A handful of property owners along Highway 3 east out of Carman can look forward to improved water and sewer services in the future. The seven properties are located on the south side of the highway in the R.M. of Dufferin and currently have holding tanks for sewage and receive water service from a private line, however the owner of that line no longer wants to be responsible for it.

The landowners considered three options in researching a solution to the issue.

Option one would have seen affected customers hook up to the R.M. of Dufferin's system.

Option two would have allowed for the Town of Carman annex the affected properties and install a new water line at a cost that would be charged out to users as a local improvement. Sewer service would also be provided to the property owners.

Option three looked into a cooperative being developed among the utility customers.

R.M. of Dufferin Reeve, George Gray, said his Council has settled on an agreement with the Town of Carman that will see the R.M. install new sewer and water lines along that stretch. Those lines will then be hooked into the Town of Carman's water and sewer system.

The project is still early in the planning stages and Gray noted it would be premature to offer any thoughts on costs or timelines.

He commended the Town for its willingness to work together to resolve the issue.

Meantime, Gray said he looks forward to seeing a local the personal care home project move ahead in 2018.

The R.M. is one of five municipalities pitching in to pay for part of the new facility in Carman. Gray says Council has come up with a funding strategy.

"We've got about nine hundred residents in the R.M. of Dufferin and we needed a million dollars, so we thought the most equitable way would be to treat it as a 'people tax'," he explained. "So each residence will be assessed a hundred dollars per year for fifteen years, which is an actual of fifteen-hundred dollars that residents will have to contribute."

Gray noted Council felt this was the best strategy instead of raising property taxes, which he says are already putting a strain on farmers.

Looking back on 2017, Gray said this was the year that finally saw the Highway 13 curves north of Carman get reconstructed.

"We were able to work cooperatively with Water Resources (Stewardship) and MIT (Manitoba Infrastructure) to get the drainage done properly back in to the (Carman) Diversion," he noted.

Gray added that he looks forward to seeing this project fully completed in 2018 with the curves set to be paved in the coming construction season.

Also in 2017, Council elected to spend $100,000 more on gravel for roads throughout the municipality.