Battleford Mayor Ames Leslie, left, with CAO John Enns-Wind at council’s meeting Monday. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

In the chambers

Town prepares to move ahead with 23 St. W. rehabilitation

Jan 7, 2020 | 8:22 AM

Battleford will finally see improvements to one of its roads badly in need of upgrades.

The town plans to resurface the road and its base for 23 St. W., between Second and Third Avenues.

The job can’t begin until the end of the school year because the road is used as one of the bus lanes for the nearby elementary school.

“Just for the scope of the work, it would have to be started once school is out. Councillor [Doug] Laing had mentioned it is going to be a tight window because they have to rip up the road completely,” Mayor Ames Leslie said following council’s meeting Monday.

This portion of road was identified as one of the worst in the town and is a safety concern due to the poor condition of the asphalt and base.

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Council gave the nod for administration to prepare a report under the Local Improvements Act for the proposed project. After the report is completed it will be sent to the Saskatchewan Municipal Board for approval. Then, the town can move ahead with the project, and also hear from property owners affected if any have any concerns.

The cost of the project will be shared between the town and property owners that will benefit.

“All projects in the Town of Battleford are local improvements,” Leslie said. “So instead of everybody in the community paying a portion of every street to be done, council has looked at local improvement where the people on that street pay the portion of that.”

The capital for the project is allocated in the town’s 2020 budget.

The road is situated near Battleford Central School, the Court House and Home Hardware.

The full cost of the work to replace the street, gutters and curbs is about $404,000.

The town would be responsible for 60 per cent of that cost or $242,000.

The remaining 40 per cent, about $161,600 in total, it was proposed would be covered by the three property owners that would benefit from the work – Living Sky School Division, the Crown, and Home Hardware.

CAO John Enns-Wind said in his report while the Crown’s share is voluntary, they will be asked to contribute to the reconstruction of the road.

He stated Battleford Central School’s share will be increased by incurring half the cost of Home Hardware’s and the District Court’s share.

“This adjustment has been made because the street is primarily used by the school’s teachers, buses, students, parents and staff,” the CAO said in his report.

The tree-lined boulevard will not be impacted by the project.

Enns-Wind said the 23 St. W. work is first on the town’s list of roads that are a high priority for repair.

The town lists the top roads in need of repairs and their ranking over a 10-year priority period in its 2020 budget that is posted on its website.

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW