From the Portage Daily Graphic

By simply raising their hands at Tuesday’s Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie council meeting, three councillors and the reeve gave the go ahead to officially get started building the $35.7-million PCU Centre at the Island Park fairgrounds.

The meeting, which had to be moved to the Herman Prior 55-plus Centre after nearly 70 people came to the RM office on Tupper Street to watch, saw councillors vote 4-3 to accept the first two of four tenders on the project. Coun. Ray Davidson of Ward 4, Reeve Toby Trimble, Coun. Larry Gibbs of Ward 2 and Coun. Owen Williams of Ward 6 all voted to accept the tenders.

Ward 1 Coun. Garth Asham abstained from the vote pending the results of a court case filed against the RM by concerned ratepayers regarding the project.

If Asham had voted against the tenders with Coun. Terry Simpson of Ward 3, Coun. Bill Alford of Ward 7, and Coun. Arnold Verwey of Ward 5, the resolution would have been defeated, and the project effectively would have been scratched.

After the meeting, Trimble said although the vote was close, he’s glad council will be able to go ahead with the multiplex.

“I would have to say I’m feeling very relieved,” he admitted. “I went into the meeting feeling confident that the outcome would be the way it was.

“I’m happy that council members stepped up and passed the approval of the two tenders.”

Some councillors at the RM had originally wanted to wait until all four tenders were in before voting on them, but Trimble explained before the vote council members had received and reviewed the last tenders in camera before the vote, and they had come in on budget.