Portage la Prairie has seen some major strides occur in economic development and expansion of efforts to improve the city.

Mayor Irvine Ferris opens up about what's over the horizon this year.

"We will be doing two of our largest infrastructure projects in the history of Portage," explains Ferris. "And of course, that's the upgrades to Saskatchewan Ave West and upgrades to nutrient removal at the wastewater treatment plant. And you know, a bit of work has begun on Saskatchewan Ave West this fall with the infrastructure. So, certainly, we'll be working at infrastructure, addressing climate change, and managing all the challenges that we see already, even before the new year begins."

Ferris notes there may be a little more landscaping done on the walking paths for the new causeway to the island in the spring, after everything else has been completed with final lighting having been put in over a week ago.

"The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive," notes Ferris. "I think we're all kind of learning how to drive on the roundabouts. Those of us that didn't drive on roundabouts before, we're getting that experience, and certainly the people that have called and emailed... it's fairly positive."

The mayor says that one of the City's biggest challenges in this new year involves the contract cost for the city's RCMP service.

"We now have a unionized force and there's the back-pay involved, and the back-pay fior Portage's portion of that for our detachment will be approximately $800,000," adds Ferris. "This is a lot higher than what we were advised. That's going to be a challenge, certainly, budget-wise, and then the costs going ahead per annum. We don't have firm numbers yet, but approximately $800,000 per year. So, we certainly have to take a look at policing costs and protective services, and be able to manage them within our budget, while also making sure that we've got the best coverage for the costs that we're paying."

Ferris explains efforts to attract industry and job retention will continue.

"We don't have an agreement with the provincial government on MDC, repurposing, and saving those jobs that are up there," continues Ferris. "That's certainly going to be a challenge for 2022. People will probably see the rebuilding of the Koko Platz Community Club take place in the coming year. There was a fire there. Obviously, we had insurance on it, so right now there's been some consultations taking place to see what that would look like to address the needs of Portage."