Brandon Minute: Issue 123

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

📅 This Week In Brandon: 📅

• The Brandon Planning Commission will hold public hearings on Wednesday at 7:00 pm, covering four development applications. The two largest would add a combined 89 new residential lots in southwest Brandon: a 46-lot subdivision proposed by VBJ Developments on undeveloped agricultural land at 1955 34th Street in the Bellafield neighbourhood, and a 43-lot subdivision proposed by Waverly Developments at 1900 34th Street in Brookwood South, linking two recently approved developments, one of which includes a new school site. The Commission will also hear an application to rezone a house at 850 19th Street from residential to neighbourhood commercial so it can be used as an administrative office for a homecare business, a proposal that drew letters of objection from two neighbours concerned about converting housing to commercial use during a housing shortage. The final application would see two fourplexes built at 9 Braecrest Drive, an infill lot near Assiniboine Community College that has sat vacant since the previous house was destroyed by fire and demolished in 2021. City Staff are recommending approval of all four applications, with conditions. The Commission's recommendations will go to City Council, which next meets on August 17th.
  
  
• The City of Brandon expects its flood response to cost $2.28 million, and City Council authorized drawing the full amount from reserves at its July 27th meeting. The City anticipates recovering $1.55 million, or 68% of the cost, through Manitoba's Disaster Financial Assistance program, with the remainder absorbed by the City. City Emergency Co-ordinator Tobin Praznik said contractors, some working around the clock, along with heavy equipment and staff overtime, drove up costs quickly as crews built dikes, issued evacuation notices, and placed Tiger Dams and sandbags ahead of the Assiniboine River's July 13th peak. Water levels were projected to return within the river's banks by August 2nd, the same day the state of local emergency was set to expire. Mayor Jeff Fawcett said the episode is a perfect example of why having reserves in place is important.
  
  
• The City of Brandon has begun city-wide mosquito fogging for the first time since 2022, after City Council voted unanimously at its July 27th meeting to start immediately. The vote came even though trap counts had not reached the threshold that triggers fogging under City bylaws, and the City's supply of the insecticide DeltaGard 20EW is only enough for two rounds. Ward 7 Councillor Shawn Berry, who introduced the motion, said residents frustrated by the booming mosquito population wanted to enjoy what is left of summer. Acting parks and recreation director Bryce Wilson described a "perfect storm" of standing floodwater and extreme heat that created ideal breeding conditions, with larviciding crews taking two and a half days to cover routes they normally finish in one. Spraying runs overnight using six trucks, and is postponed when it rains, the temperature drops below 13 C, or winds exceed 16 km/h. Mayor Jeff Fawcett said even mosquito repellent has become hard to find in Brandon, and that the City is looking for new fogging products to replace its current supply when it runs out. Separately, the Province has ordered several other Manitoba communities to spray for adult mosquitoes because of West Nile virus risk, though no human cases have been confirmed in Manitoba in 2026.
  
  
• At the same July 27th meeting, City Council also approved a series of spending measures. Council signed off on a Total Employee Rewards Strategy that includes a one-time 4% market adjustment for non-union employees, wellbeing initiatives aimed at recruitment and retention, and funding for a benefits stabilization strategy. Council also approved $75,000 from the Disposal Site Reserve to buy additional household collection carts while the 2027 capital allocation is pending, along with a $196,759.56 contract to repair the gas collection system at the landfill. On the housing front, Council approved several Housing Accelerator Fund initiatives, including funding for housing-supportive infrastructure, grants to support new market housing projects, and the purchase of a building to support community services. Council also gave final approval to a rezoning at 1910 Bell Avenue that clears the way for two four-storey buildings totalling 131 dwelling units, and authorized opening a stretch of public road at 26th Street and Maryland Avenue to accommodate a new roundabout.
  
  
• The City of Brandon is launching a pilot program that will subsidize countertop food waste units for residents of larger multi-family buildings. The Multi-Family FoodCycler Pilot Program will let up to 100 residents of buildings with seven or more units buy a FoodCycler Eco 3 unit for $100 and take part in a 12-week pilot. The appliances turn food scraps into a dry soil amendment in four to nine hours, diverting organic material from the landfill without outdoor composting. Participants will be asked to track their food waste diversion and complete surveys, and the City will use the results to decide whether a broader rollout should be considered. Environment Initiatives Coordinator Lindsay Hargreaves said the pilot gives residents who are not eligible for the City's Green Cart Program a way to try waste diversion, as part of the City's Climate Change Action Plan. 

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