Niverville council eyes Horizon for new home

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This article was published 22/08/2018 (2067 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two meetings coming up in Niverville will give residents more information on the town’s proposed plan to purchase the Horizon Livestock Building, and also give residents a chance to let council know if they support or oppose the $1.6 million deal.

Niverville mayor Myron Dyck said on Tuesday the town has made a $25,000 down payment towards the purchase of the approximately 18,000 sq-ft. Horizon Livestock Building, which sits on Bronstone Drive north of Provincial Road 311.

The total cost to purchase the building sits at $1.6 million, and Dyck says the town has arranged to pay for the building over three years so they do not have to borrow money or raise taxes.

Dyck said the plan would be to house government and municipal services in the building should the purchase go through, as he said they are currently out of useable space at their current municipal building, and there is no opportunity to expand.

He added the Horizon Livestock Building sits directly beside the town’s current shared public works and fire department building and the purchase would create “synergy” between different departments.

Niverville will hold two meetings regarding the plan with the first being a public information meeting next Tuesday at the Niverville Heritage Centre, with the meeting set to start at 7 p.m.

Dyck said next Tuesday’s meeting will be about giving residents as much information as possible about the plan, and to let them ask questions.

“We are going to give information as to what the needs are because people are asking ‘why are you doing this?’” Dyck said.

The meeting will feature a PowerPoint presentation, as well as an opportunity for residents to ask questions.

A public meeting for the purchase of the building will then take place on Sept. 4 at the Niverville Heritage Centre at 9 a.m. where residents can officially support or oppose the plan, and where the plan will go to a vote of council.

Earlier this summer Niverville announced they had purchased the town’s former Manitoba Hydro building and yard for $325,000 with the goal at that time of making that office into a municipal office.

Dyck said although the Hydro building has already been purchased, the Horizon building opportunity was simply too good to pass up.

“At the time of the Hydro building purchase it was purchased for the same reason we want to purchase the Horizon building, but the Horizon building had not yet been made for sale at the time of the Hydro purchase,” Dyck said.

“If this goes through council is thinking we could flip the Hydro building or it could be held onto as an asset. This was just a better option, so we looked at the numbers and we just thought, ‘this makes sense.’”