Matt Preston is the owner of Preston Trail Consulting. (Facebook/Town of La Ronge)

By Derek Cornet

maintenance

La Ronge council signs $88,000 agreement with Preston Trail Consulting

Dec 14, 2022 | 2:24 PM

The Town of La Ronge and Preston Trail Consulting have inked a four-year, $88,000 trail grooming and maintenance contract.

The contract was approved at a regular council meeting held Tuesday. It calls for $22,000 to be paid to Preston Trail Consulting per year for the next four years starting in 2023 to provide trail maintenance and upgrades that support the integrity and accessibility of trails year-round.

There will also be regular reporting of trail works to town council.

“The benefit for both parties is there’s some knowledge that this is the plan going forward and they can make plans that are longer than 12 months in length,” chief administrative officer Lyle Hannan said.

“From their perspective, I’m sure it allowed them to plan and, from our perspective, it gives us some budget certainty for planning long term and not constantly having to redo an agreement year after year. It saves administration time … that we can spend on other things.”

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Preston Trail Consulting has done a lot of work on the town’s trail system in recent years, including the completion of a $240,000 upgrade in 2021. With the ongoing funding, Preston Trail Consulting owner Matt Preston explained the municipality will be able to maintain their previous investments

He said moving forward he will be in contact with the Town of La Ronge and the Boreal Outdoor Recreation Association in regards to what upcoming priorities should be.

“Some of the things the taxpayers will be getting out of that is they are going to be getting consistent grooming of the trails,” Preston said. “We do our best to maintain and groom the trails right now, but being that it is a volunteer effort, sometimes it can be challenging to know for sure with consistency when the trails are going to be groomed or how often they are going to be groomed.”

He noted residents will also have issues like fallen trees and washouts addressed in a more timely manner. Trail system users will be able to report an issue on the trail should one arise.

“There is someone accountable for making sure those upgrades are performed or those maintenance tasks are completed,” Preston said.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @saskjourno