Dear Editor:
On June 22nd I spoke at the City of Yorkton Regular Council Meeting regarding the need for a 3rd ice surface in this city. I continue to see the need and importance for this additional facility as supported by the details I researched and presented at that time. And, based on continued conversations with families over the summer months, so do many others agree with my point of view.
Facilities are beneficial for the community: they keep our citizens active, provide extra-curricular activities for our youth, and bring many visitors to Yorkton to use them - generating economic benefits to our businesses.
Better amenities make our community more desirable to be in, and can attract new people to move to here to increase the population and broaden our tax base.
The purpose of my presentation to the city was “to specifically ask the City to replace the Kinsmen arena with a twinned ice facility by the fall of 2019”. The City did respond to my presentation with a letter.
The letter states “The City has identified the replacement of the Kinsmen Arena for Future Capital Project. At the same meeting a ‘City of Yorkton 15 Year Capital Financial Projection Report’ was presented to council and included replacement of the Kinsmen Area in the Year 2020 at an estimated cost of $9,000,000. All options for an additional ice facility/surface are being considered, however it is not set in stone that this would occur in 2020 or that $9,000,000 will be the cost, that will be depended on numerous factors that would affect the year of the replacement/addition (could be sooner or later)
and the cost (could be higher or lower).”
I appreciated receiving a response from the City. I felt that since the Yorkton This Week published details from my presentation in its June 24th edition, it was important that I share this letter with the readers as well. It continues to be my hope that some way, together with the City, we can find a way to make a third ice surface a higher priority capital project for our community and an affordable reality sooner than 2020.
Carla Lammers
Yorkton, SK
