Steinbach Mayor Chris Goertzen reports city council had a very positive summer study session last week. He says they spent considerable time talking about 2013. Goertzen(above) explains,"We were looking very specifically at the preliminary budget and council chose to focus very clearly on infrastructure renewal. We're going to continue to do that just as we've done this last year, but a new concerted effort will be made for the recreation and cultural facility. We want to do additional planning, making sure that we get it correct. And, at the same time, we want to start implementing phase 1 of the proposal."

City council announced a few weeks ago that it was committed to the development of a recreation and cultural multiplex in the downtown area. It will be done in phases over the coming years.

And what is phase one? The Mayor says, "Phase 1 will involve a number of things. That's part of the planning process that we'll go through. As council makes those decisions in the coming months, and we get the information back from the consultants, we'll be able to make that more clear."

As for other infrastructure work, he says city council increased the budget for the asphalt overlay program next year because those costs are going up. City council is also committed to continuing to upgrade underground infrastructure like sewer and water lines to make sure they remain in good repair.

Goertzen says city council had a general discussion about the tax rate for next year but is awaiting more information before making a final decision this fall.

Meanwhile, Goertzen says city council agreed on a promotion for a city employee. "There's a significant announcement to be made. We have created a new position of assistant Chief Administrative Officer. We've appointed Troy Warkentin as the assistant CAO for Steinbach. We're really proud to have Troy on our team. He's been there for 15-plus years and he's a great asset and we are keen to utilize him in this new position." Warkentin started out as city Treasurer before becoming Corporate Services Manager and now assistant CAO.