The man at the helm of the Portage la Prairie Planning District is retiring at the end of the day today.

Kinelm Brookes helped start the planning district back in November of 2002, and after twenty years, is ready to say goodbye.

"I'm going to enjoy life a little bit. I got a daughter that wants an addition and renovation done to her house, so, that's where I'm going this spring," says Brookes. "Until then, I'd like to see about maybe getting away for a warm holiday if we can and I'd like to travel out to see a bunch of my family in Western Canada. I've got family scattered all over Saskatchewan, Alberta, and BC, so I'd like to take two or three weeks and just take the time to go out and see everybody. I haven't seen them in a few years, so, I'd like to go and see everybody."

When asked how he felt all those years ago, he summed up the feeling by saying: "overwhelmed." He says they needed staff, and they found a building. Within a few years, they had grown to a place where they needed a bigger space. He says it was around 2005 or 2006 when they moved to their current location at 800 Saskatchewan Avenue West.

He says times have changed, pointing to construction and the industry as a whole, which have made things more efficient, noting the evolution has been positive.

Brookes will miss the people he works with on a daily basis, saying it's the toughest part about saying goodbye to the job.

"I think the people at the office, as well as the people we work with. The office has been great to work with, anybody that's been here, I've always got along with everybody," says Brookes. "You know what, all the contractors and developers we have dealt with over the years, at the end of the day, there's been a really good group of people to work with, I think."

He wanted to thank the people that hired him as well as all of the people and all of the boards they have worked with in the past. He appreciates the hard work of both Portage City Councils and the RM councils, saying they have been great to work with.

"Time well spent. It's been a great career."