SHAUNAVON — The Rural Municipality of Arlington No. 79 has been housed in the same striking red brick building in Shaunavon for the past 57 years, which is precisely half of its 114-year history. Formally established as an RM in 1913, the first meeting records are dated 1911.
And, while office improvements have been noted in the annual reports throughout the years: the purchase of a Gestetner for copying in 1958 and a computer system in 1988, the office has recently undergone its largest upgrade: a move to a different building. Fortunately, they didn’t have to go far, moving just one door up to the much newer building on the southeast corner of the town’s four-way stop at Centre Street and 3rd Avenue.
Reeve, Donald Lundberg says, “It was getting to be time. The R.M. has always put money away for a new building, and we had been trying to acquire a different building over the last eight years.” Timing finally worked out, and they bought and moved into their new space in April.
The former red brick building was constructed in 1916. It was originally the Union Bank which conducted business on the main floor, and the bank manager had his ‘posh’ apartment upstairs. The Union Bank merged with the Royal Bank of Canada in 1925. In 1949, the owners added a 25x12-foot structure to give staff a more comfortable work space. (credit: Shaunavon’s Heritage Walking Tour by the Grand Coteau Heritage & Cultural Centre)
The brick office building has provided a solid foundation for what has also proved to be a solid council and administration throughout the RM’s history. Richard Goulet recently retired after 40 years of service as administrator. His predecessor, Ray Ballentine, served a slightly longer tenure, with 44 years of service noted in historical records. Shelley Rhodes moved into the administrator position, having worked as assistant to Goulet for several years.
When asked what the secret is for the longevity of staff and council, Rhodes says, “We have good working relationships. The council members are here for the ratepayers’ best interests.”
Lundberg agrees, adding, “We’ve been very fortunate to always have excellent administration, staff and councillors. We’ve never had trouble. I was 24 years old when I first joined as a councillor, and I’ve been reeve for 20 years now.”
While there is no defined length of terms for councillors, there is a provision for no more than three positions to rotate off at the same time.
Current staff includes Rhodes, Administrative Assistant Kaitlin Illerbrun, three grader operators (including the foreman), and a seasonal utility person. A joint Pest Control Officer is shared by all R.M.s in the area through the Shaunavon and District Pest Control Joint Committee.
Lundberg was pulled away from his own gopher hunting for our interview and confirms the number of gophers has climbed over the past couple of years. He said badgers had also taken to a field of alfalfa, leaving it in ruin. Landowners are supported in some of their pest control efforts through SARM’s gopher control program, where ratepayers can get a rebate for up to 50% of their cost for registered gopher control products. The R.M. also has its bylaws about the hunting of beavers and destruction of grasshoppers.
Changes to legislation regarding derelict properties have been in the news lately, but Lundberg indicates this isn’t a huge issue in this RM right now. Changes now permit controlled burns of derelict properties as the cost for RMs to demolish and take the rubble to a landfill is prohibitive for R.M.s who have had to take back properties through tax arrears.
The RM of Arlington has a tax base of ratepayers who are fairly evenly split between the communities of Eastend and Shaunavon. Therefore, the R.M. is involved with both communities, contributing financially and through volunteer efforts on regional boards. Arlington provides $35,000 for recreation each year to both Shaunavon and Eastend, and they are involved in a regional committee addressing the health care situation, particularly the lack of ambulance service in Eastend and staff shortages. Rhodes says, “Making sure our ratepayers have basic health services is crucial to keeping our population in the R.M. We have an aging population, and it’s important that local health services are available.”
Arlington also funds both the Eastend and Shaunavon Fire Departments and has two members on the Pine Cree Regional Park Board. The population of the R.M. itself hovers around 350 people, with most of that number residing within two Hutterite colonies.
Roads and maintaining infrastructure continue to dominate their priorities. Lundberg says, “The whole rural municipality system was built on the need to develop a road system for settlers. We (Council and Administration) go on a road tour every year. This year, we’ve identified 22 miles that will be rebuilt over the next 3 years. We build 6-8 miles every year, and a rebuild costs $100,000 per mile, or more.”
The boom in the oil industry over the past several years has helped to build up the industrial tax base and has allowed the municipality to build reserves and undertake many projects and improvements, but the recent downturn in oilfield activity has certainly been noticed.
Noxious weed control has also been a priority since 1911, having been noted in the first minutes. Rhodes says, “We take care of leafy spurge. Another SARM program provides a rebate for ratepayers on registered chemicals for this purpose. Our Foreman (who is the R.M.'s weed inspector) applies it.” Leafy spurge crowds out all the grass and makes pasture land unusable and undesirable for use or purchase.
Rhodes says, “We are utilizing every available space in our new office. It’s been really great.” The brick building, meanwhile, is now listed for sale, and the office furniture is also available for purchase. Rhodes admits that the new building will be more cost efficient to operate as it’s simply a newer build with a newer furnace, but the old building is still structurally very sound with so much character. The RM hopes that new owners will be found who will find it a good fit for a local business.
The RM of Arlington No. 79 covers the area west of Shaunavon and Highway 37, north of Highway 13 and a triangular portion south of the Highway. It encompasses the former Village of Dollard, both the Sierra and Bench Hutterite colonies, Chimney Coulee Historical Site, Rock Creek Golf Club and Pine Cree Regional Park. Its perfectly square borders are defined as Township Roads 70-100, south to north and Range Roads 3190-3220, east to west.
