RM of Portage to acquire two trailers and resolved to continue to lease Community Pasture

Items including some new equipment that's being acquired, as well as lease agreements for the Community Pasture by the RM of Portage la Prairie, were discussed at Tuesday's RM council meeting this week. 

RM of Portage la Prairie Ward 3 Councillor Ryan Kontzie says council approved the purchase of two used belly-dump trailers in yesterday's council meeting.

"They'll add to our fleet of gravel trailers," says Kontzie. "We're hoping to do more in-house work to control the work and keep costs down, which is great. We have enough trucks and operators now, so we want to make the most out of our machinery that we have before we hire contract workers to come in."

He explains the cost is about $18 to $20 thousand each.  

"They're used trailers that will stay within the RM," adds Kontzie. "We're not hauling too far. So, we're hoping that they are in good shape for our fleet to carry on with the work they need to do for what needs to be."

Kontzie notes other council business included the Community Pasture that his portfolio covers.

"We had a resolution to lease our Community Pasture out for another five years to the Portage Community Pasture Board," continues Kontzie. "They take in cow-calf pairs out there at the pasture during the summer months. We came to a lease agreement for the next five years where they have cattle in there and we gravel throughout the year, as well, for mining and for what we need for gravel, for putting on our roads throughout the year."

He explains the community pasture is a board unto its own. 

"It's a group of individuals that fills the 14,000 acres that we have out there of land with cow/calf pairs for grazing purposes from, basically, May 1st to about the end of October, depending on when the weather sets in," notes Kontzie. "They care for the lands in an appropriate manner, and it works well for our residents that have cattle in the area. We also pull cattle from outside of the RM, but we certainly put an emphasis on the board taking in residents from the RM as they see fit, that would work well for them."