separate agency, the RM plan proposes the current DRS board be disbanded and replaced by a new board made up of two elected officials each from the City and RM, who will be voting members, as well as the city manager and the RM CAO, who will sit as non-voting members. Any motions that result in a tied vote would be defeated.

“Basically they want to dismantle the recreation commission without any reflection that we have a 75-year agreement with the Ag. Society that we’re still in on and we still view them as a partner,” Bosiak said, adding the make up of the board does not reflect the funding realities and was also a sticking point for councillors.

“We’ve told them that their involvement needs to be proportional to their funding amount and to me that makes perfect sense. If you’re funding an organization 22 per cent you should have 22 per cent of the influence, or the say on that board or that body.”

For Sirski, the issue boils down to forming a “true partnership” with the City when it comes to recreation for citizens of both municipalities.

Read the full story in this week’s edition of the Dauphin Herald.

Every year, the major TV networks bring the world together to ring in the new year with coverage of New Year’s parties all over the world.

So when a national network like CBC calls to see what plans you have in store to help people celebrate, you know you’ve made a name for yourself.

Read all about it in this week’s issue.

The Pas Tri-Community Foundation wrapped up a very successful Giving Challenge this year. The amount of donations received has almost doubled in amount.
“We had an excellent response from the community, considering we’ve only been operating for three years,” said The Pas Tri-Community Foundation Vice President Kent Whaley. “We received pretty much double the amount of donations this year compared to what we received last year for the Giving Challenge. I think that is because there has been more awareness of our community foundation and what it does.

Culture Days once again has garnered some local attention for the tri-community area. It was recently announced that, yet again, Culture Days in our community has ranked in the Top Ten Rural Communities List for hosting such an event. This year, the event placed sixth in that category nationwide.
“As always, all events were well received and I believe, this year, each event had the best attendance,” said Culture Days Organizer Cheryl Antonio. “It’s been a long journey over the years getting attention to Culture Days, but since the pandemic, people have really begun to notice the event and all it has to offer. The partnerships with the Kinettes, The Pas Regional Library, the Golden Agers, and the 4-H Club have added to getting the word out there. Each year, the events have been growing.

Many of us are wishing for a Merry Christmas, but some are hoping and praying for freedom and their lives. Former resident, 64-year-old Maurice Kevin O’Rourke has been fighting for both his life and freedom from a prison in Dubai. O’Rourke was on his way to South Africa to meet colleagues when he was detained for carrying medications to treat a disease he has been battling. His family currently resides in Ontario and has been doing all they can to bring him home.
“On July 2, my dad left Canada to fly to Africa,” said O’Rourke’s daughter, Maegan O’Rourke. “He was transiting through Dubai and was only going to be there for less than two days.

It is always nice when you find a little money, whether that’s a $5 bill in the pocket of a jacket you haven’t worn for awhile or, in the case of the City of Dauphin, a share of a new $62-million provincial fund announced at the recent Association of Manitoba Municipalities Fall Convention.

The One Manitoba Growth Revenue Fund, will funnel that $62 million to municipalities across the province over the next five years, Premier Wab Kinew said.

“Last year, our government promised to treat municipalities like the true partners that they are and to respect the pressures they are under after years of freezes,” Kinew told municipal officials gathered in Winnipeg for the convention.

“This year, we’re establishing a new fund to provide extra support for programs now and into the future. Together, we’re giving Manitobans reasons to hope with a plan that makes life better across our province.”

With shares of the new fund determined on a per capita basis, for the City of Dauphin it will mean roughly $75,000 in “found money” annually for the next five years, said city manager Sharla Griffiths.

How that money will be used is yet to be determined.

“It’s always great to have some found money and we have a really progressive, exciting and excited council who want to do things,” she said.

“So we might be able to put this money into something special.”

The new fund is part of what Kinew is calling historic funding for municipalities. Budget 2024 provided $221 million in unconditional funding to all municipalities, including a two per cent escalator to the Municipal Operating Grant to help municipalities address rising cost pressures after years of funding freezes worth $4.4 million, the premier said.

However, when considering those years of frozen funding, combined with delays in receiving inflationary increases, the renaming of grant programs and uncertainties around the size and timing of grants, it is not as if the City is awash in discretionary funds.

“While we’re told historic funding, that kind of thing, it’s not like we now have a windfall . . . we’re catching up,” she said.

“But we will always take any money that’s given to us.”

The new growth revenue fund will be in addition to the operating grant. When combined, this increase to municipal funding is equivalent to 7.6 per cent, a $16.8 million guaranteed increase in operating funding for the next year.

It is an indication that the Province of Manitoba  is in the corner of its citizen’s, added Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard.

“True collaboration is about recognizing the challenges of our municipal partners and coming forward with real support to meet those challenges,” Simard said.

“Our new growth revenue fund is focused on helping municipalities deliver for their communities and continuing to offer the quality services Manitobans expect. We’ve got your back.”

In the last year, Simard noted record provincial investments for municipalities include:

• $221 million in unconditional funding to all municipalities including a two per cent escalator to the Municipal Operating Grant to help municipalities address rising cost pressures after years of funding freezes worth $4.4 million;
• $62 million for the One Manitoba Growth Revenue Fund, a historic commitment to municipalities across the province;
• $265,000 in funding to the Swan Valley General Investigation Section (GIS) pilot program as part of the provincial Public Safety Strategy;
• $42 million for the new Manitoba Growth, Renewal and Opportunities for Municipalities (Manitoba GRO) program, which provides dedicated capital project funding for municipalities outside Winnipeg;
• $4 million in additional funding to the Manitoba Water Services Board, which increases its funding to $24 million to support water and sewerage projects;
• $500,000 to the Municipality of Virden to support the expansion and renovation of Virden Regional Airport;
• $47 million to complete the rehabilitation of the Rivers Dam; and
• $19.6 million for the Souris bridge crossing.

The Thunderhill Ski Area opened the hill for the season this past weekend, Dec. 14, welcoming hundreds of people to the hill for the first time this season. The ski lift fills with kids waiting to head up the hill.

The Elbert Chartrand Friendship Centre held its Gingerbread House Party this past weekend, Dec. 13, tasking all the families in attendance to make the best Gingerbread House. The Vestby family works hard on their three houses.

The Municipality of Roblin (MOR) is hoping to find 100 householders willing to take part in a pilot project to keep their food and organic kitchen waste out of the landfill.

The pilot project, introduced at the MOR ratepayer’s meeting back in November, uses an innovative countertop appliance from a company called FoodCycler.

Read all about it in this week’s issue.

Since the beginning, and even before completion of the construction of the Northgate trail system, those involved have been advocating for a partnership with Parks Canada with an eye to developing world class mountain biking infrastructure.

And, while at times it seemed as though the wheels of government turned impossibly slow, there has been progress made, with initial scrubbing occurring this fall to join RMNP’s Edwards Creek Trail to the Northgate system.

That is thanks in part to advocacy for the project from Dauphin MLA Ron Kostyshyn.

In June, Kostyshyn sent a letter to Steven Guilbeault, federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change educating him on the project and the vision and stressing the importance of a working relationship between the Northgate development group and Parks Canada.

“I encourage you and your staff to take a look at the Northgate Trail system outside the park at northgatetrails.com, as well as the extremely well-received user experience at maps.app.goo.gl/HZkFd8ftnXSxpaca6,” the letter read.

“With a bit of resolve, there is a real opportunity here to take this excellent trail network to the next level by connecting the Northgate Trail to trail networks within RMNP.”

POSSIBILITIES A8

Recently, Kostyshyn heard back through a letter from Parks Canada president and CEO Ron Hallman, who indicated his organization recognized the significance of the trail system as it exists today and the potential it represents.

He also provided an update of work completed on Parks Canada’s end.

“I am pleased to inform you the Edwards Creek Trail Project is moving forward. The project detailed design was developed and reviewed in spring of 2024. The project impact assessment was initiated in July with an archaeological field component completed prior to bird nesting seasonal restrictions on recreational trail projects of this scope,” the letter read.

“Member representatives of the Coalition of First Nations with interests in Riding Mountain National Park participated in this field work. Additional archaeological field work is scheduled for spring of 2025. An interim impact assessment was completed in late fall of 2024, for preliminary brushing of the trail to occur this fall and winter. Preliminary brushing, in progress, will allow for completion of the archaeology field work next spring, and to better inform the detailed (engineered) design for the proposed trail work. The Basic Impact Assessment (BIA) for the full project scope is in final review and construction work is expected to begin in the late summer or fall of 2025, following bird nesting season.”

That type of acknowledgment, and co-operation among all levels of government is important, Kostyshyn said.

“The Derailleurs group and the bike trail, it is just unbelievable the opportunities we could see in the tourism industry and economic development,” he said.

“This is an opportunity that has really blossomed and continues to grow. Just talking to the organization about future plans and competitive biking opportunities, worldwide opportunities, and I think, wow this is really unique.”

Once he learned about the scope of the project, Kostyshyn said there was no question he would get involved in promoting the project and doing what he could to advance it.

“It’s what an MLA should be doing and I’m very happy to help out in anyway. I think this is really important for our community,” he said.

“Just kind of blue skying the thoughts of what’s going to happen with this bike trail and competitions, it’s unbelievable. It’s people from across the world would be actually coming here and competing in Dauphin. Why not enhance the amazing tourism opportunities. We need to continue building.”

Read more in this week’s edition of the Dauphin Herald.