Construction on Highway 201 is at a standstill, drainage in the RM of Stuartburn needs to improve, and roads in the community need to be fixed. 

Reeve of Stuartburn Michelle Gawronsky addresses these issues, starting with Highway 201. 

“There hasn’t been any construction started and of course I’m not giving up. We're going to keep pestering until it actually gets done.” 

She says they have been working with the province on drainage going into the Stuartburn area. 

“We know surveyors have been out taking a look at surveying some of the other roads instead of just going through the Highway 201 on areas that they could use.”  

Gawronsky says council has also been working very closely with the Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District on different ways they could control drainage within the RM.  

“And we are going to be meeting with them this week, and looking at some of the roads and what could possibly be done, even if it's on a trial basis, to see and use this as the guinea pigs to be able to move things forward,” she says. “If you want an RM that has a lot of water, not a lot of money, and a whole lot of need to be able to move water, we are it.”  

She is looking forward to fixing these issues within the community.  

“We're very appreciative to be able to work with the Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District crew on what we can do with some of our roads and some of the ditching, beaver control and all of that.”  

She notes they are currently waiting on Duerksen Trucking.  

“They are the ones that supply us our gravel. We really appreciate working with them, Bill Duerksen is absolutely amazing to work with. If we haven't started yet, we will be starting any day on doing some of the graveling on our roads and getting them ready for winter.”  

She says that having a bit of a delay has actually been a great opportunity for council to work together and do a thorough in-depth study on what roads need to be done while recognizing that there's always a limited amount of funds.   

“So where do we put those funds that benefit ratepayers in the best way that we can, making sure our market roads are open, making sure that bus routes are going to be prepped and ready for the September bus runs that are going to be happening.”  

Gawronsky says this is a good experience since they are a fairly new council, as four out of the five are brand new.  

“This has given us a real opportunity to take a look at where we're going, what we have, what's open to the RM, and who can we partner with to make sure that the municipality is growing.” 

She says the whole goal of their council is that the RM of Stuartburn become self-sufficient, and council has been looking at many different options on how to do that.   

“Nothing is set in stone as of yet as things come forward, we're definitely going to be talking to the community on how we do things and a big bonus with having a new council is that you've got folks that aren't conditioned to think one way or the other and are willing to think outside the box and move things forward.”  

She is extremely thankful for the those within the municipality. 

“They have been extremely patient with us. They definitely share their ideas and their worries and their wants, which I appreciate, you can't consider something if you don't know that someone needs it. So really appreciate having the good open communication with our ratepayers in the municipality.”  

 

With files from Adi Loewen  

 

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