The Weyburn Kin Club made one of the biggest-ever one-time donations to the City of Weyburn's Parks Department and will get naming rights for the new play structure by the new gazebo on the city's boardwalk.
The Weyburn Kin Club made one of the biggest-ever one-time donations to the City of Weyburn's Parks Department and will get naming rights for the new play structure by the new gazebo on the city's boardwalk.
Council was told at their meeting on Monday evening the Kin Club approached the Parks Department, and offered to pay $18,000, the full actual cost of the play equipment, which is in the shape of a train engine with cars, located at the gazebo, near the Soo Line Historical Museum.
The play structure and gazebo were dedicated and officially opened on International Trails Day held on June 1.
As part of the agreement, the Kin Club will pay three instalments of $6,000 each for the naming rights, and in return there will be signage put up, naming the structure, "Kin Club Playground", with the Kin Club logo, and this site will be known by that title for at least a 10-year period.
"This will be the biggest donation we've had from any one group in all the years I've been on the Parks board," said Coun. Nancy Styles, who chairs the board.
Asked if the 10-year period is common for this type of donation, Coun. Styles said, "This is the usual time limit, and it's often based on the lifetime of the apparatus. This is a very good quality apparatus."
She added that the club will have first right of refusal in 10 years' time to renew their name on the playground.
"This is exciting to see. It's a great partnership for the city," said Mayor Debra Button, adding the city has had some "great feedback" from families who have enjoyed play time on the new structure.
"We're absolutely thrilled that the Kinsmen have stepped up to do this," she added.
Council approved an application from Les Kichula of Sign of the Times for a new electronic sign, to be put up at Pumpjack's Saloon and Steak House on First Avenue and 18th Street.
The electronic LED sign will be 7.3 metres, or 24 feet, in height, and will have a sensor to lower the light level after sunset.
The sign will be in a V-shape facing east and west, tilted slightly northward to direct light away from neighbouring residential properties to the south, and will be on the northeast corner of the property, near the northeast entrance to the building. It will be located at least 23 metres from street intersections.
The electronic billboard will be controlled by a computer, similar to the city's billboard at the entrance to the exhibition grounds on Government Road.
The sign will have a surface area of 13.4 square metres, with a maximum of 19 sq. metres permitted by the city.
The city sent notices to all adjacent land owners within 75 metres on both sides of the highway, including home owners on Brown Crescent, and no objections to the proposal was received by the city.
The sign was approved by the city with the condition that operating hours will be limited to between 7 a.m. and midnight, in order to prevent the sign from becoming a nuisance to neighbouring residents, and the brightness level of the sign will be dimmed after sunset.
Mayor Button asked why the city isn't being consistent, as the city sign on Government Road is shut off after 11 p.m.
Martino Verhaeghe, director of planning and development, said that is the city's choice to shut the sign off at that time, and is not a condition of its permit.
The provincial government has introduced new regulations for subdivisions in the province, which will affect the city's bylaw, said Verhaeghe.
As the City of Weyburn is one of 790 municipalities in the province without a subdivision bylaw, therefore they are regulated by the province, he explained, and the examination fee for subdivision applications will go up by 50 per cent per lot as of July 1 of this year, and by 50 per cent again a year from now.
The increase this year amounts to $50 a lot, and for a large subdivision like The Creeks, the increase will amount to a couple thousand dollars, said Verhaeghe.
The city's Airport Board is making plans for improvements and growth in the coming months.
The board has drafted a letter to the Weyburn Oil Show board, asking for their consideration to allocate funds from the Oil show revenue to the airport.
A list of priority items were outlined in the letter, including helping the airport set up a new jet fuel system, and improvements like fencing, lighting, and general repairs and maintenance.
As part of the planned improvements to the airport, three hangars were issued maintenance orders; hangars No. 14 and 20 are to be demolished, and a third is to be repaired.
New highway signage has now been put up for the airport, and soon a contractor will begin installing new fencing at the south end, with a new gate.
