Article appeared in the June 2, 2011 issue of the Interlake Spectator…
Arborg Library
The town of Arborg is gearing up for its annual face lift, with an added boon for Main St., which will see the Arborg Public Library, one of the town’s heritage buildings, looking a lot more spiffy.
Tenders are being sought for exterior painting, and the cleaning of the roof’s cedar shingles, which are marred by mossy growth. New carpeting will be installed inside, while council decided at its May 25, 2011 meeting to have students, hired by the town for the summer, clean out the debris from gutters.
The town will also continue with its sidewalk renewal plans, using the $30,000 put aside each year for repairs and expansion. A new sidewalk will be built on David St., while Woodfield and St. Peters St. will benefit from repairs this year. Sidewalks on the west side of town will have to wait until next year for their improvements. Some of the repairs will be in areas damaged by water breaks.
Town workers will also pull out their paint brushes to brighten up curbs, and give the grain elevator at the junction of PTH 68 and Main St. a sprucing up.
A brand new floating bridge will soon be placed on the east side of town, between St. Peters St. and David St. and will provide access to the multi-cultural heritage village on the south side of the Icelandic River, adjacent to PTH 68. The existing bridge on the west side of town will remain as is.
The Sunrise Lodge will also be engrossed with its own renovations in June. New flooring will be installed in the dining room, along with new blinds, tables and chairs, and will get a fresh coat of paint. Manitoba Housing will be footing the bill, by way of a grant, for the renovations.
A new sign, at a cost of $573.65, will soon grace the Arborg Age Friendly Club, with some new landscaping stone to follow once a solid quote for the cost is submitted to Council. The monies for this project will come out of reserve funds from Provincial grants supporting age-friendly projects, which have not been fully used to date.
Council has also agreed to cut the grass around the Town of Arborg electronic sign at 140 Main St. at its expense, in exchange for being allowed to keep the sign on private property, owed by John Jones.
Also at the Arborg Council meeting on May 25,
• Mayor Randy Sigurdson announced his intention to run for the Mayor of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM), a seat which he currently holds, but which is up for renewal in June. He encouraged council members to attend the AMM June district meeting in Teulon, when the voting will take place.
• Mayor Sigurdson announced he will be meeting with the RM of Bifrost in June.
• Sigurdson also shared some of his thoughts on the potential use of the seven acres, running parallel to Main St., which the town had purchased from Canadian Pacific Railway last year. Although the title is currently in CP Rail’s name, it will soon be transferred over to the town. Leases will soon be up for renewal for the businesses are currently leasing a part of that land. Sigurdson discussed the appreciated value of the land, and proposed the idea of selling part or all of it to businesses. He also suggested that the town examine the value of the land and come up with an information package in the event that businesses enquire about utilizing it.
