Now that the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie has agreed to give the Oakville Community Center the $1.2 million it needs in bridge financing, work can continue.

While the community will benefit from having a new facility for events, and from having more daycare spaces, there is another positive you may not have known about.

Dennis Galbraith, chair of the committee, for the building says they're required to have a fire hydrant built out front -- and it will be the first for the village.

"The community obviously needs more than one," says Galbraith. "Eventually, rural water services will likely put them in at some point in the distant future, but building code now is that, if you have a public building, you have to have a fire hydrant within 45 metres of the front door. So, we couldn't build the building and get an occupancy permit without installing a fire hydrant."

Originally, the club asked for $700,000. Since that time, inflation has hit, material costs have gone up, and the club had to raise their ask to $1.2 million. Council discussed the issue during the meeting and approved the loan. Galbriath says the loan allows the group to have access to the grants they are entitled to, and the project can continue.