Students vote for merry-go-round during town hall tour

By Ian MacKay

A group of temporary councillors made an unexpected budget request during a recent visit to Rosetown Town Hall.

Substitute councillors voted in favour of “a new merry-go-round” for Walter Aseltine School during a tour of the town office, chief administrative assistant Amanda Bors told council at its June 15 meeting.

“I don’t think the school is too happy,” Bors said. “It’s not in the budget.”

The decision came from a class of kindergarten students who visited council chambers as part of the tour. Bors said she expected similar suggestions from two additional classes that visited later in the week.

Recreation director Kelli Emmons said the students were particularly fascinated by the town’s security camera system.

“They were most excited about the security cameras,” Emmons said.

“They were trying to catch themselves on the camera and then run to the screen to see themselves,” Bors added.

The other two classes arrived June 17 and offered their own ideas for improving Rosetown. According to the town’s Facebook page, suggestions included turning the water purple, transforming streets into waterslides and painting the water tower gold.

Meanwhile, Bors reported that 28 per cent of property owners had paid their taxes as of May 31. She said the town expected many more payments before the end of June, when the current discount period expires.

A penalty of one per cent per month is applied to outstanding tax balances after the end of September.

Council also approved changes aimed at improving traffic safety on Sixth Street East. The intersection of Pleasant Valley Road and Mountain View Crescent will become a four-way stop with a crosswalk.

Residents whose children cross Sixth Street while walking to Walter Aseltine School had requested a pedestrian-activated flashing light. However, staff and council expressed concerns about the cost and the possibility of similar requests elsewhere in town.

Councillors also approved installing a larger stop sign at the intersection of Ninth Avenue West and Highway 4. The decision followed a report from a resident who experienced a near-collision while cycling after a driver allegedly failed to stop.

In other business, council approved moving forward with an amendment to the zoning bylaw that would once again allow 30-foot frontages in the Prairie View mobile home park.

Lots of that size were permitted before a new zoning bylaw, prepared by a Saskatoon consulting firm, came into effect in 2014 and established a minimum frontage requirement of 49 feet.

Chief administrator Damon Werrell said 49-foot lots are larger than necessary for mobile homes in areas zoned R2 elsewhere in Rosetown. Council will consider the completed bylaw amendment at a future meeting.