Brandon Minute: Issue 118

Brandon Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Brandon politics

📅 This Week In Brandon: 📅

• Construction of a naturalized stormwater pond near the Brandon Municipal Cemetery is on schedule for completion in October. The 10-acre pond, located in the Lyndale Drive and Sycamore Drive area, is designed to mimic prairie wetlands by filtering water and increasing stormwater storage to reduce flooding during heavy rainfalls. Mayor Jeff Fawcett said the project was planned specifically to address property flooding that the area has been dealing with. The nearly $6.3-million project is funded by the City of Brandon, which has spent close to $5.3 million, and the Government of Canada, which contributed $1 million through its Natural Infrastructure Fund. The pond's planting design, developed using guidelines from Ducks Unlimited Canada's environmental consulting branch, will feature cattails, bulrush, native grasses, willows and shrubs, along with a 500-metre pathway for walking, wheeling and biking. Material excavated for the pond is being reused to grade a future expansion of the adjacent cemetery. 
  
  
• The City of Brandon is preparing to spend $3.5 million this summer to replace First Street water mains that have been in place since the 1910s, with work expected to begin as early as July 6th. City Council approved the project at its meeting last week, including an additional $500,000 drawn from a reserve after costs came in higher than the figure approved at budget. The City says the aging cast-iron main was flagged as a significant risk in the City's asset management program after a number of breaks in recent years. The City awarded a $3,214,088 contract to Allen and Bolack Excavating Ltd., narrowly below a competing bid, with the overall cost rising partly because the new pipes will be wider to improve pressure and flow. The work will run along First Street between Louise and Van Horne avenues and on connecting stretches of Victoria Avenue East and Van Horne Avenue East, and will also include replacing and adding fire hydrants. Mayor Jeff Fawcett said the project shows why it is important to maintain reserves and replenish them when bids exceed estimates. The new PVC pipes carry a design life of more than 80 years, and crews will repave the road after winter, though resurfacing of the provincially controlled street remains in the Province's hands.
  
  
• The Manitoba Historical Society has named 5 Westman sites to its 2026 list of the top 10 most endangered historical resources in the province, including one building in Brandon. The Manitoba Government Display Building at the Brandon fairgrounds, opened in 1927 and later used as the Manitoba Trade Fair Building, is now closed and used mainly for cold storage, with the society citing a leaking roof and broken windows. The other 4 Westman entries are the Kenton United Church, built in 1904 and holding its final worship service this Sunday at 2:00 pm, the vacant Mariapolis Collegiate in the Municipality of Lorne, the Ruthenia Community Hall built in 1931 northwest of Rossburn, and two 1920s-era wooden grain elevators in Napinka. The Society pointed to the Kenton church as a clear example of the pressures facing rural congregations amid shrinking membership and a shortage of ministers. It suggested relocation to a museum may offer the best future for the Ruthenia hall and noted rumours that demolition may be looming for the Napinka elevators. Last year's list also featured several Westman sites, including buildings in Brandon, Dauphin and Hartney.
  
  
• The Brandon Municipal Airport plans to carry out crack repairs on its runway this fall after City Council approved $125,000 for the work at its meeting last week, with the money drawn from an airport reserve. Airport manager Greg Brown said cracks that have developed over the past two years let moisture into the pavement, which can worsen through freeze and thaw cycles and ultimately damage the tarmac if left unsealed. Crews will work overnight for about a week to avoid disrupting WestJet flights, the military, first responders and other users, since the airport sees roughly 40,000 to 50,000 aircraft movements a year with most flights between 7:00 am and 10:00 pm. Brown described the repairs as part of routine maintenance, noting the runway can never be allowed to develop potholes. The airport usually does such work itself but is contracting it out this time because there is too much work and not enough available staff, and it still has to issue a tender. The runway was last resurfaced in 2024, and Brown said the airport can request federal Airports Capital Assistance Program funding only every 20 years, so the surface must be kept in good condition between those windows.
  
  
• Five sites owned by the City of Brandon have been added to Manitoba's Protected and Conserved Areas Network, a designation meant to shield the land from development. The Oeti Natural Area, Eleanor Kidd Park, Brandon Riverbank, Shunkawakan Onazin Natural Area and Dinsdale Park all run along the Assiniboine River and are zoned as flood plains. Ingrid Gatin, programming and community co-ordinator at the Riverbank Discovery Centre, described the designation as a community-led commitment to protect the land and educate residents about the local ecosystem. Two of the areas carry Dakota names drawn from Sioux Valley Dakota Nation's elder group, reflecting the river corridor's history as a space the Dakota used for camping and keeping horses. Signs at each location will explain the designation and include a QR code linking to Elder Oswald McKay sharing stories about the land. Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Councillor John Bell called the naming and designation a partnership between the City and Province that honours the Indigenous community's past and present ties to the area. The Riverbank Discovery Centre plans to offer programs connected to the protected areas as a next step.

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