A new machine shop will bring public works crews together, and mark another step forward in the Municipality of Norfolk Treherne's amalgamation process. That's according to Reeve Craig Spencer, after Council accepted the $1.2 million tender from LCL Construction out of Carman. He notes the new shop will feature six bays, and replace the three machine shops that are currently being used by the municipality's public works departments.

"It's a tender we've looked at long and hard because we have three very, very old shops. One we maybe shouldn't have anyone one in and we're getting rid of it, and the other two are very aged as well. We needed to build something for our employees."

Spencer says the six-bay shop won't necessarily have a lot of bells and whistles, but it will bring all of their public works employees under the same roof. He says it's an exciting change, marking the continuing process of fully amalgamating the former RM of South Norfolk, and the town of Treherne.

"We're an amalgamated municipality, so we've taken two public works departments and amalgamated them together. Our employees have done a good job working together, but along that we need to continue to grow into one. This is another step toward growing into one municipality to take of the needs of both our rural and our urban ratepayers."

As they bring all public works staff under one roof, they're also looking to create a formal management position. Spencer says they're now looking at hiring a public works foreman to better coordinate the staff's work. The new machine shop will be located west of Treherne, and construction is expected to be completed before the end of the year.