The Municipality of Rhineland is hard at work as 2016 comes to a close.

Most council members will be in Winnipeg this week for the 18th Annual Association of Manitoba Municipalities Convention. Reeve Don Wiebe says the RM is very interested in resolutions regarding water management, property taxation, and the increasing reliance on property taxes as a means to fund education.

Those in attendance plan to encourage the government to look at how we fund education, all while maintaining a fair taxation system.

Meantime, progress regarding the Plum Coulee Community Hall and Arena continues.

After spending approximately $50,000 to clean up the site after a fire earlier this year, the Municipality has turned input from community members into potential plans as architects draw up new options for the Community Hall.

Wiebe says council passed a resolution last week to begin engineering on the arena floor. The Municipality hopes to pour a concrete base to transform the facility into an all-season venue. Some delays have occurred, but the plan is to avoid another winter without ice to skate on.

Finally, with weeks left before the new year, the Municipality has seen an increase in building permits compared to 2015.

79 permits have been filed this year, compared to 67 last year. Discrepancies in value have occurred so far, as the RM is $200,000 short in comparison to 2015, when permits worth $6.1 million were filed.

Related Article: Plum Coulee Arena Won't Open This Winter