With the new PCU Centre on the way the fate of Portage Centennial Arena has yet to be decided.

June 2009

Ice or no ice, a faction of the Portage Centennial Arena user groups have been working together over the last year to try to get the City of Portage la Prairie to keep the arena open to meet the demands of sports teams for ice surfaces.

“Our group has been discussing on the very important need for a third ice surface in Portage once the PCU Centre, and its two arenas, are up and running. We have been trying to meet with the city for quite awhile to discuss this, but to this point, these efforts have been unsuccessful,” explained Jo-Anne Gillespie, one of the user-group members that have been working on this concern.

http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1594479

On May 29, the new exhibition building at the Portage Fairgrounds collapsed, causing injury to at least one worker.

There are no confirmed details of the accident being released at this time, but a Daily Graphic reporter on scene reported Portage Emergency Services personnel were working on the victim, who was then transported away from the scene on a stretcher.

http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1594476

Editorial From the Central Plains Herald-Leader on April 25 2009

Budgets.  They are contentious pieces of paper, aren’t they?  Governing bodies walk on pins and needles when dealing with budgets issues because when it comes to money, people pay attention, and many people were paying attention on April 21 when the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie passed its $16.8 million budget, with one vote against.  In fact, so many people were paying attention to the RM’s budget that the meeting couldn’t take place in the RM office, but had to be moved to an auditorium.  As with many contentious issues, the people against the budget the had most to say, although there were some supporters in the audience, too.

Suprisingly, not all those opposed to the budget were so positioned because of the RM’s commitment to the PCU Centre in Portage la Prairie.  One ratepayer was concerned because the RM didn’t budget “one thin dime” for agriculture, the dominant industry in the Central Plains area, which is an extremely valid concern.

While politicians at all levels have to negotiate between those for and those against, it seems the RM of Portage held a public hearing in name only.  Reeve Toby Trimble stated, quite matter-of-factly,  “We gave the budget second and third readings this afternoon after the public hearing, so it is an approved document….this is our final decision.” Someone should inform Trimble this is not “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”  and while a final decision does need to be made, all sides should be considered very carefully, perhaps, second and third reading of legislation that has people so hot-under-the collar should not be pushed through the same day.  Instead, the councilors should have a chance to ruminate on the concerns brought forth and take the time to talk amongst themselves about the next step in the process.

Putting the one long-standing major issue, the PCU Centre funding, aside, and looking at the conduct of the RM as a whole, the council needs to stop bulldozing through initiatives and start listening to people.  The naysayers are not speaking out purely to be a thorn in the side of their elected representatives.  The fact of the matter is they feel so strongly about their position that they even took the RM to court … and won!  One has to wonder what, exactly, it will take for the RM to start listening to the people who elected them?

This budget may, in fact be a very solid one, but that is not the point.  The Reeve and his councillors, minus one, did not even give the illusion of listening to the many people who showed up at the public hearing.  A day or two mull over the comments given by their electors would not have wreaked any major havoc to the running of the municipality. One cannot blame those who are performing their civic duty and showing up at these meeting for feeling like they’re hitting their heads against a brick wall because, despite all their best efforts, nobody is listening to what they have to say.

An elected position means you are responsible to the public who elected you to work in their best interests, not to sweep their suggestions and concerns under the rug in order to get on with the business of the day. Hopefully, the next time the RM call for a public hearing, they will actually stop to hear what it is the public is telling them.

Tara Seel is the editor of the Central Plains Herald-Leader.

From the Daily Graphic website May 2 2009

Funding for the secondary arena at the new PCU Centre overcame a major hurdle today with an announcement the federal government will contribute $1.7 million to the project from its Building Canada Fund.

The secondary arena is part of the second phase of the multiplex project, with construction of the first phase — a main arena, aquatic centre, fitness centre and community rooms — already underway at the Island Park fairgrounds.

That amount matches a previous amount committed by the province through its Building Manitoba Fund.

“I’m totally delighted. You can’t imagine how delighted all of council is.

It now gives us hope that we can finish this project the way the community wants it,” Mayor Ken Brennan said.

The city will be looking to a further debenture and drawing down its reserves, Brennan said, which it has the room to do, to pay for its portion of the project.

The Rural Municipality of Portage will not commit any further money beyond the $8 million it has already pledged to the PCU Centre.

According to city manager Dale Lyle, the city will need to formally accept the money before planning can begin. Early estimates peg the completion date of phase 2 at fall 2010.

From The Portage Daily Graphic

Although some ratepayers voiced their concerns against the plan, the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie council went ahead and passed its budget for 2009.

The public hearing was held in the auditorium of Trinity United Church in Portage on April 21 to accommodate the estimated 45 area residents in attendance.

Council voted 7-1 to accept the $16.8-million (updated figure) budget.

Following the hearing, ratepayer Dwayne Leslie said he was opposed to the plan.

“I have a lot of concerns about where the money is going and the way they (council) have gone about it, and the lack of answers to many of the questions regarding the funding for the PCU Centre,” he said.

Ratepayer Robert Murray spoke up against the RM’s 2009 financial plan.

“We are opposed to the financial plan because it puts an undue burden on the farm community,” he said, following the hearing.

“This budget here takes all of our gas tax revenue for the next 15 years — puts 97 per cent towards recreation; three per cent to an expanded lagoon system in Oakville, and not one thin dime for agriculture,” said Murray.

One ratepayer who voiced his support for the financial plan was Doug Connery, who noted he can appreciate the RM’s efforts to balance its budget and was happy with a zero increase in taxes also.

“They (RM) have been able to keep a balanced budget and still be able to do the rec complex at the same time …,” he said. “They basically are doing what they have said over the last 2 1/2 years what they would be doing. I am commending them for doing that.”

The RM’s total anticipated expenditures are $16.8 million for 2009, compared to roughly $16 million in 2008. Of that, roughly $8 million is reserved for education, with the remaining amount available for the RM to use for municipal purposes.

Total increase to expenditures for 2009 is $593,081, however $383,185 of the increase will be covered by the annual gas tax funding the RM will receive in 2009.

The municipal mill rate for the RM will be the same in 2009 as it was in 2008, at 21.08 mills.

For property assessed at $100,000, residential property owners will pay $948; farmland owners would be charged $548; and commercial property owners would pay $1,370.

In the 7-1 vote to accept the budget, only Coun. Arnold Verwey of Ward 5 was opposed.

“I had comments from my ratepayers over the weekend,” he said, following the 1 1/2 hour meeting. “You have to listen to the ratepayers. They are the ones who voted me in. That is why I voted against it.”

The main issue of concern for those who expressed opposition to the budget was the RM’s financing of the PCU Centre project.

One ratepayer in the public hearing questioned how the RM will find the money for its share of the PCU Centre if a borrowing bylaw for up to $6.2 million to cover its $8-million commitment to the new PCU Centre project that is awaiting approval from the Manitoba Municipal Board is declined.

During the meeting, Reeve Toby Trimble said he is hopeful the borrowing bylaw will be approved and noted the previous local improvement plan, which allowed the RM to borrow up to $8 million for its share of the $35.7-million project, was struck down by the Court of Queen’s Bench in December, not for the amount of money to be borrowed, but, instead, the process taken to approve the previous plan.

On the matter of ensuring it is meeting the needs of agriculture, Trimble said the RM 2009 budget has taken into account costs for drainage and road improvement, as part of its transportation costs of $3.2 million, which is a major expenditure for the RM.

Following the April 21 public hearing, Trimble said while the RM has taken into consideration the ratepayers’ concerns, council will be going ahead with its financial plan for the year.

“We gave the budget second and third reading this afternoon after the public hearing, so it is an approved document,” said Trimble. “This is our final decision.”

The Manitoba Municipal Board (MMB) is still to approve the RM’s borrowing by-law for the PCU Centre. Trimble said the MMB indicated it was waiting until after the RM held a public hearing on the 2009 budget before making a decision on the borrowing bylaw.

Following the public hearing, the Reeve said he heard from both ratepayers who were opposed as well as those in favour of the RM’s financial plan.

“I think there was a good cross-section of the community there: people that were supportive and those that had concerns,” he said. “For people who were supportive, it is pretty difficult to get up and ask a question when you are in favour of it. So, I think there was just comment. I think we tried to answer the questions, and we have been answering a lot of the same questions for many months.”

From the Daily Graphic

The framework is now a part of the horizon, but there is still lots of work to be done on the PCU Centre in Portage la Prairie’s Island Park, and you can be part of it.

One major item on the “to do” list is fundraising. On April 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the William Glesby Centre in Portage, there is a community fundraising event. There will be a presentation by Mayor Ken Brennan and updates on Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the fundraising effort will be provided. There’s been a lot of fundraising work done already, and now it is the public’s turn to get involved, as the launch of Phase 3, the public fundraising, will take place.

Jody Fletcher, co-chair for Phase 3 of the PCU Centre Capital Campaign, says this is a great chance to show support for the recreation complex.

“It’s an opportunity for people who are out in the community and enthusiastic about our project, the PCU Centre,” she said.

The event on April 29 is being put on to enable people to learn more about the progress of the fundraising, namely how much money is left to raise and how it will be raised.

Fletcher, along with Roberta Christianson, are co-chairs for the Phase 3 of the PCU Centre Capital Campaign, and they hope to reach their goal of $1.4 million. The first and second phases were conducted by Brian Gilbert and Warren Neufeld during their time as co-chairs.

“Hat’s off to Brian Gilbert and Warren Neufeld for the tremendous job they did raising $1.7 million in Phase1 and Phase 2,” commended Fletcher.

Fletcher is excited about what the PCU Centre will do for the Central Plains area.

“This facility will be the pride of our community,” she said, because it will attract new people, as well as business and industry.

A barbecue is taking place on May 2 to kick off Phase 3, the final phase of fundraising for the PCU Centre project. The event will take place in the northwest part of the Heritage Square parking lot, beside the Portage and District Arts Centre and the Herman Prior 55-plus Centre. Food and entertainment will be available to the public.

Christianson feels the PCU Centre will be of great benefit to the people in this area.

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The recreation complex is slated to be completed in January 2010, and it will offer a variety of water activities, fitness and ice rink recreation. Also, business and industry will find use in the multi-purpose rooms for meetings and programs. So, mark your calendars and plan to attend the upcoming events in support of the PCU Centre.

From the Portage Daily Graphic

The Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie is hoping the information in a newsletter on the recreational multiplex will be well received.

The RM sent out information packages regarding the multiplex project to its ratepayers Jan. 30. The package contained a breakdown of costs for the project and the tax implications involved for property owners in the RM.

The package was released after the RM council gave first reading to a $6.2-million borrowing bylaw. That amount will be repaid over 15 years with an estimated interest rate of seven per cent. The RM has already taken roughly $1.8 million from its reserves to start paying for construction on the project, which is underway at the Island Park fairgrounds in Portage.

Ratepayer Dwayne Leslie said he was hoping the RM package would include more information.

“When I heard they were sending out a package, I presumed it would include detailed costs for my family farm, a business plan, future expansion plans, fundraising efforts to date, a final cost and details on what exactly will be included in the new Portage Recreation Authority,” he said on Feb. 4. “The one piece of paper mailed out does not cover any of these things, so I was very disappointed with the reeve’s attempt to put a positive spin on this project.”

Ratepayer Lorne Henry, on the other hand, said he was pleased with the package and supports the RM’s efforts to move the multiplex project along.

“I didn’t have concerns with what the RM was doing anyway,” he said on Feb. 3, adding the fairest system for the RM to meet its $8-million commitment to the PCU Centre is an across-the-board tax on all ratepayers.

“If you start separating houses over land, that doesn’t work. The fairest way is to put (the tax) on everything. It may not be perfect, but it’s the fairest way we can come up with,” Henry said. “Your tax increase is about 3.5 per cent for 15 years, then it is paid off.”

In the information package, the RM says it will not require any future tax increase for the multiplex, beyond the 3.5 per cent increase in the mill rate in 2008.

The RM council also built up its reserves so it would not have to borrow as much for the project, putting away $500,000 in 2008 and 2009, and using some other money it had in reserves.

While the budget hasn’t been finalized for 2009, the RM has indicated it does not appear it will need a tax increase for the multiplex in 2009.

An RM official said the information package was put together to clarify any misunderstandings of how taxes will be increased and the amount they are increasing. The RM also wanted to respond to ratepayers’ concerns there wasn’t enough information available. It issued the bulletin to advise ratepayers how the RM plans on funding the multiplex.

Oakville-area farmer Kam Blight said the package is late in arriving and does not answer all the ratepayers’ concerns.

“I feel that it is over a year too late,” he said. “I feel it is lacking in transparency. In my opinion, the information is just too sugar-coated (on) how much your taxes are actually increasing this year. It is not stating what the true cost of this project really is to RM ratepayers.”

The borrowing bylaw will need to be approved by the Manitoba Municipal Board before it is given second and third reading and passed by the RM council.

RM of Portage Deputy Reeve Bill Alford said the package could not be made available earlier as the council was still working on gathering the details.

“The council was hoping to get the correct numbers out to people,” he said on Feb. 4.

Alford said if anyone has any questions about the information provided or needs additional cost breakdowns they can call the RM office directly.

From the Portage Daily Graphic

Despite Tower Engineering’s contract for the project management of the Portage Credit Union Centre having expired April 15, this should not adversely affect the cost or construction of the sports complex, officials said.

“I have every intention of being there to the end,” project manager of the PCU Centre construction Guenter Shaub, of Tower Engineering, said.

Shaub also added he didn’t see it necessary to draw up a new contract as he intends to stay on until his duties are completed and Tower Engineering’s fee will not increase, either.

The current fee is set at $225,000.

The projected completion date of the multiplex when the contract was signed between the City and Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie and Tower Engineering on May 14, 2007 was last Wednesday, city manager Dale Lyle confirmed.

It is interesting to note that at the RM Council Meeting on February 24 2009 Warren Neufeld of CFRY and the Portage Recreation Committee made a presentation regarding Round 2. They only raised 410,000 from 18 businesses rather than the 800,000 plus they were expecting.

It was too bad the Reeve was more worried about bragging about his Round 3 contribution than he was asking about why they were over 50% short in their fundraising goal.

Too much hype, not enough substance. I guess that is why the current poll on the Daily Graphic website shows over 75% will not be donating to the project.

Good luck to the ladies of Round 3……They will need it.

From The Portage la Prairie daily Graphic March 2 2009

Phase-3 fundraising for the PCU Centre, which will see individuals targeted, is set for an April kick-off.

Getting ready to solicit funding from the general public is a big task, and volunteers who will be doing the fundraising want to be absolutely prepared, capital campaign co-ordinator Roberta Christianson said.

“We just want to be really ready to go,” she noted.

Right now, the process involves a lot of planning and getting printed material ready to distribute at what Christianson described as the “optimum time,” being spring.

With Phase-2 of fundraising just about completed, which involves the final details being worked out and passing City of Portage la Prairie and Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie council’s approval, the release of the final tally is expected shortly.

Phase-2 involved approaching local businesses and offering them the opportunity for naming rights for components of the building currently under construction at Island Park. It is expected to raise between $800,000-$1 million for the project.

Phase-1, which saw initial naming rights sold off, raised $1.1 million.

Christianson said Phase-3 could always use volunteers. Anyone interested in volunteering can call 239-8324.

The fundraising co-chair, along with Jody Fletcher, also mentioned people need not wait for the Phase-3 fundraising to kick off to donate money. To donate immediately, call the same number as volunteering.

According to the RM, the gravel parking lot will save 600,000$ in construction costs. Yet when questioned the RM indicated that the overall project cost would not be reduced so it would appear this is more of a cost cutting move rather than the smoke screen of LEED certification.

And with less than 400 parking spots, that means when the facility is at capacity every vehicle will have to bring 5 people . No one is expected to walk to the facility due to its out of the way location. Can anyone be expected to walk across the lake or the rickety bridge during the November to March period we call winter?

This raises the question, how many other corners are being cut to get the facility built? The RM assured us they will still have cup holders on the seats but Portage la Prairie is now left with a facility with no paved parking lot, no competitive pool, only one arena, no racetrack, no grandstand, and no respect from the rest of the province over the bungling of this entire project.

35 Million Dollars for a gravel parking lot. It would be funny if it wasn’t the residents and future generations of the City and RM that will be left with this legacy of mismanagement.

Posted By Rob Swystun, The Daily Graphic

Paving the entire Portage Credit Union Centre parking lot could prevent it from earning precious points toward its environmentally-friendly certification, Portage la Prairie city council heard at its regular meeting Monday.

The city has applied to the Portage la Prairie Planning District to reduce the number of parking stalls at the multiplex, currently under construction in Island Park, from the required 410 stalls down to 387 and to reduce the number of paved stalls to 86.

The city’s current bylaw for parking lots, which didn’t take into consideration Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification when it was drawn up, states they must be paved.

“In the past, the City of Portage la Prairie has enforced the requirement to have parking lots paved,” Coun. Jeff Bereza read from the Planning District application.

However, he also told council, paving the entire parking lot would cause the building to potentially miss out on four points toward the total 33 points it needs for a LEED silver-level certification.

LEED certification, handed out by the Canada Green Building Council, is based on how many points a building has, with points being given for environmentally-friendly aspects such as gravel parking lots as opposed to paved parking lots.

Adding to the conundrum, Bereza pointed out, is the fact the project’s federal funding of $3.3 million and the province’s $5 million contribution require the building to reach silver LEED certification and that funding could be in jeopardy otherwise.

While the parking requirements for the multiplex call for 410 stalls, based on the city’s formula for figuring out how many spaces are needed per seat in the complex, the site plans have room for only 387, making the application for the variance necessary.

However, having an unpaved parking lot could make for a messy situation when the ground is wet, Coun. Walter Keryluk said.

“What we’re going to be doing is spending extra money cleaning up the floors,” he predicted.