The Town of Midale recently held a regular council meeting. Among the items on the agenda was the passing of a new bylaw that would help when it came to restricting water usage.

"The council's plan is for the summer time, because we have such a high usage, we are planning some water restrictions, which we've done before and people have been very good about abiding by it," shared Town Administrator Linda Dugan.

Basically, the bylaw would control items such as which side of town can water their lawns and gardens on one day and the other the next.

"This way, when we put that order out, which we want to be doing every summer, we will have something in place that gives me or one of my representatives the authority to post that notice," she explained.

"There's a truck fill on the side of our water treatment plant, and with the bylaw we can shut that at any time so we can have water if we're having trouble making it," chimed in Mayor Al Hauglum, noting that this would save the H2O for the local residents.

He added that the plant does have some size issues. That said, they are working towards a project that would involve a pipeline from Rafferty Dam, in partnership with several surrounding towns and RMs.

Snow clearing will also be a focus in the coming months for the town, as they prepare for another winter.

"We've had some super snow removal. Usually people are in bed yet, and when they get up in the morning the streets are open and ready to go. We take pride in our snow removal in Midale," Hauglum expressed.

"We certainly try to be pretty proactive in that. We try to keep our main streets and sidewalks clear, plus we have a plan in place on where we start removing snow. For example, the fire hall is one of the places that we make sure is ready in case of need, as well as the health center and school," Dugan added.

Most of the work is conducted by their own workers and equipment, although they don't rule out bringing in contractors if the assistance is needed.

"We had a pretty severe winter last year, and we managed to keep up very well. Actually, I have had people that have been driving by on Highway 39 that have called me to tell me to tell my people how well they are doing, because they feel that the town of Midale has such a good snow removal plan," she said.

"It's nice to hear. We've always hired a gentleman to run our grader, but this year we have two employees that have their training done and are qualified too, so we have our people ready to go," the mayor shared. They'll be sticking to their tried and true plan. If the two main operators are busy, the previous one will jump in and help as well.

Another exciting project that is on the horizon for Midale is completing construction of a paddling pool in the spring to follow the new and expanded pool that was built this year.

"We had a first that I've ever known...we had to turn people away this last summer because the pool was over full," he said, adding that they have received quite a few compliments for it.

They are also looking forward to their Santa Claus parade to be held on the weekend at 11:00 AM, followed by a variety of food served.