Niverville’s council met on the morning of April 7 to discuss a variety of items on the town’s agenda—most of which included measures to fight the pandemic.

Mayor Myron Dyck provided an update on the town’s response to COVID-19. On April 3, Dyck was involved in a conference call with Premier Brian Pallister, provincial municipal relations, municipal representatives, and other local government officials. He said the premier was very clear about asking all Manitobans to continue to follow social distancing guidelines, and that further legislation to help enforce these guidelines is definitely being considered at the provincial level.

Dyck said all residents of Niverville should follow the “strong recommendations” put forward by the provincial government.

The mayor’s encouragement comes at a time when many are still confused about social distancing and what that means. Also, the province’s list of essential services is long and a case could be made for very nearly any business to continue to operate.

At this point, the provincial government has not passed a public health order making it against the law to disregard the province’s strong recommendations. However, if legislation were passed Dyck said it would be up to the RCMP to enforce the law, not the town’s bylaw officers.

“We know there are people who aren’t practicing social distancing out there and our community is no different,” said Dyck, who admitted that the town office had received emails from concerned residents. “We are all of us under the protocols recommended by the province and what we are strongly encouraged to follow is shaped by the government. Yes, there are gaps. They are working on it.”

Examples of provincial social distancing legislation include RCMP monitoring in public spaces and businesses, as well as enforcing the legislation by issuing personal fines for $750 per infraction, or $7,500 for businesses who are breaking the law.

“Now is not the time to become complacent. We need you to pull together with us, not against us,” said Dyck. “We’re all going through the same thing. We must maintain social distancing. We can do this and we can do this together.”

The town is continuing to do its part. Effective April 1, the town office was closed to the public, though staff continue to work their regular hours to provide services. Water and sewer bills will be mailed out with instructions on how to pay without coming into the office.

Council meetings have been moved to the arena, in order to decrease the number of people coming and going from the Heritage Centre. The public is encouraged to submit their opinions for public hearings electronically instead of attending council meetings in person. Physical distancing measures are also in place at the meetings.

Dyck encouraged all residents to visit the town’s website, as well as the province’s website, for updates on COVID-19 that affect our area. Dyck also addressed the Town of Niverville through a YouTube video that was uploaded to the town’s website on April 7 (see below). 

Town Contracts 

Contracts for the paving of Arena Road, the 2020 gravel and topsoil program, and the 2020 concrete program were all awarded to bids from Diamond Redimix, Centennial Gravel, and Armada Construction respectively.

The traffic lights announced in March, to be installed at the corner of Main Street and Fifth Avenue, were also discussed. Progress has been made toward hiring the right professionals to solicit the data required to proceed.

With the economy being expected to slow, however, Councillor Kevin Stott expressed concern over the town’s decision to continue awarding contracts such as these.

“If [COVID-19] goes on for nine months, six months, or even just till September, I’m worried about finances and taxes being submitted to the town,” said Stott. “We don’t know how many of our population right now are stuck at home collecting a 55-cent dollar. I don’t think any of us knew where we would be today.”

Mayor Dyck addressed Stott’s concerns, stating that the provincial funds contributing to these projects are already in place.

“On Friday’s conference call, the minister responsible for these municipal grants had spoken to the grants not being affected,” Dyck explained. “That said, council will discuss looking forward regarding strategies to deal with any economic changes.”

Dyck also referenced the fact that property tax assessments provide the foundation for the town budget projections. Market evaluations should be average to strong for 2021, but projected tax evaluation for 2022 is as yet unknown.

“There is a lot of unknown,” said Dyck. “We are just trying to get through the crunch of this time right now. We do need to be prudent.”