Tache and Ritchot exploring annexation

Ritchot is planning on taking over part of Tache, potentially affecting 102 homes and properties.

The proposed two-square-mile piece of land that sits east of Ile des Chenes is part of Tache, but a lot of residents feel more closely aligned to Ile des Chenes, which is part of Ritchot.

RM of Tache Mayor Armand Poirier said he heard from residents that they would rather be part of Ritchot, where some of them practically live.

“There’s a number of people that are living in very close proximity to Ile des Chenes that feel they belong more to the Ile des Chenes community than they do to the Tache community,” Poirier said. “It would also give Ile des Chenes an opportunity to expand through an annexation with Tache, so they could expand eastward.”

He said as he was doorknocking when running for mayor in 2022, many residents brought up the possibility of changing municipalities.

“Most of the residents from that area are very much in favour of this, they are asking to be part of the Ile des Chenes-Ritchot community.”

Poirier said one of the ways Tache might get something in return is a piece of land, most likely of similar size for better drainage.

Some drainage in farmland is having trouble getting to the Red River, and it would be beneficial for Tache to have better control over westward drainage.

He said another possibility for Tache is to get a yearly stipend as compensation for the lost revenue.

“There’s a good working relationship between both councils, and they recognized the potential to make this advantageous on both sides,” he said.

Sandor Nagy, owner of Snags Towing and Repair, which lies in the affected area said he hopes the change goes through. He said he and his business have more in common with Ritchot than Tache, and the fact that the Tache Fire Department watches over him instead of Ile des Chenes makes no sense considering its an 11-minute drive compared to a three-minute drive when Main Street isn’t under construction.

“We don’t really get much services from Tache, we probably use Ritchot or Ile des Chenes services more than Lorette,” Nagy said. “The only thing they really do for us is the calcium on the roads in the summer and the snow clearing, we don’t even have garbage pickup or anything, you have to pay extra for that.”

“I kinda feel like our taxes are a lot higher than Ritchot,” he added.

He said he’s heard that home businesses of his kind aren’t allowed in Ritchot, but he hopes to be grandfathered in. Ritchot declined to comment if this is true or not, or how this might affect home businesses in the area.

Ritchot also didn’t answer calls or emails for an interview but sent an email as to why they are wanting to make the change.

They said the land would be used to develop, with no other room for the community to grow.

“Ritchot has been working on this for many years, pre-COVID, to explore the possibility of obtaining the land from the RM of Tache,” said CAO Mitch Duval through a communications assistant. “At the time, Ile des Chenes was ‘land-locked’ for development with basically no available land to develop.”

The affected area is east-west from the Ritchot border at Arnould Road to Poirier Road, and north-south from Provincial Road 405 to Provincial Road 210.

No settlement would be made to the residents in the affected area, and citizens would immediately become part of opposing RMs, with the only change for them being what services are provided.

The potential change will take anywhere from six months to several years before final decisions are made, according to Tache and Ritchot.