Business View Magazine - October 2018

228 229 CITY OFWINKLER, MANITOBA upstairs and retail/office space on the main floor. Another downtown building has the main floor leased out to medical services and the second floor is condos.We’re also considering tax incen- tives from the city to accommodate redevelop- ment, as properties become available.” The Meridian Exhibition Centre is a massive project designed to fill a significant need in the community.With construction eagerly anticipated to start in October, the complex includes a con- vention center with sit-down eating capacity for 1,200 people - triple the size of any auditorium space currently available in Winkler. It will be the first indoor turf facility in southern Manitoba, and the plans include a hard surface overlay for exhibitions. Another feature will be an NHL-size arena with a multi-season ice surface, in addition to an existing 50-year-old rink that’s still in “great condition.” On the environmental front, the City of Winkler just renewed a contract with a waste disposal company for industrial recycling, such as lum- ber, shingles, and compost. A separate contract for curb-side recycling is in place with Gateway Resources – a business the community is proud to support. As Mayor Harder explains, “Gateway provides services for people with intellectual disabilities. As a community, we want to help that organization provide jobs for those who other- wise may be unemployable. So, we’ve chosen to hire Gateway for our recycling initiative. They do door-to-door pickup and take it to their modern sorting facility, where they produce products from recycled material, that they then ship to other industries. It’s a great community partnership and the employees have a lot of fun doing the job.” Shovel-ready and awaiting provincial and federal funding announcements is a $46 million wastewater facility– a regional project with the City of Winkler, the Rural Municipality of Stanley, and Morden, but because of the proximity and cost of operations, it’s more cost effective to build two separate plants. Harder clarifies, “But it’s all under one application, so we’ll create a cleaner environment by putting the wastewater facilities together for the Winkler and Stanley side of it.