We Want To Help Businesses Support Electric Vehicles in Thompson!

Help pioneer electric vehicle infrastructure in Thompson! Natural Resources Canada has announced that businesses interested in hosting Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations can apply to have 50% ($5,000 max per outlet) of the purchase and installation costs covered by the federal government under the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program.

Each application must be submitted as a community, and requires a minimum of 20 outlets to be considered for the grant. The City of Thompson will coordinate identifying interested businesses and organizations in Thompson, who would like to take advantage of this grant opportunity, as we work in putting together a submission.

We would like to have as many interests being expressed by October 30, 2020 to demonstrate to the Federal Government that Thompson is serious about taking a unified approach towards becoming a greener, EV-friendly community.

If you’re a commercial or multi-unit residential property owner and are interested in accessing the grant, please contact our Economic Development Coordinator, Keisha Davis at ecdev@thompson.ca to find out more.

We’ve applied for one charging station so far!

Back in July, Council approved the application to fund the purchase and installation of a Level 3 charging station at the TRCC with the help of Natural Resources Canada.

A Level 3 charger is among the fastest consumer chargers, and can charge a vehicle battery from 0-80% in roughly 20 minutes. However, the cost of these charging stations limits the number that we can effectively purchase and install.

Why are we keen on Electric Vehicles?

Charging stations in Thompson also open up new opportunities for Winter Weather Testing in Thompson by delivering the infrastructure that testers need, and open doors to help the next generation of electric vehicles ready for the real-world rigors of northern Canada.

Electric vehicle battery technology also relies heavily on nickel, which means supporting the adoption of electrical vehicles also supports our local mining economy.

Contact for Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program:

Keisha Davis
Economic Development Coordinator
ecdev@thompson.ca

Council Selects Stantec Consulting To Design New Pool Facility!

On September 8, Mayor and Council accepted the recommendation of the Community Pool Committee to award Stantec Consulting with the contract to design a new pool facility to replace the Norplex Pool!

We received proposals from 13 different design firms before the RFP closed on July 8. Three evaluation teams were created to tackle the submissions, with each team including a citizen representative from the Community Pool committee’s planning and design team.

Respondents were evaluated based on the experience of their over all firms and the experience/qualifications of their lead personnel. This includes experience specific to our circumstances, including government/municipal projects, aquatic facilities, an working on projects in northern, rural, and remote areas.

The proposals themselves were judged based on their ability to demonstrate:

  • Green design and energy efficiency;
  • Understanding construction challenges in northern/remote areas;
  • Accommodating our wish-list, with the ability to scale the design down depending on budget limitations;
  • Understanding the expectations of our community and stakeholders;
  • Safety compliance;
  • Sound, innovative ideas

The recommendation of administration and the Community Pool Committee is expected to be put forward for approval at the August 24 regular meeting of Council, and the chosen firm will have their first meeting with city administration within a week of being notified that they have won the bid.

What Else is New?

Public fundraising activities are starting to ramp up again after being on hold due to public health orders and responsible social distancing: they have a few exciting ideas lined up for this winter! In the meantime, our team has continued to apply for grants as they become available, and public donations are always welcome!

The City and the Community Pool Committee still hasn’t received word from the federal government regarding the Investing in Canada’s Infrastructure Program grant: earlier in the spring, we received word that large grants will likely not be announced until Fall of 2020, so we hope to hear back soon as September approaches!

Last Week of Community Clean-up + End of Month Prizes!

It’s the sixth and last week of Clean Community Month in Thompson, and this week, we’re cleaning up ALL of Thompson! Anywhere! If you see a problem spot, gather your friends and pick it up, to enter to win!

Send us your photos and the names of your clean-up team for a chance to win a Hub of the North Hoodie, a prize pack from Recycle Everywhere and the Thompson Recycling Center, Two Vale swag bags, and this week’s big prize from Canadian Tire: a 6-foot Pelican Sit-on-top kayak! Perfect for this season: who knows, maybe we’ll have more water than land by the end of August!

Contest extended by one week!

We’ve had a lot of wet and cold weather during this contest, and we feel that residents didn’t have much time to get out and about on the dry days. Now that it looks like summer is here properly here, we want to make the most of it.

We’re offering up another week of prizes between June 26 and July 3, for a city-wide clean-up. If you see a problem spot *anywhere* in town, clean it up and send us your photos!

GRAND PRIZE DRAWS!

A number of businesses and community organizations approached us throughout the contest to donate their own prizes to the contest. We’ve saved them up until the end, and we’ll be raffling them all off on Monday, July 6! Everyone who took part in Clean Community Month, and who hasn’t won a weekly prize, is eligible to win!

AMP INDUSTRIES

Interior/Exterior Cleaning, Oil Change

Nickel Days Committee

$500 in various gift cards

NCN THOMPSON BUS

Small and Large Hoodies

ASSANTE WEALTH MANAGEMENT

$50 Gift Card – Sobeys

Thanks to our participants this week!

A big thank you goes out to the Morin family this week, who braved the rain to carry the Clean Community torch last week!

Week 4 of Clean Community Month Starts Today!

It’s the fourth week of Clean Community Month in Thompson, and this week, we’re in the Westwood and Burntwood areas!

Send us your photos and the names of your clean-up team for a chance to win a Hub of the North Hoodie, a prize pack from Recycle Everywhere and the Thompson Recycling Center, and this week’s big prize from Canadian Tire: A two-piece CANVAS Beaumount Patio Chair set!

As the wind picks up, it seems like there’s still plenty of litter still blowing into the downtown area. We’re more than happy to accept entries from downtown cleaners as well!


Thank you to our sponsors!

Thompson Recycling Center

Recycle Everywhere!

Canadian Tire

AMP Industries

NCN Thompson Bus

Assante Wealth Management


THANKS TO ALL OF OUR VOLUNTEERS THIS WEEK!

Thank you to EVERYONE who participated in Week 3: Individuals can’t win the draw a second time, but if you go out to clean up again, other members of your team definitely can! If you didn’t win last week, you can still participate and get a second chance this week!

Thompson Connect Launches Today!

As a City, we’re always looking for new ways to ensure residents the information they need, exactly when they need it. We also recognize that not everyone is comfortable with social media, or with the web. That’s why we’re launching Thompson Connect!

Thompson-Connect pushes messages, updates, and alerts directly to you, through either text messages, emails, and even automated voice calls. That includes messages sent out through the Canada-wide Alert Ready emergency messaging system.

Connect will also be able to deliver area-specific notices for issues like water breaks, road closures, events, and more! You won’t be bogged down with messages about water breaks on the other side of town.

Sign up today at www.thompson.ca/p/connect! Once you sign up, you’ll receive your own password in case you need to change your settings in the future. You can also call City Hall and ask for a physical registration form!

Residents registered with Manitoba White Pages will also be receiving an automated call informing them of the new system, encouraging them to register. This is the ONLY time that we will utilize White Page listings, other than a city-wide emergency. Otherwise, only registrants will be contacted.