Brandon Minute: Issue 76

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

📅 This Week In Brandon: 📅

• The City of Brandon has launched a lawsuit against Manitoba Hydro and its subsidiary Centra Gas, alleging negligence connected to a 2023 explosion at the Civic Services Complex. The blast, which occurred in the building’s mechanical room on September 5th, 2023, sent one person to hospital and caused widespread damage to the facility that houses the City’s transit fleet and administration. According to the City’s claim, Manitoba Hydro had recently replaced the building’s natural gas meter set and removed a regulator, which left the system delivering unsafe levels of pressure directly to appliances. The City argues that this overpressured system, combined with a gas leak and subsequent purging process, allowed natural gas to accumulate and ignite. An engineering review later found that the gas service line installed in the 1990s was undersized and should have been upgraded decades earlier to meet building requirements. Brandon alleges that Hydro either knew or should have known the system was non-compliant with building codes. The explosion destroyed or damaged the building and its contents, with the City now seeking compensation for repair costs, insurance, and engineering expenses. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
  
  
• City Council has approved a $239,900 contract with Jacobson Commercial Ltd. to renovate the long-closed canteen at the Brandon Community Sportsplex, six years after it shut down. An additional $108,000 has been allocated from the arena’s debenture fund to cover potential structural, electrical, or mechanical issues. City officials hope the canteen will reopen in time for the hockey and winter sports season, alongside the arena, which is expected to reopen in October after being closed since March 2023 due to safety concerns. The canteen originally closed in 2019 after attempts to operate it profitably failed, and reopening plans were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Three local businesses have submitted bids to manage the canteen under a five-year contract, with an option to renew. The tenant will be required to keep the facility open during peak times, tournaments, and special events. City officials emphasized the canteen will serve both event attendees and the general public, fulfilling a long-standing community request.
  
  
• Council has also approved a $96,110.48 contract with Brandon Heating and Plumbing to install a hydronic pre-heating coil for the North Hill Sportsplex pool. The coil will pre-heat incoming cold air to protect the Dectron unit, which provides heating and dehumidification but has been prone to freezing and sustaining damage in winter. Over the past decade, multiple compressor failures have occurred due to system overload, and the cold air has caused cracks and operational issues in the unit. The project exceeded the original $65,000 budget, with the additional $31,110.48 taken from the Sportsplex reserve fund. Parks and Recreation officials noted that the pool will remain operational during the work, though a timeline for completion has not been set. 
  
  
• The Brandon School Division has received a provincial promissory note of $854,100 to support key projects across four sites. Funding will cover a modular classroom at Meadows School, roof replacement at Kirkcaldy Heights School, crawlspace remediation at École secondaire Neelin High School, and land purchase in southwest Brandon for a future K-8 school. The note will reimburse the division in stages as projects progress, with the largest portion - over $525,000 - allocated to the modular classroom. The planned K-8 school will accommodate up to 1,000 students and is expected to open in 2027-28. Superintendent Mathew Gustafson noted that while the funding addresses urgent needs, the division still faces extensive infrastructure challenges, including aging roofs, boilers, HVAC systems, and other critical repairs. BSD will reassess its major building systems this fall to guide future provincial requests and ensure priorities reflect the most urgent needs. 
  
  
• Brandon University received a consultants’ report reviewing its failed $5-million Enterprise Resource Planning project, which ran from 2020 to early 2024 under the “Renew BU” initiative. The report, prepared by BDO Canada, identified flawed software selection, inadequate vendor assessment, and weak governance as the main reasons for the project’s collapse. Although some positive practices, such as early stakeholder engagement, were used, they were insufficient to overcome fundamental misalignment and control gaps. The project lacked effective oversight, checkpoints, and accountability measures, allowing problems to escalate and costs to rise without resolution. The executive summary outlined 10 lessons for future projects, including stronger governance, clearer leadership roles, financial oversight, and risk management. University leaders emphasized the review was intended to provide guidance rather than assign blame, with the full report restricted to internal use. Faculty and student representatives highlighted ongoing governance and communication issues as key takeaways. 

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

Nominations are now open for those interested in running for School Trustee in the Brandon School Division’s October 16th by-election.

The nomination period runs until Wednesday, September 10th at 4:30 pm. Candidates must meet the official requirements listed online.

Are you or someone you know interested in stepping up to serve as a school board trustee? Learn more online:

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