Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion

The Kindersley Slo-pitch Association has plans for the future, and a spokesperson for the group has asked council about diamond improvements and other issues.

Kurt Wagner, president of Kindersley Slo-pitch, appeared at a council meeting on Aug. 14 and told officials he has spoken to Kim Vogel, the director of transportation and environment for the town, about setting up an irrigation system for the diamonds at the Kindersley Regional Park.

He said he would like to draw water from the Motherwell Reservoir for the irrigation system. There are west and east diamonds at the regional park, and Wagner said he also wants to install fixed lighting at the west diamond.

Wagner also inquired about the use of the two ball diamonds behind the apartments on the north side of West Road. He noted that for the upcoming K-town Shakedown tournament, organizers would like to have as many diamonds as possible.

Bernie Morton, the town’s chief administrative officer (CAO), said there is a registered interest on the land where the West Road diamonds are located because the land was going to be used to build affordable housing units. He said the town is going to make a second attempt to clear the registered interest, but the town must be cautious with the land.

Council members told Wagner they didn’t see a problem with using the diamonds for the tournament, but the diamonds were in rough shape. Wagner asked if the town had any land available to build new ball diamonds.

[emember_protected for=”2″ custom_msg=’For more on this story, please see the Aug. 30 print edition of The Clarion.’]

He inquired about the old mud fling pit south of the golf course and close to Holland’s backwash pond. Morton said the town owns the regional park land but the park authority controls the land. The CAO said the regional park has more land available than the town, so he suggested working with the park’s board as the best option.

Morton said the town just had a request from Kindersley Minor Soccer for land to build a new soccer pitch, so groups worked together to build a pitch at Westberry Elementary School. He said the town is happy to partner with Kindersley Slo-pitch through its involvement with the regional park.

Wagner said he has plans to work with Kindersley Minor Ball to get more diamonds in town. He noted that minor ball teams were using the West Road diamonds this season, so he knows there’s a need for more diamonds.

The delegate told council that the slo-pitch group is willing to spend as much of its funds as possible to get more diamonds and the plan could include building new diamonds.

The town would like to work with the regional park authority to develop a plan to maximize the use of the lands available, the CAO said.

Morton said he and Tim Hanna, director of community services, would be willing to work with the park’s board with support from council and the park authority. Deputy Mayor Ken Francis, the town’s representative on the park’s board, told Wagner the park has a tight budget.

Wagner was told the town’s permit to draw water from the Motherwell Reservoir has expired, so work would have to be done for it to be a possibility. Officials discussed tying into a water main near the park.

Wagner said he believes the easiest solution would be to tie into the town’s water system. Vogel said there’s a water main in the bend in Thomson Drive and it would not require any asphalt to be ripped up to make a connection. She noted that it would be an “easy connection.”

Council and Wagner continued to discuss possibilities and infrastructure related to getting water to the regional park diamonds. Wagner said he knows of a set of lights he could erect for the west diamond, but he would like to have lights there for the annual Kindersley Slo-pitch tournament and for the K-town Shakedown.

Town officials didn’t express any concerns with the idea to install fixed lights at the diamond. Wagner assured council it would not cost the taxpayers any money. Town officials will continue to discuss the idea with Wagner.

Francis told Wagner and council that the park’s board wanted the town’s blessing to work with the slo-pitch group. Council gave support to the association to use the West Road diamonds for tournaments, but the request for water is complicated and more discussion is needed.

Other meeting highlights

  • The town’s elected officials have approved the agreement to sell a parcel of land to the Western Regional Landfill Inc. The land is 10 km west of Kindersley.

The land will be home to the area’s new regional landfill. Mayor Rod Perkins said a safeguard has been built into the agreement and it will allow the town to take back the land if the agreement fails. The regional landfill membership includes 18 urban and rural municipalities.

  • Council has given three readings to adopt Bylaw 09-17, to repeal certain bylaws.

Monica Shields, secretary to the council, said she reviewed all of the town’s bylaws and found one from 2008 pertaining to Carver governance. The governance bylaw, along with two other bylaws, were repealed after Bylaw 09-17 was passed.

[/emember_protected]

© Kindersley Clarion