Currently, the Region’s transit service serves only a portion of Niagara, working in concert with municipal transit operators in Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and Welland.

But while GO may have snatched the major headlines, there were other projects that made some progress in 2016, including a new 5,000- to 7,000-seat theatre.

A request for pre-qualification was put out in the first half of 2016, and a request for proposals is going to be issued by month’s end, Diodati said.

“Then in the spring — I’m guessing May or June — there’s going to be an announcement about the selection of who will build it.”

The past year also saw a long-awaited update to the lighting system to illuminate the falls at night.

Other highlights included the opening of the Mist Rider Zipline attraction and a new LED-lighting system — which came with a $4-million price tag shared by municipalities and tourism stakeholders on both sides of the river. With so much happening, the mayor said he actually “almost forgot” about the initiative.

But despite steps being taken forward on several fronts, 2016 still had its issues.

One can be summed up in three simple letters — DMF.

A destination marketing fee charged by some restaurants and tourism operators needs to be clarified and standardized, Diodati said.

“I see the frustration. I get the emails, I get the phone calls. People want to know up front. We need to educate tourists and operators.”

Fees like the DMF are charged all over the world, he added.

The mayor said he would like to see funds generated by the DMF split 50/50 between operators and an agency such as Niagara Falls Tourism.

Then perhaps the city can tap into the funds for events such as New Year’s Eve.

“The City wants to participate in New Year’s Eve,” Diodati said. “But we don’t have the funds per say. We don’t have a special events fund.”

This year’s New Year’s concert was the second straight that was not televised, although plans are in the works to livestream future shows online.

Either way, Diodati said tourism operators need to step up.

“It would be nice if it could be funded by the industry for the industry,” he said.

The past year also saw its share of controversy at council. Debates over a proposed new open air burning bylaw and the Ryerson partnership resulted in tempers boiling over between council colleagues. One councillor — Carolynn Ioannoni — accused chief administrative officer Ken Todd of calling her a "bitch" during the Ryerson debate, while councillors shouted each other down at meetings or duking it out on Facebook during the open air burning debate.

But Diodati is confident that, as they have in the past, councillors will leave the anger on the debate floor and do what is best for the city.

“Will there be more heated debates? I expect there will be. It’s OK to debate, but it’s not OK to disrespect. I expect all of council will play within those rules.

The mayor said he also expects a proposed south Niagara hospital to continue its forward progress in 2017.

Currently, the first two phases in the planning process have been completed and are in the hands of the Province.

“Hopefully it will be in this year’s capital budget from the Province,” Diodati said.

Progress has also been made toward securing additional land needed (30 acres) to accommodate future growth.

“Everything is coming together.”