Manufacturer poised to buy leg of Boissevain road
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BOISSEVAIN — The Municipality of Boissevain-Morton council voted last week to sell a portion of a municipal road to a large manufactuer to allow the business to expand in Boissevain.
Council voted at its regular meeting on Sept. 1 for second and third reading of a bylaw that would close and sell a portion of Buckingham Street, located beside the manufacturer Western Archrib. The plan will need to be reviewed by the Manitoba government before it is finalized.
The proposal is expected to take roughly six months, CAO Leo Poulin said during the public hearing. The municipality plans to sell the street for $1.
A lot north of Western Archrib is seen with various stock stored on site. In between the lot and Western Archrib’s facility is a portion of a public road called Buckingham Street, which the manufacturer is buying for $1 from the Municipality of Boissevain-Morton. (Connor McDowell/The Brandon Sun)
Western Archrib is a wood manufacturer that makes products such as beams, columns and mass timber panels that are shipped internationally, including to the United States and Asia. According to its website, its products have been used in facilities such as Johns Hopkins University, the Eastern Iowa Airport, the International Peace Garden, the University of Washington, and several First Nation centres.
During a public hearing on the bylaw, Head of Council Judy Swanson said Boissevain is happy to be home to Western Archrib and wants the manufacturer to keep investing in the town.
“By doing this, we have hopefully set Western Archrib up to stay in our municipality and expand in our municipality,” Swanson said. “This is a big project for our municipality.
Swanson noted the facility is a large employer in the area.
The bylaw is the second adjustment in two years the municipality has made to facilitate the growth of Western Archrib. Last year, the municipality cleared a small trailer park that was on Buckingham Street to allow the business to expand.
The municipality assisted trailer park residents at the time in a move to a separate trailer park, which the municipality expanded to accomodate the remapping of that part of Boissevain.
At the public hearing, a spokesperson for Western Archrib echoed what council had said about expansion in Boissevain.
“We have been in a constant state of growth over the past five years,” the spokesperson said, adding the land transfer will ensure Archrib can stay in Boissevain as it grows.
The spokesperson also added that safety is one reason the company is buying a portion of the street.
“The importance of the transfer of the property is to ensure the community members remain safe, as well as our staff,” she said.
Plans are not finalized, however the spokesperson said that she envisions a gate and barriers on the road — rather than pylons — in the future in order to continue allowing trucks to access the road should it officially be purchased by Western Archrib.
A look down Buckingham Street in Boissevain. The Municipality of Boissevain-Morton has approved the sale of a portion of the street to Western Archrib, but the bylaw will need to be reviewed by the Manitoba government before it is approved. (Connor McDowell/The Brandon Sun)
The affected portion of Buckingham Street was informally closed to the public for upwards of a year before council officially agreed to sell it. The manufacturer has laid pylons on the road to block access to the public during business hours. Western Archrib sometimes loads semi trucks on the road and has generally incorporated the road into its property, with stock stored on the roadside that runs infront of its facility and machinery such as forklifts used in the vicinity.
Rhonda Kleebaum, a neighbour to the facility, was the only citizen to speak at the public hearing on the matter on Sept. 1. Kleebaum raised concerns about the infrastructure underneath the road after the road is sold to Western Archrib. Council clarified that easements will be in place, and that infrastructure beneath the surface is deep enough that there are not significant concerns about damage from activity on the surface.
No timelines have been set in place as of yet, however the manufacturer intends to build a separate road from the north to provide access to the facility.
Aside from Kleebaum’s questions at the public hearing, Poulin said that Boissevain-Morton received no correspondence about the road. Poulin said that typically indicates residents do not have a problem with the proposal.
“In general, we take that as there are no concerns,” Poulin said.
Council said at the public hearing that Western Archrib will begin work on its Boissevain expansion after an ongoing project at a separate facility is complete. Western Archrib did not respond to a request for further information by deadline.
» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com