The big story at Neepawa Town Council's brief pre-holiday meeting this week was the province’s announcement of a new $127 million regional hospital to be built in Neepawa over the next few years. Councillor Murray Parrott has been involved with the medical community in Neepawa for many years and takes the time to acknowledge and thank everyone who has been involved over the years in several different capacities to help make the project happen, from previous councils to medical professionals to volunteers.

Despite the fact that we are well into winter now, repair work is continuing for the Park Lake site and is still on track for completion in 2022.. Operations Manager Denis Saquet reports on the status of that work, and as well talks about the new recycling containers that have been distributed in the community for household use.

On the topic of recycling, CAO Colleen Synchyshyn reports that we have received a payment from Multi-Materials Stewardship Manitoba. This is a reimbursement for community recycling costs, which relates directly to the tonnage of materials that the town recycles. Besides being an environmentally sound choice, this is another reason why it is so important for residents to recycle what materials they can and take care not to contaminate their loads.

As it is the end of the year, the town passed the interim budget, which allows them to continue operations uninterrupted between the end of the year and April, when the new budget is expected to be passed. They also voted to ratify the new collective agreement with town employees when the final version of the agreement comes available.

Other items on the agenda were the new town animal control officer, the renewal of the lease for the Neepawa Planning District, updates on a few construction projects, and Santa Claus’s imminent visit to the town.

Finally, residents are reminded that applications for the Community Grant Program, which funds many local non-profits and community groups, are due by the end of the year.