New Daycare opens in Portage as part of award-winning collaboration of City and RM

Portage's newest daycare opened its doors Tuesday just northwest of the Portage Mall on Park Avenue. The Mackenzie Knight Daycare saw the ribbon and cake cut after speeches were given. Those names combined for the title form significant roots fo the day care.

Ian Mackenzie and James Knight were former Portage Mayor and Reeve for the City and RM, who were in position when the city and RM created the tax sharing agreement when Simplot came to our city. 

Current Mayor Sharilyn Knox says it its roots were made when City Manager Nathan Peto and Rural Municipality of Portage CAO Nettie Neudorf put their heads together and talked about how to make Portage the place you want to be. 

"From that day, Simplot is here 20-some years later, and we have a tax sharing agreement that continues to this day," notes Knox. "What that does is it really makes us an economic power-horse in our province and in our country. But we wanted to take the time to really recognize people who were involved in that. Outside the building you're going to see the names of the elected officials. Individuals behind the scenes, our administration, are the real powerhouses for these things happening."

Dale Lyle noted it was due to efforts by former RM of Portage CAO Nettie Neudorf who raised the idea with which they went.

Former RM CAO Nettie Neudorf greeted the crowd and said, "Here we are now, from what was an idea, and we built off for that continued relationship that Dale Lyle and Rick Locke had from partnership. Nathan (Peto) and myself; I remember the first day. You think back to the moments when we first talked about daycare together. We recognized daycare is needed in order for industrial growth to continue. Anytime there was an opportunity that we could work together, it's sort of like, we phone each other up. This was one of those moments where the province, through another agency, said, 'It's easier if that agency could help navigate that, and manage that project.' When they brought that idea to me, I said, 'Hold on, I need to talk to our neighbour, Nathan,' -- or more like my brother in partnership with business matters."

She added it sometimes takes a village to raise a child, but sometimes it takes two municipalities to make it happen, as well.

A tour was given of the new daycare in action and operation. 

City Manager Nathan Peto adds his thoughts.

"I'm really proud of this partnership with the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie. I think it's something that is a really proud symbol of 20 years-plus partnership between municipalities. You may not know, but this project actually won an award for municipal partnerships, nationally. It's something that we don't talk enough about, but we have something really special here in Portage and I'm really proud to be part of it. The award was from the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators and it was given in a ceremony celebrating Excellence and Partnerships Between Two Municipalities. That's a national award that we received and we're really proud of."

The award was presented last year in June when the project had not been completed, but its scope and all involved were put together as an application. He notes they were selected as an Outstanding Excellence and Partnership.