Statement to the Community from Head of Council, Robert Misko

Good day,

I would like to address the concerns and criticism that have recently been directed toward me and council by certain individuals within our community, particularly regarding a shirt I wore during the meeting at which Roblin Municipal Council met with our MP, Dan Mazier, to discuss the recent flooding event.

First and foremost, I would like to thank municipal council members, municipal employees, and residents for stepping up and helping throughout the emergency. Everything from delivering food and refreshments, helping to pump out water, tearing out effected items, donating equipment use, and many other numerous acts; some of which was unseen in the background. Without people coming together, the disaster would have been worse.

Secondly, I sincerely apologize to any ratepayer who believed that my shirt was intended as a statement against the Municipality of Roblin, the employees, or its residents. That was not my intention. It is not something I would consciously do, and throughout my tenure representing the municipality, I have always strived to serve our community respectfully.

My frustration was directed toward the provincial and federal governments and the delays we have experienced in getting answers and action on behalf of our community. It was an expression of frustration with what I believe has been an unacceptable level of delay in getting answers and action following the flooding.

Our municipal employees and community worked extremely hard to mitigate the damage caused by the unexpected rainfall and unprecedented flooding that affected many communities throughout the Parkland, including Grandview, Gilbert Plains, Inglis and Dauphin, Swan River and Minitonas, as well as communities in Saskatchewan.

Roblin was certainly not the only community affected, and our lift and sewer systems were not the only infrastructure systems overwhelmed by the volume of water. No community in the area escaped this event without significant challenges. The reality is that municipal sewer systems are not designed to handle that extraordinary amount of water in such a short period of time.

Does that mean there is nothing that can be improved? Absolutely not. There is always room to examine what happened, identify weaknesses and determine what can be done differently in the future.

In fact, at the Financial Plan Public Hearing in April, council presented information regarding scheduled improvements to the lift system that were planned for this year. Unfortunately, the flooding occurred before those improvements could be completed.

I do believe there are legitimate questions about why certain improvements were not made sooner. However, there is a misconception that municipalities can simply decide to undertake major infrastructure projects whenever they choose. That is not how the process works.

Major improvements to water and sewer systems, roads, waste facilities or other municipal infrastructure involve federal and provincial regulations, environmental requirements, engineering assessments, funding requirements, cost considerations and tendering processes. Multiple government agencies may be involved, and communication between those agencies can take considerable time. Many times, the expected timelines are eclipsed.

Municipal councils can push, request answers and advocate for their communities, but we cannot always control the timelines or the decisions imposed by other levels of government.

In discussions with the Manitoba Water Services Board, the board municipalities work with for water supply and wastewater infrastructure, about potentially upgrading the lift station’s ability to handle a deluge of water like the recent flooding, we were told the lift stations were never designed to do that. Additionally, they would never allow us to do that because even if the pumps where big enough to handle all the water, it would overwhelm the lagoon system. Instead, they advised us to potentially look at diverting the flood water around the town. An option the council is now exploring.

Unfortunately, the lift and sewer system is not the only area where council is experiencing these delays.

Residents have understandably been frustrated about the lack of progress on road repairs. In areas of our municipality, there will be farmers facing limited road access during harvest because certain repairs cannot yet begin.

Municipal employees and council are often the ones who receive the anger and criticism for these delays, even when the delays are outside our control.

Council wants to begin repairing these roads. What is stopping us?

Before road repairs can begin, an engineer must inspect the roads. If we proceed without that inspection and approval, the associated repair costs may not be eligible for provincial or federal disaster assistance.

This puts council in a difficult position. We know work needs to be done, but proceeding without the necessary approvals could potentially create a significant financial burden for our municipality. Despite pushing for answers, we still have not received a clear timeline or cost coverage.

Residents are already facing the financial burden of repairing their homes. The municipality may also face significant additional costs, which ultimately affect our ratepayers and municipal taxes.

That is what I mean when I refer to procrastination from higher levels of government. It is not that council or municipal employees do not want to act. We want to move forward. However, we need the information and approvals necessary to do so responsibly.

The delays and a lack of clear answers from the upper tiers of government make it difficult for the municipal council to make responsible decisions about spending. We need to know what will and will not be reimbursed before committing additional municipal funds wherever possible.

The municipality does have reserves that can help ease some of the immediate financial pressure. However, those reserves will eventually need to be replenished so that we are prepared to respond to future emergencies.

Council and staff will be going through a debriefing in the near future to examine this entire event — what worked, what did not work, and what improvements can be made so that we are better prepared should a similar emergency occur again.

As with any emergency or major event, there is always room for improvement. Council is willing to listen, learn and make changes where necessary. Constructive questions and criticism are an important part of a healthy community, and council should be accountable to the people it represents.

Residents are encouraged to attend council meetings, and make presentations to council when they have concerns or require clarification.

All of council would rather have a resident approach the whole council directly and ask questions than have incomplete or inaccurate information spread across social media, which has unfortunately made it too easy to attack before requesting clarification.

It has been a challenging summer, with many people’s stress levels at an all time high. However, if the work is to move forward, we need to continue to demand the provincial and federal governments step up and give the community timely responses and aide.

Otherwise, we will remain stuck in a cycle of delays when there is work that needs to be done today to make our community safer and better prepared for tomorrow.

Robert Misko
Head of Council