Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion

The town’s elected officials have addressed several topics at a recent meeting, and two resolutions were passed regarding major capital projects in Kindersley.

Council held a regular meeting on May 14, and members passed resolutions to publish a tender for construction of a new fire hall and to grant an extension to the construction deadline for the new aquatics centre. Both resolutions were passed unanimously.

Deputy Mayor Shaun Henry, who chaired the meeting in the absence of Mayor Rod Perkins, said he and Councillor Dean Galbraith worked closely with members of the fire department and the town’s chief administrative officer (CAO), Bernie Morton, to go through the process to help design the fire hall.

He noted that the town has a conceptual design for the new fire hall. The building will be located at 111 Railway Avenue West to the west of the Peavey Mart store. Henry said a lot of thought has gone into the process.

Galbraith said he did not know what needed to be included in a fire hall, so the majority of expertise came from Fire Chief Ron Hope. He said the group members met to work together on the design, and the group went back to the drawing board more than once. The building is set up to meet the department’s needs, the councillor said.

The building will have extra space to accommodate existing and future vehicles, and there is even more space for the firefighters, themselves. The resolution was passed in the presence of nearly every member of the Kindersley Fire & Rescue Brigade.

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Later in the meeting, council addressed a request for an extension to the deadline for aquatics centre construction. Henry said Pro-Bilt Structures Ltd., the design-builder, has made a request to extend the deadline by a month due to delays. The builder asked for an extension to Oct. 31.

Morton said the request comes as a result of delays caused by weather. He noted that it took longer than anticipated for the frost to come out of the ground, so it delayed the project. The request is being made to avoid any penalties, he said.

The CAO told council the builder is making the request early in the process because there would be penalties if the request is not made in time. He added that he has been following the progress and he would recommend granting an extension. The resolution was passed by council.

Other council highlights:

• The Kindersley Slo-pitch Association wants to add irrigation to the regional park ball diamonds and council has accepted a letter of consent from the park’s board.

Councillor Randy Ervine, who represents the town on the board for the Kindersley Regional Park Authority, said the park’s board did not have a problem with the slo-pitch association’s request to tie in to a raw water line for an irrigation system.

He noted that tying in to the raw water line is a better option than drawing water from the Motherwell Reservoir and it just makes sense for the project. Deputy Mayor Shaun Henry said the letter of support is from the park’s board, but the slo-pitch association is spearheading the irrigation project.

• Council members have given their approval to two subdivisions. One of the subdivisions is in town and the other subdivision is in the RM of Kindersley.

The subdivision in town is for a parcel of land along Railway Avenue West near an existing rail yard. Deputy Mayor Shaun Henry said provincial officials have asked if the town has any concerns regarding the subdivision, and the town has no concerns.

The second subdivision is in the RM of Kindersley north of town. The subdivision is for a greenhouse business and town officials have been asked about concerns due to its proximity to the community. A resolution was passed to notify people involved that any request to tie in to the town’s water supply might be denied, but town officials had no further concerns with the proposed subdivision.

• The town’s elected officials have passed a resolution to enter into a lease agreement for the concession booth at the West Central Events Centre.

Council heard that the previous one-year lease agreement had ended, so a new agreement would be entered with the same operator from the previous year. Councillor Randy Ervine said the consensus is people were happy with the concession booth, so there are no concerns with the operator.

• A contract with the town’s waste and recycle provider has expired and council has passed a resolution to enter into a new contract with the company.

The town has directed the town’s chief administrative officer to execute a new agreement with Loraas Environmental Services Ltd. to continue with its waste and recycle cart collection program in Kindersley. The use of the town’s baler at the waste and recycle centre is included in the agreement.

• The town’s elected officials have discussed the Wall of Champions project at the West Central Events Centre (WCEC). The plan is to start as soon as possible.

Councillor Gary Becker said project officials want to get going right away and the Wall of Champions will first include professional athletes of note from Kindersley. He said athletes would include hockey players and professional bull rider Dakota Buttar.

• Council members have approved a resolution to direct town officials to enter into an agreement with Tarrickfic Aerial Ltd. for a lot at the regional airport. Deputy Mayor Shaun Henry said it is desirable to add commercial tenants at the airport.

• A resolution has been passed to enter an agreement with the Kindersley & District Plains Museum (KDPM) for the operation of the tourist information booth. Council heard that the KDPM board has fully supported the idea.

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