Regular Meeting of the members of Council of the Rural Municipality of Minitonas, held in Council Chambers, in Minitonas, Manitoba this 11th day of June, 2014 A.D. at 8:00 am.

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

Delegations:

9:00 am D. Chartrand – RM Public Works
9:30 am B. Stober – CN Railbed

1. W. Pacamaniuk – E. Rinsdorf
RESOLVED THAT the Agenda be adopted as amended.
Carried.

2. D. Klekta – C. Eisner
RESOLVED THAT the minutes of the Regular Meeting of Council held on May 14th, 2014 shall be adopted as circulated.
Carried.

3. W. Pacamaniuk – D. Klekta
RESOLVED THAT the Bank Reconciliation and the Financial Statement for the month ending May 31st, 2014 shall be approved as presented.
Carried.

4. E. Rinsdorf – C. Eisner
RESOLVED THAT we do hereby authorize payment of the List of Accounts numbered 8813 to 8882 amounting to $87,503.80 excluding cheque #8873 in the amount of $21,914.97.
Carried.

5. W. Pacamaniuk – D. Klekta
WHEREAS on December 31st, 2014 the Rural Municipality of Minitonas will be amalgamated with the Town of Minitonas and the Village of Bowsman, and;
WHEREAS the RM of Minitonas Council feels it is important to preserve the history of the municipality by restoring and documenting the photos of past councils;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT we do hereby agree to hire the services of Fulford Photo & Framing to restore, enhance, document and reframe the photos as per their quote.
Carried.

6. E. Rinsdorf – C. Eisner
RESOLVED THAT the Council of the RM of Minitonas does hereby agree to sell scrap tires as per the attached offer.
Carried.

7. W. Pacamaniuk – D. Klekta
WHEREAS an account was opened at the Royal Bank for the Natural Gas Debenture payments, which have since been paid in full, and;
WHEREAS the RM of Minitonas no longer requires said account;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT we do hereby agree to close RBC Bank Account No. 100-051-2 at Branch No. 6177 (Swan River) and deposit the remaining funds into the municipality’s General Chequing Account at the Swan Valley Credit Union.
Carried.

8. W. Pacamaniuk – C. Eisner
RESOLVED THAT the Council of the RM of Minitonas does hereby agree to purchase a new Virus Protection Program ‘Eset’ through Spruce Country Computers as per the attached quote, including the associated costs to install the program on all systems.
Carried.

9. D. Klekta – E. Rinsdorf
WHEREAS the Rural Municipality of Minitonas Council feels that local recycling is a critical component of household waste management, and wish to ensure the financial viability of the Valley Lions Recycling Program, and;
WHEREAS the current recycling levy paid is not sufficient to cover the costs for their services, making it necessary for municipalities to increase their levies in order to cover all costs and eliminate the need for the Valley Lions Clubs to subsidize the program with fundraising dollars that could be better spent on community projects;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the council for the RM of Minitonas does hereby agree with the Town of Minitonas to increase the levy paid for recycling service to $400 per metric tonne effective January 1st, 2014, and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the invoice for a ‘top-up payment’ of $475.89 for the period of January 1, 2014 – March 31, 2014 shall be approved for payment.
Carried.

10. W. Pacamaniuk – E. Rinsdorf
RESOLVED THAT the 2013 Audited Financial Statement for the Swan Valley Planning District shall be received by the RM of Minitonas Council as submitted.
Carried.

11. E. Rinsdorf – D. Klekta
WHEREAS the representatives of the RM of Minitonas who sit on the Board of the Swan Valley Planning District have been notified that the RM of Swan River will no longer provide administrative services for the district effective January 1, 2015, and;
WHEREAS the RM of Minitonas Council are interested in submitting a proposal for said services, and believe the member municipalities should be afforded an opportunity to make such proposals for consideration;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the members of council agree with the Minitonas Town Council and shall issue a letter to the SVPD Board recommending that they issue a request for quotes, and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT such a quote be submitted by the municipality, in partnership with the Town of Minitonas to the SVPD, once a formal request has been issued, and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, as a result of the pending amalgamation with the Village of Bowsman, a letter shall be issued to the Bowsman Council outlining said proposal and requesting a letter of support from their municipality.
Carried.

12. C. Eisner – E. Rinsdorf
WHEREAS there has been no correspondence from the Province of Manitoba regarding a Problem Beaver Program for 2014, but the RM of Minitonas recognizes the need to control problem beavers in the municipality;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Council of the RM of Minitonas does hereby agree to pay $30 per beaver in the 2014 Fiscal Year for problem beavers that have the potential to cause damage to municipal infrastructure, and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT payment will only be made as pre-approved by a member of the council and upon proof of the beavers noted on each claim.
Carried.

13. W. Pacamaniuk – D. Klekta
WHEREAS Economic Development is critical to the growth & sustainability of the Swan River Valley;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the RM of Minitonas Council approves the attached letter issued to the RM of Mountain in support of their application to Partners 4 Growth.
Carried.

14. W. Pacamaniuk – E. Rinsdorf
RESOLVED THAT the Chief Administrative Officer is hereby authorized to apply to Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation for an additional 10% Grant of up to $12,391.40 to cover the costs to upgrade Provincial Roads as attached hereto.
Carried.

15. W. Pacamaniuk – E. Rinsdorf
WHEREAS the Province of Manitoba, under the provisions of Bill 33, has created the attached regulation governing the amalgamation of the RM of Minitonas with the Town of Minitonas and the Village of Bowsman, and;
WHEREAS, despite their objection to forced amalgamations, the RM of Minitonas Council did meet with the councils of the Town of Minitonas and the Village of Bowsman for extensive discussions regarding the Structure of Council and Service Areas in an effort to determine a way to fairly represent all residents and ratepayers while providing security from said tax shift, and;
WHEREAS these recommendations were not adopted by the Province of Manitoba when creating the aforementioned regulations, causing concern for the RM of Minitonas Council regarding rural representation on council and a possible shift in taxation to rural ratepayers, and;
WHEREAS the members of the RM of Minitonas Council strongly feel that it is now in the best interest of the municipality to move forward with the amalgamation process and ensure that there is a smooth transition and as much preparation as possible to ensure the future stability of the new municipality;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the aforementioned letter and regulations be received and, since this is legislated by law and the RM of Minitonas Council has no choice but proceed as directed by the Province of Manitoba, plans will be made for a joint meeting of the three councils in order to begin the process of amalgamating the municipalities, and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the ‘Transitional Measures’ with regards to the development of ‘Service Areas’ for taxation will be noted to the new council as a means by which rural ratepayers will be protected from a shift in taxation for urban service and a recommendation will be made to the future councils to pass a more permanent and secure Special Service Plan and Special Service By-Law to continue to protect Rural Area Ratepayers from any such increase in taxes that reduce taxes for Urban Area Ratepayers, thereby supplementing service costs for those urban ratepayers with absolutely no direct benefit to those rural ratepayers paying the increased taxes.
Carried.
Councillor Klekta called for a recorded vote:
McIntosh yes
Pacamaniuk yes
Klekta no
Eisner yes
Rinsdorf yes

16. D. Klekta – C. Eisner
WHEREAS the high amounts of flood waters from heavy rains on May 29th, 2014 have caused extensive damage to private property and public infrastructure in the Rural Municipality of Minitonas, and;
WHEREAS there will be significant expenses directly related to the repairs required as a result of these rain waters;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Council of the Rural Municipality of Minitonas requests that the Province of Manitoba – Manitoba Emergency Measures Organization provide disaster financial assistance for costs to repair damage to municipal infrastructure and private properties as applicable, and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the attached Community Impact Assessment shall be submitted to EMO to provide a rough estimate of the costs to repair the damage.
Carried.

17. D. Klekta – E. Rinsdorf
RESOLVED THAT the members of the Council of the RM of Minitonas are hereby appointed as ‘Weed Inspectors’ for the municipality, and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT payment for expenses directly related to the costs of performing services for rural weed inspections will be made in accordance with the current municipal indemnity by-laws and policies.
Carried.

18. W. Pacamaniuk – D. Klekta
RESOLVED THAT we do now adjourn at 12:30 pm to meet again for the next Regular Meeting of Council on July 9th, 2014 at 8:00 am.
Carried.