Farming centre attracts and keep new residents with low taxes, updated amenities
Geoff Kirbyson
Western Investor
Dauphin can thank honky-tonk men and women for providing a $10 million boost to its economy each year.
Dauphin's Countryfest, the longest-running country music festival in Canada, attracts nearly 50,000 people over its four-day run - that's an average daily attendance of about 12,000 - that acts as the town and trading area's unofficial kick-off to summer.
"It's bigger than the Winnipeg Folk Festival," said Eric Irwin, Dauphin's mayor. "An economic impact study showed it was worth $9.7 million to the town three years ago and it's bigger now. The economic impact per head is off the charts. Most patrons come from some distance away. It's great for the community and it sets us apart from all of the other communities in rural Manitoba."
The Morden Corn & Apple Festival, an August tradition an hour south of Winnipeg, is worth $800,000 by comparison, he said.
Perhaps the most significant impact of Countryfest, bricks and mortar and otherwise, is a four-screen movie complex that was built a couple of years ago. The $400,000 it put toward the $5 million complex prompted $1.25 million to be raised by the community, along with $1.5 million in federal and provincial money.
More than 72,000 people took in the best (and worst) Hollywood had to offer during the first year and the traffic has been just as busy in the second 12 months, Irwin said.
"People drive from Swan River 110 miles away to see a movie. Before [our theatre was built] people from Dauphin would drive that far to go to Brandon for a movie," he said, adding, "As long as we keep having amenities that are unique in the area, people will come here."
A regional service centre located in the southwest portion of Manitoba, Dauphin is nestled on the edge of Riding Mountain National Park with Duck Mountain Provincial Park across the valley. The town is flanked by two of the larger freshwater lakes in the world: Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipegosis.
The town was incorporated in 1901 and is named after an heir to the French throne. However, Ukrainians make up the largest ethnic group in Dauphin, with 41 per cent of the population. About a quarter of the population can speak Ukrainian.
Tax cut
When he was elected two-and-a-half years ago, Irwin had three goals: make sure Dauphin's tax rates were competitive, start a housing-building program and keep improving the public amenities. The town has scored on all three fronts, he said.
First, taxes have been reduced 5 per cent in each of the last two years. Second, a $1,000 per-door subsidy has been made available to developers building affordable houses or apartments, and Irwin's confident it will be paid out many times over. Finally, a splash park and playground was built last year, a skateboard park will be opened this year and work is set to begin on a new jail next year.
"Each year we try to roll out a fair-sized public amenity [project] and pay for it as we go so we can lower taxes and stimulate business," Irwin said.
But the mayor is far from finished. He said Dauphin is "under-retailed" - a problem he hopes to rectify in the not-too-distant future.
Retail push
"When we built the movie theatre, it worked. When the co-op [Dauphin Consumers Cooperative] built a new gas bar, it went to five-year [sales] projections in two months. When people invest money here, they do well. We're looking at Winners and some other retailers to come here. They should invest in Dauphin because they'll make money at it," Irwin said.
The average house price in Dauphin is about $175,000 according to Ron Slobodzian, a sales associate at Action Realty. About five years ago prices were rising approximately 10 per cent per year but have flattened out over the past 12 months.
People moving to Dauphin from other provinces, most notably Alberta, during that period helped drive up the prices.
"They were willing to pay the asking prices. It's the out-of-towners that were subject to higher prices in stronger economies that forced prices up," Slobodzian said.
As in most of Manitoba, the apartment rental vacancy rate in Dauphin is below 2 per cent, according to CMHC.u
Dauphin, MB quick facts
- Population 8,500
- Average house price $175,000
- Potential Agriculture, retail development
From the Western Investor, August 2013
