The Municipal Board held a public hearing Monday concerning the proposed annexation involving Steinbach and Hanover. But the hearing nearly didn't happen.

The annexation involves about 7300 acres of land, mostly along Steinbach's western border. Some residents appeared at the hearing Monday and voiced concern over not being properly notified. A letter had been sent to residents in the affected area. This letter gave deadlines that some residents felt were nearly impossible to meet.

For example, anyone wishing to make a presentation was asked to submit a file within ten business days of the hearing. Yet, some residents suggested they only received the letter ten business days before the hearing.

City Manager Troy Warkentin then went on to explain the letters were only courtesy letters and not mandated under the Municipal Act. The Municipal Board proceeded to explain to city staff that nothing had been done wrong, but without a cover letter to explain that it was only a "courtesy" letter, residents could be led to believe that this letter was, in fact, more "official" than it actually was.

"Someone after the fact could argue that they were denied notice," suggested Lori Lavoie, Vice Chair of the Municipal Board.

(Steinbach Mayor Chris Goertzen at Municipal Board Hearing)Lavoie stated this could then potentially cause any hearing held on Monday to be considered void after the fact, forcing the whole process to start over again.

Bob Adkins, the Lawyer serving the city of Steinbach suggested that because of public notices, public hearings and an open house, people are in the know with where this process is at.

"Everybody is absolutely aware of the date," Adkins told the Municipal Board.

Furthermore, he says not one resident at Monday's hearing suggested they would have put a more involved presentation together, had they been given more time. And not one resident made a formal request to the city asking for the hearing to be adjourned and rescheduled. According to Adkins, if someone felt they had not been given a fair chance and they wanted to formally object, Monday would have been a great platform to try and accomplish that.

Local resident Rick Bergman then suggested, "why don't we just get the show on the road."

Moments later, Lavoie and her Board came to the decision that because of the large turnout Monday and because there was not a formal request for adjournment, that the hearing would proceed as planned. Three hours after the scheduled start time, the hearing began.

According to Steinbach Mayor Chris Goertzen, there have been a lot of questions from the public, since news of the annexation broke more than one year ago. He says some residents are in favour, some have questions and others have concerns. Some of those concerns have to do with the level of service for residents that might be joining Steinbach.

"Our policy presently is that everyone should get the same level of service when it comes to garbage pickup and a number of other amenities," says Goertzen. "We expect to hold true to that policy and we look forward to the discussions here and how this proceeds."

Goertzen says he is hopeful this can be finalized for 2017. He says in the big picture this is good for Steinbach and the region when it comes to growth and prosperity.

"We think this is going to be a positive move," he says.

A second day has been set aside in September for the hearing to continue.