Pride is evident when Mayor Scott Crick speaks about the past year’s accomplishments of the Town of Morris and council.
“When I look back at 2024, I am surprised by how much we accomplished,” he said. “We can take constant progress for granted, and fail to see how each cumulative effort contributes to the future of the community.”
The past year brought both marketing and development plans to fruition with the launch of Grow Morris, the investmorris.ca website, and finalizing a development plan for the Town, a process that started in late 2022.
“Instead of tweaking a prior plan, town council did strategic planning along with the mandated development plan, soliciting public feedback to ask how our citizens saw the future of our community,” explained Crick. “We now have a strategic road map for the next 26 years, providing a level of continuity for future governments.”
Numerous physical upgrades were visible around Morris this year, with the new child care centre opening in the fall, and a zero-entry addition to the pool.
The child care facility was made possible “through discussion with the Province and Department of Families and support of the prior government and former Minister Wayne Ewasko,” Crick shared.
A council goal for over a decade, the pool upgrades showed how “practicing good financial governance allows projects to be funded.”
Although less visible, the Town water distribution plant was replaced in 2024, “an important and expensive piece of Town infrastructure that needs replacing every second generation.”
Crick streses that the spending of taxpayer funds by council will continue in a sustainable way.
Only by practising sound financial management have we been able to continue to develop and invest in our community, ensure we have adequate reserves, while increasing taxes at below half the rate of inflation over the past five years,” he said.
Many community projects have been ongoing for several years now, and the year ahead certainly has no shortage of work still to be done on several fronts.
“One of the most significant is supportive housing,” said Crick. “Deputy Mayor Chris Hamblin has been building partnerships with the RM of Montcalm and Morris, with the long-term goal of creating a hub-and-spoke model of supportive housing for the entire region.”
The proposed build and location will be unveiled to the public for questions and feedback early this year.
“If fundraising goes well, we believe a shovel could be in the ground before year-end.”
Residential and industrial development continues on the south end of town.
“Continuing to build our population will be important for local businesses and employers, and will be critical in attracting larger-scale enterprises to Morris,” Crick said, noting the “creation of affordable homes for first-time home buyers continues in the southeast corner of town” and “interest is increasing for the Morris Industrial Park with the help of a professional commercial real estate firm.”
In the months to come, council will continue to work on by-laws regarding the redevelopment of Main Street to ensure that “properties are not purchased and left empty as speculative investment properties,” Crick said, and that rental properties are maintained to a certain standard of repair for tenants and neighbours.
Council will also continue building support for the Mid-Canada Trade Corridor alongside partners in the RM of Montcalm and RM of Emerson-Franklin.
The formalization of the organization, creation of marketing and digital assets, opening of an office, and inclusion of further partners is expected in 2025. Current stakeholders include the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association, Manitoba Trucking Association, Centreport, CDEM, World Trade Centre Winnipeg, and Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters.
“The interest in our community, and our trade corridor initiative, by our new provincial government has been encouraging,” said Crick. “In 2024, we have been visited by Ministers Simard, Altomare, Schmidt, and Naylor as well as MLAs Loiselle and Moyes. Each showed interest in the things that are important to Morris, and we expect to continue to build positive relationships over the next three years.”
Crick emphasized the importance of working together.
“Our projects demonstrate how we can be effective as a community, especially when local organizations and the town partner together.”
