Special Meeting of the members of Council of the Rural Municipality of Minitonas, held in the Council Chambers, in Minitonas, Manitoba this 28th day of November, 2013 A.D. at 7:00 pm.



The purpose of the meeting is to review and consider approval of the Final Draft Amalgamation Plan for the RM of Minitonas, Town of Minitonas & Village of Bowsman.

Present: Reeve McIntosh
Councillors: Eisner, Klekta, Rinsdorf & Pacamaniuk
CAO, C. Gordon

1. W. Pacamaniuk – D. Klekta
WHEREAS under Bill 33 the Province of Manitoba has mandated that the Rural Municipality of Minitonas must seek out the partner municipality with a common boundary and amalgamate, solely because the municipal population according to the 2011 Census was less than 1000, and;

WHEREAS the RM of Minitonas Council has met with the councils of the Town of Minitonas and the Village of Bowsman for extensive discussions regarding the possibility of creating a partnership of the three municipalities, and held a Public Consultation Meeting on November 13th, 2013 to answer questions and hear concerns from the residents and ratepayers, and;
WHEREAS the members of Council strongly feel that the Rural Area, having the largest population, almost 6 times the assessment, generating almost 6 times the total taxation revenue that is generated by the two proposed partners combined, and having the largest physical area, will only have fair representation by the development of Local Urban District or a Ward Structure Council;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Council of the Rural Municipality of Minitonas agree to the submission of the attached draft amalgamation plan and request an extension to February 1st, 2014 during which time the services of the Field Consultant and Local Government Staff will be requested to mediate the final area of the draft plan and assist the partners in making a decision on Part B – Council of the New Amalgamated Municipality that will be fair and equitable for all residents and ratepayers of the three municipalities, and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the attached document outlining the significant complexities that support their preference for the Structure of Council will be submitted along with the cover letter explaining the need for the extension and further discussion on this critical piece of the amalgamation process that will reshape the future of the municipalities.
Carried

2. C. Eisner – E. Rinsdorf
WHEREAS the Council’s greatest concern regarding an amalgamation with the Town of Minitonas and the Village of Bowsman is protection from a tax shift of $140,000 or more on the rural ratepayers that they were elected to represent which would result if a common mill rate were used in the new amalgamated municipality due to the Rural Area having almost 6 times the assessment of the two Urban Areas combined, and;

WHEREAS the recommendation was made by Manitoba Local Government to consider creation of Local Urban Districts for the existing Urban Areas as opposed to using Service Areas to more permanently address the aforementioned concern, and;

WHEREAS the creation of Local Urban Districts would be a means by which the Urban Areas could retain local input and management of infrastructure and community development, existing reserve funds and fair representation in the future;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Council of the Rural Municipality of Minitonas do hereby authorize CAO, Carolyn Gordon to make arrangements for the Field Consultant appointed to our municipalities and a representative from Manitoba Local Government to attend meetings locally with the 3 proposed partners and further explore options for the Structure of Councils and Local Urban Districts in an effort to work toward a fair and equitable Draft Amalgamation Plan, and;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, should the 3 aforementioned partners fail to agree to the creation of Local Urban Districts, the RM of Minitonas Council would then insist on representation by population through a council of 8 (a Reeve and 7 Councillors) under a Ward System and utilize the existing municipal boundaries as ward boundaries, and;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, under the proposed Ward System, the Reeve would be elected ‘At Large’, 1 councillor would be elected from the ‘Bowsman Urban Area’, 2 councillors would be elected in the ‘Minitonas Urban Area’ and 4 councillors would be elected in the ‘Rural Area’.
Carried.

3. W. Pacamaniuk – E. Rinsdorf
RESOLVED THAT we do now adjourn at 8:30 pm.
Carried.