Not so silent E - This was your chance...and you blew it!

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Published on Thursday, March 3, 2016

By Eoin Devereux

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

Neepawa is a very weird place when it comes to engagement. It’s a community that on one hand is full of people who volunteer their time and talents. A local figure once said to me that it’s a town of about 4,000 people with about 5,000 volunteers. In that sense, we are not apathetic. But in terms of understanding how the decisions our local governments make affect our lives, we’re a train wreck. 

The latest example of this is just a dozen people showing up to the Town’s pre-budget consultation. The meeting, which occurred on Monday, Feb. 29, was your opportunity to tell the Town exactly what it should be doing with your money. It was your chance to say where the priorities need to be to make Neepawa a place worth living for the next decade and beyond. This was your chance…and you blew it!

Now, I don’t know why you didn’t show up. Was it just a case of being too cold outside to attend or was that new episode of NCIS Los Angeles just too gosh darn riveting to tear yourself away from? I don’t know the reason why, all I know is the end result. Neepawa proved again that it’s the Land of Apathy. 

On top of that, it amazes me the sheer number of people who choose not to participate in their own governance, but will then be the quickest to raise hell when the government does something they don’t like. They’ll be the ones who show up when it’s too late to give their elected officials a piece of their mind and then immediately leave after they’ve spoken that piece, content with that fact that they made sure their voice was heard. Oh, it was heard alright, just a month too late to make a difference.

Now if there was one positive from this lack of attendance, it’s that it allowed me the chance to add my two cents toward where I believe money should be spent. I was unable to make a full presentation, but did have my say. Fortunately, I have this pulpit in which I can get my message out to the masses and I have no qualms about abusing this modest amount of power to its full advantage. Here is word for word, the presentation I wanted to make to Neepawa Town Council:

Good evening Council.

I’m here to formally request Neepawa Town Council set aside $100,000 a year over the next five years in its budget to aid the Yellowhead Centre in much needed structural upgrades.

As the council is well aware, the board of directors for the Yellowhead Centre has passed a motion to implement a revised capital plan, which may include spending from part of a pre-approved line of credit. They’re also actively pursuing several government grant opportunities which may be available.  The board has decided that it’s time to move on this upgrade effort, as significant capital improvements have not been made for a number of years. The amount of money brought in by the wide array of activities that go on at the Yellowhead Centre is enough to maintain the status quo, but the fact is, if any business simply maintains status quo, then it’s not moving forward and if it’s not moving forward, it’s dying.

The Yellowhead Arena and Hall are a significant leisure and recreational facility in our community. When municipal, provincial and federal elections are being held, those ballots are not being marked next to the diving board at the town’s swimming pool. When wedding socials and receptions are taking place, they’re not occurring at the third hole of the frisbee golf course and when about 60 bantam hockey players and over a 100 parents and coaches arrived in Neepawa for two days this past weekend for the provincial bantam championship, those games were not played at the Flats. All of that occurred at the Yellowhead.

Now, I am well aware that exploration is underway for the recreational needs of the community. The meeting held in late November talked about the long term recreational needs of the community. The consensus among those gathered was the need for a new multi-use facility, with a strong emphasis on the multi-purpose aspects. Something like that sounds great…but something like that also sounds expensive. The PCU Centre in Portage la Prairie cost $48 million. Tundra Oil and Gas Place in Virden was $18 million. It was $14 million for the Shamrock Centre in Killarney, Dauphin’s Credit Union Centre was just under $9 million and Rivers cut a cheque for $7 million. In fact, the cheapest price tag I could find for any type of project of this magnitude is $2.1 million for the Moosomin Communiplex and Convention Centre. Now with all due respect to Neepawa town council and what it’s trying to pursue, there are very few in this town that believe you would ever cut that type of cheque for a new facility.

I’m also well aware that the Town of Neepawa is in a very enviable position, as it doesn’t not own or operate the arena or the community hall. On an annual basis, Council contributes between $70,000 to $75,000 to the facility to assist with its basic operation. Though that sounds like a large number, compared the bills being paid by other communities, it’s relatively small. That money helps keep the doors open, but that’s it. 

I believe that an additional contribution by the Town of Neepawa would extend the lifespan of the Yellowhead Centre, while also allowing town council to put its resources towards other pressing needs. Council has already committed to the firehall, which everyone within the community is very happy to see. There is also the need for a new hospital. Water and sewer for the CN property will not be cheap. There are several big ticket items that need to be looked after, so I can understand if a shiny new hockey barn is not at the top of the list. But at the same time, I hope that council understands that the arena and hall are important keystones of this community. If they are left in the current status quo, their lifespan will end much sooner than you think….and then the need for that new structure will fall directly onto your shoulders. Council, you have a choice. Pay a little now or pay it all later.

As I said at the beginning of this transcript, this is the presentation I wanted to make to town council. I was unable to make this statement however due to time restraints. So the essence of my prose had to be boiled down to ‘Give Yellowhead money. Sports good. Me like sports and don’t want roof falling on head while watching sports.’  While not as long winded I still felt it captured the full essence of my eloquent argument.

As for whether or not this plea will actually be heard or whether it will fall on deaf ears, I’ll just have to wait and see. Perhaps council will see value in my presentation, perhaps not. As it stands right now, honestly you got as much accomplished at that meeting from your Laz-e-boy as I did from actually being there. But at least I spoke up while it still mattered.

Hollywood writer Aaron Sorkin is credited with the quote “Decisions are made by those who show up.” I hope you’ll all remember that quote when the budget is made public and show up next time...When it still matters.