A small group of residents in the RM of La Broquerie participated in an information session Thursday evening hosted by the Red–Seine-Rat (RSR) Wastewater Cooperative. The purpose of the session was to provide residents with a project update, information on the cost of wastewater services during the construction period and give them an opportunity to ask any questions they may have. RSR Consultant Gordon Daman kicked off the session by giving an overall view of the project, how mechanical wastewater treatment works compared to the lagoon system, and explaining why the six member municipalities have chosen to be a part of the project. "All six municipalities are able to do more together than they can do apart, and also raise the bar in regards to that infrastructure so that all six municipalities, all 13 communities in those municipalities compete on the same level as any community across Canada when it comes to the various industry needs for treatment or the growth that we have for the next 80 years, even housing.” This new system will come with a significant price increase for the end user. Daman says “Rates have been very low for their utilities, like here in La Broquerie this evening, looking at not much more than $250 a year for their utility rates is very, very low because it's an older facility.” Over the next three years, Daman says that price will jump by $300 a year for residents in the Local Urban District of La Broquerie. “Add that into the existing $250, they'll be at about $1,100 to $1,200 a year.” Even though that jump is remarkable, Daman says this is still approximately half of what many residents in Winnipeg are paying. “The rates are, for context, extremely competitive, however, it doesn't negate the fact that for people, they're probably looking, in three years, at having to pay about 3 bucks a day more than what they're paying today. That's hard for some people, especially people that are on fixed incomes, people that are struggling economically. We're sensitive to that.” People that live in rural residential areas will be minimally impacted by this new system. Daman says they will only see a very small increase in the levy charged when their septic tanks are pumped out. All that said, Daman notes most of the communities that are involved in the project have lagoons that are at or near capacity, including La Broquerie. If the municipality chose not to be a part of this project, they would need to freeze development in the very near future or build an all-new lagoon, which would cost even more than joining the RSR. Following Daman’s presentation, residents were given an opportunity to ask questions of La Broquerie Council, project engineers, and municipal staff. A number of residents brought up concerns about the rising price of utilities and concerns that the budget of this project could balloon even further and lead to increased taxes. Reeve Ivan Normandeau admits the price tag is a real challenge, noting “For the LUD for the next couple of years, the rates will be going up. Our current LUD has already committed to reducing their taxes. We can't guarantee it'll be net zero, but it won't be as substantial as they're seeing tonight because the residents' taxes will be going down.” As for a ballooning budget, Daman says they are quite confident they will get a few more grants from the upper levels of government which should actually make the cost more manageable. He adds when the tender is awarded for the project, it will be a fixed-cost construction contract. A few of the residents in attendance were particularly focused on planning, pointing out the fact that La Broquerie’s lagoon is near capacity and council had little choice but to join the RSR coop. Normandeau recognizes that everyone is entitled to their perspective and opinion, but believes the situation is a little more complicated. “One resident said, 'we were caught', and yeah, certainly we were caught here, but also the rules change for the province about how big you can build, so we didn't have an option to build another lagoon [cell].” With that in mind, Normandeau says “This was a regional cooperative, we're in together with all our neighbors, it made complete sense and it's tough right now, but I'm very, very confident that in 20 to 40 years, people will be happy that we've joined this thing.” Daman says he was quite impressed by the questions posed in La Broquerie. He notes he was impressed by “The level of engagement and sophistication around the questions around economic development. 'What is council doing in regards to long-term economic development? How are you going to attract jobs? How are you going to do different opportunities for growth?” Considering the impact that this project will have on day-to-day costs and the growth potential of the municipality, Daman says these are good questions. “One gentleman, I saw him taking 7 or 8 pages of notes, and he was very specific, so the level of sophistication here was different in that people seem to have very specific focuses on either economic development or planning and obviously, the end cost because they'll see the largest cost.” Though there were plenty of concerns, Daman says he believes most residents walked away from the meeting understanding the need for a facility like this. Just as the session was wrapping up, Brad Holmes, the owner of Twisted Root RV Park asked to address the crowd. He said “I've lived here for 25 years and probably half of those years, there was a lagoon problem. So, I know it's a big dollar amount, but I think they're doing it right now because we'll never have to listen to a lagoon problem ever again”, adding “I know it's $3 a day and that's a hard pill to swallow, but I think all the other communities are going to be paying that too and we're all going to go up together at the same time. So, we are competitive.” Normandeau says he hopes being a part of the RSR will set up La Broquerie for success. “With this you never know, maybe bring in some more businesses that will bring in more growth. I really do think that this was a necessity, and I really do think that it was the right thing for the RM of La Broquerie.”