City eyes J&G arena servicing, annexation

The City of Brandon is exploring a plan to provide wastewater service to the J&G Homes Arena — and eventually annex the land from the RM of Cornwallis.

The move could eventually lead to the site being expanded into a “recreation hub,” with a second arena or other facility added to the existing one, the proponent said.

Council heard a request Tuesday from the rural municipality and developer VBJ Developments Ltd. for an extension of wastewater services to the arena, located on the southwest corner of Patricia Avenue and 34th Street.

An agreement on water has been in place for years and was needed for construction of the building that opened in late 2021.

Council voted unanimously for administration to evaluate the request and come back with a report.

Brandon city manager Dave Wardrop said Thursday that the initial water agreement was created “with the expectation that annexation of the property would follow.”

Steve McMillan, vice-president of planning services with VBJ Developments, said the wastewater agreement is largely just a continuation of the existing water agreement.

“We always knew that the 34th Street lift station was going to be built,” said McMillan.

He said he hopes to see the hookup happen by the start of the next hockey season.

“We’re excited to hopefully get the servicing connected to the building for the sewer, and then that just helps initiate future growth in the area,” McMillan said.

The arena currently uses a septic tank, he said.

“We knew that it was kind of a matter of time before we can switch over from the system we have now to hooking in straight to the city.”

That switch will allow for future development on the land, McMillan said.

“There’s possibilities for future growth, for possibly another rink in the future, or another recreation facility of some sort,” he said.

“I mean, that’s kind of the goal. We’re hoping to kind of have a recreation hub.”

He said there isn’t a timeline on the project, and it’s something “we’d like to see once growth in the area and all the services are in place that would help support that.”

Council was also told on Tuesday that the added servicing for the arena wouldn’t have any impact on nearby residences within the city.

Cornwallis Reeve Mike Waddell said the request from VBJ Developments came through the RM because the land is situated in Cornwallis.

“Essentially, what we’ve done is we’ve just on behalf of the property owner accommodated their request,” Waddell said.

When asked if Cornwallis supports the request, he said the municipality wants to see the property owner succeed, like all ratepayers in the RM.

During Tuesday’s council meeting, several council members questioned administration on the city’s future annexation of the land, as annexation had been mentioned several times in a council report. Wardrop told members that those answers would come in the future report.

Wardrop said Thursday that annexation will help the city grow. The process last happened around 2018 when the future South Village neighbourhood, planned for the area south of Patricia Avenue and west of 18th Street, was annexed from Cornwallis.

“It is sort of the natural growth and progression of the city,” Wardrop said. “It makes sense for this to move forward in sort of a logical and planned manner.”

Wardrop said the city and RM haven’t spoken formally about annexing the land.

“We’ve had conversations about sort of how we want to work together and move forward as partners, but we haven’t had any formal discussions on this particular issue recently,” he said.

“But certainly, having those conversations with the RM of Cornwallis is part of what will happen as part of the evaluation and the report back to council,” Wardrop said.

“We’re in a situation now where we can proceed with having those conversations with Cornwallis and decide the best path forward.”

Wardrop said the annexation process can take a long time, and both municipalities and the province have to work together for it to happen.

The amount of land to be annexed has yet to be determined, city spokesperson Merrilea Metcalf said in an email Thursday.

She said there isn’t a timeline for when the report will come back to council.

McMillan submitted a document to the RM in February 2025 “to formally request that we begin discussions on the annexation of our property.”

On Thursday, he said the organization is happy with the current arrangement.

Waddell, who was elected reeve in December, said the municipality has a great history of working with the city on annexation.

“We’re confident that when and if appropriate, it will happen,” Waddell said.

He said he’s certain that if people have concerns about the process, there will be an option for them to have their say and express their concerns.

A provincial government handbook on annexations says that provincially held public hearings on the matter happen if 25 or more voters from affected municipalities file objections to the Municipal Board, or one of the municipalities opposes the move.

The handbook also says proponents “must conduct a process of consultation/negotiation with the affected municipalities and members of the public before the proposal will be considered.”

A request for comment from Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard was declined on Thursday, as the annexation process is in early stages.

» alambert@brandonsun.com