As a new year begins local councils are looking at priorities, for this year and even much further down the road.

High River Mayor Craig Snodgrass says administration, and council, only have the capacity to take on so much.

"We don't have an endless amount of work force or budget to be able to do things so that's why we always do these quarterly strategic sessions where we can adjust what projects have been finished of what new ones are going to come on and take priority and take the majority of the workload that administration does," he says.

The top five priorities include the Town Plan, which is expected to be complete early this year, the Aquatic Facility Expansion detailed design set for March, the Town Farm and Outdoor Rink site design in McLaughlin Meadows which should be complete in June, the 112th Street Area Structure Plan set for a December 2024 completion and a Water Strategy which should be done by March.

"In the background we want to keep projects that are very important to council, keep them on the list so we remember them and can bring them back into play at the next strategic session if something in the top five drops off. It's worked very well since we hired (CAO) Chris Prosser, " the mayor says.

Among those in line to move up as the top five are complete are options for physician retention and attraction, a recycling and composting program and engagement and design of a skatepark.

In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, HighRiverOnline and OkotoksOnline encourage you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the HighRiverOnline or OkotoksOnline app.