Ratepayers in the Municipality of Rhineland were provided with a look back at the past year and a glimpse of what's to come for the municipality in 2021 as Reeve Don Wiebe delivered his annual State of the Municipality address at the Altona and District Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting Thursday.

Looking back on 2020, Municipality of Rhineland reeve, Don Wiebe, says the COVID-19 pandemic set the tone for the year early and certainly created a host of challenges for his municipality.

"Initially, we closed things down early, such as arenas and community halls, and then when the threat of the pandemic faded we started re-opening the facilities with numerous restrictions and safety precautions which required staff time, training and supplies. And then, sometime in November the province moved to Code Red and everything is shut down again," explained Wiebe.

Not only were many ceremonies and celebrations cancelled as well, but he noted staff was also forced to contend with office closures and new work arrangements. In addition, staff and elected officials all learned how to work with virtual meetings in order to keep up with day-to-day operations while maintaining social distancing requirements.

Despite these challenges, 2020 appears to have been a successful one for the Municipality with Council knocking a number of items off of its to-do list for the year.

"We've approved numerous variations, subdivisions and several conditional use permits...and then a major revision of our zoning bylaw is completed and it's slated for approval in the new year," listed Wiebe. As well, Council adopted a new set of bylaws with respect to animal control, parking and speed limits.

Then, after intensive lobby efforts, the dream of improved cell service in Plum Coulee edged closer to reality as 2020 also saw Bell/MTS agree to put up a town in the community. Wiebe hopes to see that project progress in the coming year.

Wiebe adds officials also further developed a municipal asset management plan and searched for new public engagement strategies.

Meantime, economic development for 2020 finished strong in Rhineland, despite getting off to what Wiebe said was a slow start at the beginning of the year.

According to the 2020 year-end building report, overall development exceeded the 2019 total by 15 per cent after a slow start to the year. The value of permits issued in 2019 was $12.3 million, which grew to $14.5 million. As well, a series of new subdivisions were completed in Plum Coulee this last year with home construction already started.

In addition, Wiebe is encouraged by reports out of the S.E.E.D. economic development group indicating there is a keen interest from business owners looking to relocate or expand in the area.

2020 also saw businesses and residents in Gretna, Plum Coulee, Rosenfeld and others along the route begin to get connected to the Valley Fiber network, while Wiebe notes remaining ratepayers will soon benefit from a 2.0 wireless option from VISP.

A number of large-scale projects were completed in the municipality this past year.

The list includes collaborating with the Pembina County Water Commission in North Dakota to clean out 8.5 miles of the ditch that runs along the Border Road stretching from the Aux Marais crossing going west.

As well, Wiebe reports Manitoba Infrastructure is into the final phase of a project to expand the Rempel Drain.

Wiebe says he was also pleased to see Rhineland and the Town of Altona reach an agreement with Bunge Canada to clean up the soap stock build-up at the local landfill. That work is set to start this winter.

The year also saw a trio of long-term employees - Nettie Kehler, Stu Toews and Herb Penner - retire.

Meantime, a handful of on-going projects were completed in 2020 with some carrying over into 2021. Some new work is also slated for the coming year.

This includes the completion of the reservoir and pumping station in Plum Coulee. Tenders were approved for the GNS East reservoir expansion and construction is underway with a completion timeline of August. Sewer lift station upgrades are also slated for Plum Coulee in partnership with the Manitoba Water Services Board.. Additionally, the municipalities of Rhineland, Montcalm and Morris have hammered out an agreement to build a new drain related to the Dead Horse Creek.

Rhineland officials also plan to clean up some unfinished business in 2021, according to Wiebe, who says continued lobby efforts will encourage the use of watersheds as a basis for planning and managing water issues. In addition, he says officials will stress the need for low-level crossings in the municipality, keep pushing for changes to the province's planning bill - Bill 37, and monitor the implementation of government's policing review and how those recommendations will affect the current policing agreement for Plum Coulee.