Infrastructure Grants 2017
Water softening membrane treatment system for the East Selkirk Water Treatment Plant
UPDATE: August 2017, Received grant from province for $1,000,000
Estimated cost: $1.5 million
Grant request: 75% of total cost
The source of water in East Selkirk is a large fractured limestone aquifer. The water is hard due to high levels of minerals. Most residents use in-home softeners, but these softeners discharge salts into the sewers causing wastewater treatment issues.
Installing a membrane softening system will provide good quality domestic water and reduce the amount of salts being discharged into the sewer system. Homeowners won’t need softeners anymore. Installation of membrane will begin in 2019.
Our portion of the cost of this project will be paid for by development fees for new subdivisions in East Selkirk.
Paving projects
Estimated cost: $1,127,000
Grant request: $400,000
The maximum amount available through grants from the provincial Municipal Road Improvement Program this year is $400,000. Road renewal and improvement continually rank as a top priority for our residents. This grant will help us complete projects on Ferry Road, McKay Road and Donald Street.
The RM of St. Clements has made record investments in local roads in recent years. Last year, we completed a plan to guide us on future road works – the 2016 Hard Surface Road Assessment and Ten-Year Capital Plan.
Infrastructure Grants 2016
We have identified four infrastructure projects that fit the criteria of the grants and will advance objectives outlined in our Rural Municipality of St. Clements 2015-2018 Strategic Plan. If successfully obtained, these grants will increase our available finances by an extra $2.485 million.
Water softening membrane treatment system for the East Selkirk Water Treatment Plant
UPDATE: As of May 2017, we have not heard back about this grant yet
Estimated cost: $1.5 million
Grant request: 75% of total cost
The source of water in East Selkirk is a large fractured limestone aquifer. The water is hard due to high levels of minerals. Most residents use in-home softeners, but these softeners discharge salts into the sewers causing wastewater treatment issues.
Installing a membrane softening system will provide good quality domestic water and reduce the amount of salts being discharged into the sewer system. Homeowners won’t need softeners anymore.
Our portion of the cost of this project will be paid for by development fees for new subdivisions in East Selkirk.
Active transportation for East Selkirk and South St. Clements
UPDATE: As of May 2017, we have not heard back about this grant yet
Estimated cost: $1.5 million
Grant request: 50% of total cost
Active transportation corridors for East Selkirk and south St. Clements aim to improve community connections, offer healthy active transportation alternatives, increase cyclist/pedestrian safety, and reduce reliance on school bus transportation.
East Selkirk’s new water and sewer systems have attracted the interest of housing developers. Recent public consultation indicated a high level of concern for pedestrian/cyclist safety, particularly on Colville Road and connecting to nearby schools. This grant will allow us to work with Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation to develop an active transportation corridor along Colville Road and look at paving part of the old railroad bed.
South St. Clements has undergone a recreation needs study and recently been consulted on what recreation options they would like in their community. The survey results showed that a combination of indoor and outdoor facilities, including trails, is the most desirable.
Trails in this area will provide connectivity to various future recreation hubs to be located along the proposed trail, including parks, play structures and toboggan hills. The trail will hook into the Trans Canada Trail and Birds Hill provincial park. If this grant is approved, we will ask for public input to help shape the project according to the community’s wants and needs. ons in East Selkirk.
Paving projects
UPDATE: We received the full grant of $400,000 and finished the work on Dunning Road, Shalom Path and Old River Road
Estimated cost: $965,000
Grant request: $400,000
Road renewal and improvement continually rank as a top priority for our residents. The RM of St. Clements has made record investments in local roads in recent years. This grant will help us complete ongoing paving projects on Dunning Road, Shalom Path, and Old River Road.
Rehabilitation of bridge on Road 40E over Brokenhead River
UPDATE: In February of 2017 the RM of St. Clements received a grant of $210,00 to rehabilitate this bridge. It is 50-50 matching grant, so the RM and the province each pay half. The work to rehabilitate the bridge was completed in 2016.
Estimated cost: $420,000
Grant request: 50% of total cost
A routine bridge inspection in the RM of St. Clements this spring resulted in the immediate closure of a bridge crossing the Brokenhead River located at mile Road 40E in the east central portion of the municipality. This bridge is an important link not only for farmers in St. Clements but for farmers in Eastern Manitoba too. The bridge closure has a significant impact on Greenwald Colony, costing time and money. Another issue that has come to light is that farmers have been regularly exceeding the load limit of the bridge.
The bridge was inspected by Stantec Consulting in April of 2016. The RM has decided to rehabilitate the bridge which will extend the life of the bridge by about thirty years, as opposed to complete replacement which would cost over $2.7 million.
Future Grant Applications
Henderson Sewer System
The Henderson Highway sewer system is a high priority for Council, as outlined in the Rural Municipality of St. Clements 2015-2018 Strategic Plan. Since the election in October 2014, efforts to provide wastewater service to the southwestern portion of the RM have moved forward. As of March 2016, 66 homes are now, or will soon, be hooked into the Lockport Wastewater Treatment Plant.
In spring of 2016, the municipality applied to the Water Services Board (WSB), a provincial agency that assists municipalities with the development of sustainable water and wastewater works, to fund 50% of the expected $10 million cost of Lockport Wastewater treatment plant expansion. After reviewing our application, the WSB suggested that instead of expanding the Lockport Wastewater Treatment Plant we explore the option of partnering with the RM of St. Andrews in their project to hookup to the Winnipeg sewer system. This partnership could save the RM millions of dollars and speed up the time for all users in the Henderson service area to hookup to the system.
The RM hired Stantec Consulting in the spring of 2016 to study the feasibility of partnering with the RM of St. Andrews. Stantec’s report is expected in the fall of 2016. Once council receives this report it can renew its application for funding. The RM’s goal is that all residents in the Henderson sewer system area be hooked up by 2020.
View the full history of this project on our website at rmofstclements.com/Henderson.
South St. Clements Activity Centre
New recreation options for south St. Clements residents have been in the works for many years. Consultation and design efforts are underway to determine what recreation infrastructure should look like in South St. Clements. We are focusing on a multipurpose building as well as outdoor amenities such as an outdoor rink and play structures.
Council has hired Manager of Recreation and Leisure Services Dave Harcus to help guide recreation development in south St. Clements and in the entire RM. Council believes recreation should be an essential service. For background on this project, go to our website at rmofstclements.com/SSCrecreation.