Those who frequent York Lake Road can breathe a sigh of relief for their vehicles' suspension. Help is on the way.
In February, after debate of whose responsibility it is to foot the bill for fixing the road, a newly elected board for York Lake Regional Park took action.
"We felt it was very imperative that we look after our roads and get part of that done," said Lawrence Wegner, chairperson of the York Lake Regional Park Authority.
Construction will be done by Potzus Construction and cost approximately a million dollars. Repaving should begin around the middle of August and take two to three weeks.
Negotiations between homeowners along the road, board members of the park and the R.M. of Orkney resulted in an agreement for each to foot a third of the bill of repaving.
The cost of maintaining the park, which does not collect fees from visitors, comes from tax paying people living in the park. Cabin owners already "pay a little more taxes" than city dwellers, said Wegner.
For the park residents, the price tag required a fundraising initiative. Residents came up with the idea of auctioning off three beach front lots. The proceeds will go toward their portion of the road construction.
"We feel it's somewhat unique doing an auction because this land has never been for sale, it's never been on the market before," said Wegner of the three lots.
They decided to skip listing the lots through a realtor. Doing an auction seemed more fair because "everyone has an equal chance at buying a lot," he said.
Residents expect a high demand based on sale prices for lots in recent years and how quickly they sell. Lots rarely go for sale, and this is the first time in a while that new lots have been made available.
Selling the lots requires a bit of extra work. The Yorkton Canoe and Kayak Club is currently sitting on one of the lots to be auctioned. It will be moved by the time of the sale, which will be August 26 at 3 p.m.
Because the land is in a regional park, it is technically leased, not sold, explained Wegner. There is only one difference between people who own land in the park versus outside the park. Lease holders must renew their lease every 30 years, at no extra cost.
Yorkton Auction Centre will be putting on the auction.
