La Ronge council has two contracts in the place with the same consulting company. (Colin Ratushniak/Facebook)

By Derek Cornet

master plan

La Ronge council moving ahead with 20-year plan for parks and trails

Feb 24, 2021 | 3:48 PM

A motion was carried at a regular council meeting Tuesday to award a contract to develop a La Ronge Parks Open Spaces and Trails 20-Year Master Plan.

The contract valued at approximately $49,000 went to RC Strategies, the same consulting company hired to complete a feasibility study to replace the Mel Hegland Uniplex. The feasibility study has a contract valued at approximately $39,500.

“It’s not a thing that’s going to be just for the La Ronge area is my hope,” Mayor Colin Ratutushniak said about the parks plan. “We sort of need to look at a regional plan between the three communities as well. The parks master plan is a 20-year plan, so it’s looking at how everything can integrate for the better use of different spaces.”

While the feasibility study will be ready by the end of May, Ratushniak noted the parks plan won’t be ready until at least November. He explained the plan will include community involvement and engagement to ensure it incorporates the desires of the public in the studied spaces.

Ratushniak is also hopeful the plan will built upon the work done by the previous council. A survey called The Perfect Patterson Park was released in August 2018 and council responded to the findings by approving $230,000 of work to be done in the 2019 capital budget. Only the park lights were installed before council decided to pause further work in February 2020, but other aspects approved were a stage and theatre, boardwalk, landscaping, a camp kitchen and artwork for garbage cans.

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“I hope we can revisit some of that stuff and I think it would be good to use a lot of that,” Ratushniak said.

RC Strategies most recently completed the Battlefords Joint Parks and Recreation Master Plan between North Battleford and the Town of Battleford. Ratushniak believes council made the right decision by choosing the company for both projects.

“I actually had a conversation with our soon to be coming in CAO and he mentioned this company, even from outside his perspective, is one of the best in the country, which gave me even more satisfaction knowing we went ahead with them,” he said.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno