With the growth that the RM of Portage la Prairie has seen in recent months, a new position's been created.

CAO Nettie Neudorf says Kyle Hamilton is the new director of Public Works and Utilities.

"The director of Public Works and Utilities is a position that's been created to provide the leadership in public works, infrastructure maintenance, staff management of public works and utilities with strategic planning, reporting and engineering components to the position," explains Neudorf.

She notes they were looking for someone with an engineering degree, adding many contract services involving a large engineering component gave rise to the need.

"We're happy that we have, actually, I guess formerly from Portage, a man who's coming back," Neudorf continues. "His name is Kyle Hamilton. He's going to be the new director of Public Works and Utilities and is starting on September 3rd."

Neudorf says they're seeing the need for change and, in the time she's been there since 2016, she's noticed a need for someone with an engineering background. She explains reliance on contract services includes strategic planning where a gap would be filled by having a report and some input from someone trained in this field. This means the RM will be able to provide better results and efficient practices. Neudorf adds modern technology is increasingly involved in their work. and having someone onboard who can utilize that will streamline many of the processes and provide higher-level reporting.

She says they're excited to have Hamilton join them, noting he's bringing expertise from an engineering point of view including team management, budgeting and knowledge in infrastructure. Neudorf says he'll be a great fit to their organization.