End-of-year grants prove tiny

Important East Kildonan-Transcona meetings move to Mondays

Councillors on the East Kildonan-Transcona Community Committee scraped the bottom of Santa’s bag to give grants to local organizations.

Each councillor is given a certain amount of money that they can redistribute to organizations in their ward that are putting on community events or are planning community projects.

At the Nov. 21 meeting, Coun. Lillian Thomas (Elmwood-East Kildonan) gave a $225 per-capita grant to each of the following groups: Afro-Caribbean Association of Manitoba, Columbus Seniors Association, Elmwood-East Kildonan Retired Citizens Association, towards their Christmas dinners.

Thomas gave the balance left from these grants, which was $95, to the Elmwood Sluggers baseball team, with a promise to provide more funding in 2007. The Sluggers requested $700 towards the purchase of baseball equipment for their seniors’ team.

Coun. Russ Wyatt, meanwhile, chose to give the rest of his per-capita grant, in the amount of $2,359.14, to the Transcona and District Pipers & Drummers.

“They represent our community to the whole country,” said Wyatt.

Requests to rookie Coun. Jeff Browaty for per-capita grants in North Kildonan were postponed until next year because the money had already been doled out to local organizations by former North Kildonan Coun. Mark Lubosch.

Wyatt also took the opportunity to pass a motion repudiating a recent decision by the Province of Manitoba to not improve Dugald Road (Highway 15) at the intersection with Ravenhurst Street.

The improvements involved adding a median and left-hand turning lanes, which would have made the intersection safer, he said.

“This decision by the Province is a major disappointment,” said Wyatt. “It’s a safety issue.”

The work was cancelled as part of the changes to the funding of the floodway construction plans.

A major change at the East Kildonan-Transcona Community Committee starts in January, when the meetings move to Monday nights from the current Tuesday nights.

This was a suggestion by Coun. Thomas to Coun. Wyatt, who, as a member of Mayor Sam Katz’s powerful executive policy committee, will attend Wednesday morning meetings at 9 a.m. sharp.