The mayor of Yorkton gave his “state of the city” speech this afternoon.

Mitch Hippsley announced that one of the large projects the city began in 2020 was construction of a new Civic Operations Building.

Other projects done around the city includes Highway 9 resurfacing, the York Road Water Main Replacement and the Gladstone roundabout resurfacing project.

A big story in Yorkton in 2020 was the civic election held in November.

Mayor Hippsley thanked city employees for their hard work in staging the election, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adjustments made included one central voting location, five advanced polls, and the first ever drive-thru voting station in Yorkton.

And COVID-19 played a major factor in 2020.

Hippsley compared the pandemic to living in a sci-fi movie.

The pandemic became a factor in Yorkton on March 17th, when the city was forced to shut down and restrict access to its facilities.

Since then, virtual council meetings were designed, mayoral update were given as needed, recreation facilities re-opened with reduced services in June, and the city continues their weekly health meetings with the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

However, the city did receive 975-thousand dollars from the federal and provincial governments, as part of the Safe COVID Restart Program.