The Village of St. Pierre has received some surprising and very positive news. Mayor Mona Fallis says they are getting more grant money than expected for their lagoon expansion project. Fallis explains they learned this week that they will receive $1.5 million from the federal government and $750,000 from the Manitoba government.

Mona Fallis"The federal funding is 50%, provincial funding is 25% and the municipality (Village of St. Pierre) is 25%. The old model was 1/3-1/3-1/3. But now, with the federal government putting in 50%, then it leaves just 25% for the village so that is incredible. That is a huge savings for us."

Fallis says this means the cost to local taxpayers will be significantly less. St. Pierre council had previously indicated that, on a home assessed at $200,000, the tax increase for lagoon expansion would be $186 per year for the next 25 years. With the larger federal contribution, that increase will will drop to about $140 per year and she says that means a lot for local taxpayers.

"These are young families that are trying to make the best with the money they have so this is good news for us."

Fallis says it's wonderful to receive more money than they applied for because it usually works the other way around. She adds lagoon expansion is a big deal for the community because it will allow them to lift a freeze on new development.

"Right now we have a hold on construction so now new construction, residential or business. Once this is approved, we can accept new residential permits, we can accept new commercial permits. We have several developers just waiting for the okay to start building. We actually held off on a couple of subdivisions because they couldn't hook up to our lagoon. So now we can give the okay and hopefully it's a very busy town next summer."

Fallis says they plan to start construction in spring with completion in six to eight months.