Altona's Mayor says recent snow storms have given residents a look into how efficiently local public works crews operate. Melvin Klassen says workers had just finished cleaning up the town after the Christmas storm when another dump of snow arrived this week.

"Personally I want to thank the Town's snow clearing crew for giving up valued family time so to clear our snow-clogged streets," said the Mayor, adding that storms like we've been experiencing recent create havoc to the best-laid plans that a family has. "Too often we don't realize that behind the town work crew there is a family that has had plans interrupted."

Meantime, town officials have set aside two days this month for some strategic planning. Klassen says the group will examine expected challenges for the coming year and how they might affect future budgets, adding one of the topics that's been gaining traction is a lack of childcare space in Altona.

"Some of our business leaders have been informing us that they are losing employees to other communities because, with both parents in the workforce, they needed a safe and reliable childcare centre."

He explains Council members, representatives from the Altona and District Chamber of Commerce and business leaders are jointly seeking ways to deal with this shortage.