MOOSE JAW — With roughly 47 downtown parking meter posts either missing or requiring repair, city crews have been working over the summer to correct that problem and ensure infrastructure is updated.
Bevan Harlton, director of operations, said during city council’s recent regular meeting that his department has received all the necessary parts for the meter heads while all the poles have been cut and threaded to accept the heads. Furthermore, city hall has ordered its contractor to install those parking infrastructure items downtown, with the contractor confirming that request.
“We were wondering if that could be August work, but it will happen in September,” Harlton added. “There will be about 35 new installations and we will make sure they are done correctly.”
School signs
Coun. Jamey Logan inquired about the new school zone signs that crews have been erecting and wondered whether staff planned to drive by some locations where trees are blocking sightlines and trim the branches.
Engineering services has been cutting away overgrowth during the past six weeks, while there are still 35 locations with trees in the way, said Harlton. The department plans to address those issues during the first or second week of September.
After the meeting, city hall told MooseJawToday.com that the municipality purchased 600 signs and 250 additional posts as part of the Safe Routes to School project. Fox Canada provided the signs for $62,122.32 while ATS Traffic Ltd. installed them for $125,631.92, for a total of $187,754.24.
“Please note that both contracts included additional supply and additional construction that addresses other operational needs and tasks,” the city added. “However, the combined total value remains below our cost estimate of $200,000.”
Sculptures
Commissioned by the Downtown Moose Jaw Association, community artist William (Bill) Keen created a seven-foot-tall sunflower sculpture honouring Ukraine that city crews installed in Crescent Park in June at the Langdon Crescent entrance.
The sculpture was made possible by a generation donation that St. Vladimir Ukrainian Orthodox Church — which operated for nearly seven decades in Moose Jaw — gave to the downtown association.
“Its members, citizens of this beautiful city of Moose Jaw, dedicated their time to the community,” the sculpture’s plaque says. “This sunflower demonstrates that people, just like sunflowers, can grow strong and tall even in adverse conditions. May their memory be eternal.”
City hall told MooseJawToday.com that the downtown association is co-ordinating the artwork’s official unveiling and will soon announce a date for that event. Meanwhile, an official unveiling could also soon be announced for a bison sculpture that Keen created and that was installed last year near the Tourism Moose Jaw visitor centre.
A plaque honouring the animal artwork has just been completed, while the tourism organization has finished a contest asking for residents to name the bison sculpture.
Council appointments
Also, during the council meeting, Coun. Doug Blanc was appointed deputy mayor, Logan was appointed chairman of the executive committee and Coun. Crystal Froese was appointed chairwoman of the personnel committee for terms starting Sept. 1 to Oct. 31, or until a successor is appointed.
The city added that it held soft launches on social media announcing both artworks.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Sept. 9.
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