The City of Meadow Lake will continue to receive highway services from the province. (File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By meadowlakeNOW Staff

Contract signed

Meadow Lake renews agreement with Ministry of Highways

May 27, 2022 | 4:27 PM

The City of Meadow Lake has agreed to an updated agreement on Urban Fixed Cost Work with the Ministry of Highways.

A new framework was brought up in February under the Urban Highways Connector Program (UHCP), for which the custom work agreement is now required. This continues collaboration between the city and the province on a variety of services, including snow removal on Highway 4 and line painting on Highways 4 and 55.

Mayor Merlin Seymour told meadowlakeNOW that this was an easy decision for council to make. The city has had this agreement with the Ministry of Highways since the inception of UCHP in 2009, which accounts for upkeep, maintenance and renewal of provincial highways within city limits to urban municipalities.

“If we brought in a private contractor, the costs would be much greater than what the overall costs of what the province proposed,” Seymour said.

The cost in the proposed agreement, $15,817, is very close to the same as the previous agreement and will also reportedly help avoid large changes to the current budget. Nearly $11,000 is designated for snow removal.

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School proposal

Council also met with Northwest School Division (NSD) to discuss a joint-use facility to support vulnerable students and better deliver community services. The building would be utilized by eight to 120 young people, with an educational space for a Transition Place Education Centre (TPEC).

The facility is being proposed as a result of data collected through the Early Childhood Instrument (EDI) and Community Risk Factors. Among the five domains examined through EDI, Meadow Lake had 46 per cent of children screened in 2010 showing they were low in one category, which indicates they are “not ready for school”. That’s 16 per cent above the provincial average. They also found families in Meadow Lake are three times more likely to access social assistance programs than the rest of Saskatchewan.

The facility would have a Wellness Centre open to the public and feature six-seven classrooms, a student lounge, a culture room, a gymnasium and more in the education centre. Additionally, there would be a Skill Enhancement section that will focus on Carpentry Shop, Commercial Kitchen and more.

Seymour said city council asked administration to gather more information.

“Tough to make a decision now without more information,” he said. “They have lots of good ideas, but we need to make sure it makes sense for the community as a whole.”

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cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @meadowlakeNOW