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News for February 23rd
Update from the City Manager
On Wednesday, City representatives met with RM of Cornwallis representatives relative to the City's Annexation proposal.
At this point, discussions are continuing with respect to tax implications, road ownership and maintenance and potential impacts on those properties directly affected by the Annexation proposal.
It is expected that a public meeting will be held with impacted parties in the spring and a report filed with the Minister in late summer.
Media Training
Kathy Vandale, the City Manager’s Executive Assistant, Ian Richards, the Records and Information Manager and Con Arvisais, City Clerk attended a
session learning how to deal with the media both in emergency and non-emergency situations. The workshop which was held at the Brandon Police
Service’s Training & Resource Centre was organized through the Office of the Emergency Coordinator, Brian Kayes. The instructor was Randy Hull,
Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for the City of Winnipeg who brought and shared a wealth of information and experience with members of the
Administration including representatives from Fire, Police and Operations. In an emergency, Kathy and Con would be involved in emergency public
information while Ian would supervise the emergency enquiry centre.
Emergency Preparedness
Fifteen City employees took part in Media Crisis Management Training provided by Randy Hull. Randy is a certified trainer with
Barry McLaughlin and is also the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for the City of Winnipeg. This training helps to prepare us
in managing the Media's response to a large scale emergency situation.
Brandon Hotel / Motel Occupancy Rate
Brandon motels / hotels confirmed a 5.8% (due to rounding) increase in the average occupancy rates for 2008 compared to 2007.
The 2007 average annual occupancy rate was 60.1% and the 2008 average annual occupancy rate was 65.8%.
2008 occupancy rate gains can largely be attributed to increased working crews staying in Brandon.
Intercultural relations/welcoming communities survey
The Rural Development Institute (RDI), Brandon University is seeking volunteers to participate in an intercultural relations / welcoming communities survey. RDI is interviewing 400 individuals in Spanish, Mandarin and English. The institute is seeking both newcomers and long-time residents. Long term
residents are considered anyone who has lived in Brandon for a minimum of 5 years, but the longer the better.
The survey will take about 90 minutes to complete and participants will receive a $25 Brandon Shoppers Mall gift certificate as
a thank you. Individuals interested in participating or who desire additional information can call Bev at 571-8515.
To date, response has been strong from newcomers. It is equally important to the survey results to have good participation from
long term Brandon residents. Please feel free to share the information freely within your networks.
Fire & Emergency Services Update
Chief Dane curled with Councillor Fitzpatrick and other city representatives in the Western Region AMM Bonspiel in Killarney on February 18th.
The BFES Tech Rescue (High Angle) team attended a full day training session at the Manitoba Emergency Services College on February 17th.
Staff members in the BFES Officers Pool participated in a Fire Ground Management Course at the Manitoba Emergency Services College on February 19th and 20th.
The city received the Port-A-Count Respirator Fit Test machine this week. This machine will be partially used to perform the Fit Tests for our Breathing Apparatus.
Lieutenant Governor’s Winter Festival
The 6th Annual Lieutenant Governor’s Winter Festival which was held on February 5th, 6th, and 7th was well received in the community.
During these three days, close to 52,000 people visited the various Winter Festival pavilions, each offering entertainment, food and drink from around the world. Of the 52,000 people attending the pavilions, 750 Brandon School Division students visited three pavilions (England, Métis, Iceland) on Friday afternoon.
The eleven pavilions that participated this year included;
• China
• El Salvador
• First Nation
• Métis
• Ukrainian
• Ireland
• Scotland
• French Canadian
• Iceland
• Germany
• England
During the Winter Festival, free public transportation was offered between pavilions, courtesy of Manitoba Public Insurance. There was an estimated 3,390 people taking advantage of this complimentary half hour transit service.
Since the inception of the Lieutenant Governor’s Winter Festival, Tom Keep has been instrumental in its success and is now passing along the coordination efforts to Esther Bryan. Esther will be coordinating the 2010 Lieutenant Governor’s Winter Festival. Our office extends a huge thank you to Tom for all his efforts over the past 6 years and we are very confident that Esther
will continue this fine tradition for the City of Brandon in future years to come.
Wheat City Golf Course Ski Trails
Due to unforeseen underground wiring problems at the Rec Centre, the ski trails have been re-directed to allow skiers to take advantage of as much light from the functioning light posts as possible. The electrical issues will be dealt with after spring thaw when the underground wiring is more easily accessible.
Sportsplex
The Sportsplex hosted a Sweetheart Swim on Feb. 14th from 1pm-6pm. Anyone who brought their “sweetheart” received a Be Our Guest Pass. A total of 190 swimmers participated in the Sweetheart Swim.
A total of 234 swimmers were in attendance for the Louis Riel Statutory Holiday Swim which took place on Monday, Feb. 16th from 1:00pm-6:00pm.
Healthy Brandon hosted a Skating Party at the Oval on Saturday, February 14th. It was a huge success with 275 attending this event.
Police Update
Chief Atkinson and Inspector Corley have been involved in interviews for new recruits most of the week.
Inspector Grant attended a meeting on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009. The Olympic Torch is scheduled to pass through Brandon on January 8th, 2010.
The Fleetnet Digital Radio System is going to tender today. We hope to have the new radio system in place by late spring 2009.
Inspector Corley traveled to Victoria, BC to a conference focusing on policing with technology.
News for February 16th
Police Update
Chief Atkinson attended an Anti-Bullying Presentation at St. Augustine’s School on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009.
Following the presentation a Certificate of Appreciation was given to Mr. Adam Philpott by Chief Atkinson. Adam is a Brandon University Student and
Bobcat Player that has been extremely helpful to the Police Service in delivering the message on bullying throughout the Elementary Schools in Brandon.
He was also instrumental in recruiting other students and athletes to become involved in the program. The Police Service would like to
recognize the following students:
• Erin Visch-Krahn
• Nicole Ban
• Maria Krahn
• Sara Grona
• Crystal Cornish
• Tara Jago
• Jayla Bousquet
• Melanie Thompson
• Dany Charley
• Joel Small
Chief Atkinson and Inspector Corley attended the Chamber Lunch.
Inspector Grant attended this conference in Ottawa. The focus of the conference was establishing how police can assist the security community
in identifying potential terrorist threats.
Sportsplex
The first weekend of the Maple Leaf Victoria Inn Tournament of Champions will run Thursday, February 12 and runs through to Sunday February 15th.
This first weekend of the tournament is for Atom and Pee Wee Division and Bantam females. The tournament continues the weekend of February 19th to 22nd.
Human Resources
Human Resources has coordinated with the Fire Department, Development Services and Operational Services and purchased an OHD Quantifit respirator fit tester.
The importance of this project was to reduce the expense these departments share to ensure that respiratory protection employees wear fits properly.
The expense of purchasing versus renting the fit test equipment will be recovered within 3 years and the service life of the fit test equipment is estimated to
be a minimum of 10 years.
Fire & Emergency Services Update
On Friday, February 6th Officers of Brandon Fire & Emergency Services had an all day meeting which included training on Risk Management with Greg Brown.
Several Members of our Department and RHA Staff are participating in Advanced Cardiac Life Support training this week which is being conducted by Training Officer, Scott Hemstad.
Due to road conditions a number of long distance ambulance trips have been cancelled.
Chief Dane spoke on behalf of the department at the Kiwanis Club Luncheon on February 4th regarding the status of the programs that they
support (Babysitting and Learn Not to Burn).
Management met with members of other jurisdictions to plan a BEST/Mutual Aid District Mock Scenario in May. This scenario will simulate a Canadian Forces Hercules transport aircraft crash during flight training. Departments that will be involved are BFES, BPS, 911, Military Police, Shilo Emergency Services and Airport Rescue Flight Services.
Third Street Dam
Following our application for the required work to replace the Third Street Dam with a Rockfill Berm; Manitoba Conservation has issued a
Draft Environmental Act License for the Technical Advisory Committee to review. It is anticipated that the license will be issued to the
City of Brandon once the review is completed. The Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans is also expected to finalize their needs in order to
sign onto the license within the next two weeks. In addition, Navigable Waters (Transport Canada), has determined that there will not be a need for a
full exclusion boom across the river near the dam location and have expressed that we will be required to mark the site with buoys and warning signs
appropriately placed downstream of the boat ramp. Also a portage route is to be established through the park to bypass the dam structure.
After the licensing is in place the final design work will proceed. The Third Street Dam replacement is expected to be completed this fall.
shape Foods
Deloitte Touche has confirmed that the initial call for proposals for the purchase of the Shape Foods facility in Brandon was unsuccessful.
The receiver is currently working with several interested groups to determine whether an acceptable proposal will be forthcoming.
The Economic Development office will continue to monitor the status of the facility and connect interested parties with the receiver.
Update from the Mayor
I attended the Opening Ceremonies for the 6th Annual Lieutenant Governor’s Winter Festival which was held last night, February 5, 2009, in City Hall.
A crowd gathered to hear the Lieutenant Governor John Harvard open the festival.
I was pleased to attend the Grand Opening of the new Corral Centre Liquor Mart on Wednesday, February 4.
Also, that evening, I attended the 30th anniversary of Genesis at the Royal Oak Inn and was pleased to find that Genesis has very generously
donated $1 million over the next five years to several local fundraising projects, three of which are based here in Brandon. We are extremely grateful
for this show of generosity.
On Thursday, January 29, I accompanied Councillor Blight and other city staff to a meeting with utility providers in the city. We discussed the possibility of holding a public meeting with residents affected by the utility boxes on frontage property in the Riverheights area. I am pleased with the cooperative efforts
of these utility companies involved; namely, Manitoba Hydro, Westman Communications Group, and MTS Allstream.
Update from the Mayor
Thanks to the efforts of Merrilea Price and Jason Kelusky of the Information Technology Department and Hedy Friesen of the City Clerk’s
Department, the following reports can now be accessed from the City of Brandon website:
• Brandon & Area Planning District Development Plan
• Cemetery Plan
• Citizen Report
• Community Strategic Plan
• Cultural Development & Diversity Strategy
• Emergency Services Plan
• Environmental Strategic Plan
• Greenspace Master Plan
• Housing Plan
• Recreation Facilities Master Plan
• Road Network Development Plan
• Solid Waste Management Plan
• Transit Operating Strategy
• Volunteer Plan
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