This month’s Neepawa Town Council meeting was dominated by a public hearing regarding rezoning a parcel of land on the east side of town from agricultural land to a mix of institutional, commercial and multi-unit residential. The parcel of land in question is adjacent to Highway #16 and Broadway Avenue, commonly known as Golf Course Road. The institutional portion is presumed to be the site of the new hospital, although that has not yet been confirmed by the province.

It’s the multi-unit residential portion, however, that’s the bone of contention with current residents in the area. Concerns centres primarily around the potential to build low-value, high-density housing that will be neglected, as has happened with a similar property in the area. Current homeowners are also concerned with property values in the area, and the effect of increased traffic.

Council elected not to hold a second reading of the new bylaw at this time to give them the opportunity to consider and discuss the community feedback.

The other issue that received attention from the community was the new by-law regarding taxi services, which will have an immediate impact on the local handivan drivers’ ability to drive for the public when it passes the third reading. As has been discussed at previous Council meetings, the new by-law requires a particular level of driver’s license to operate a taxi service which would differ from what is required to drive a vehicle for private institutional use.

Manager of Operations Denis Saquet reports that work has resumed on the new bridge at Park Lake, and that a public complaint about the state of the grass near the water tower has been addressed. The town is still scheduled to have Davidson Street paved in August and as well, they will soon be proceeding with repurposing a portion of the old Crocus Drive for basketball courts. There has also been a request from the public to use some of that space for a Sepak Takraw court, a game popular in the Philippines which they hope to begin to teach people in Neepawa and possibly go on to compete in the sport.

The town has hired a term Rec Director who will replace Nicole Cooper for the duration of her maternity leave. In other recreation news, the new waterslide has arrived and is in storage until it can be installed in the fall after the pool closes for the season.

Also covered were the RCMP quarterly report, the monthly financial statement, accessing federal funding for an active transportation study, installation of the Manitoba 150 tile mural at the Flats, and progress on the new dog park near the bike trails, now called the Bark Forty.