The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
And Mayor of Humboldt, Rob Muench, is going to continue “squeaking” for the Hwy 5 passing lanes.
A letter to Muench was presented at the March 26 council meeting from the Minister of Highways, David Marit, thanking him for his continued concern with Hwy 5.
Muench spoke with Marit at the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association meeting in February regarding when work will start on the junction to Saskatoon stretch of Hwy 5 and when construction of passing lanes will start.
Muench says he was told that the project is “in the hopper,” meaning no date is set for construction to begin.
“The Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure (MHI) is working toward additional corridor improvements between Saskatoon and Highway 2, which could include additional passing lanes, widening, repaving, intersection improvements, and fixing the vertical alignment in several locations,” said Merit in his letter to council. “MHI is in the process of completing a detailed functional planning study for the Highway 5 corridor.”
Hwy 5 is an ongoing concern, says Muench, with few people not knowing someone who has had a problem or been killed on that highway.
Residents have been living with it for a long time, he says, and while they are happy with the progress, there is still more that needs to be done.
“We’re just going to have to keep asking and keep the pressure on...we’re doing what we can. It’s not our decision as city council but all we can do is work with the surrounding communities.”
The concern reaches past Humboldt and the surrounding area with Vonda, Aberdeen, and surrounding RMs also concerned.
During the March 26 meeting, council also passed two proclamations with Humboldt Dances week coming soon.
The 21st annual OnStage Dance Competition will be back in Humboldt from April 19-22 with council proclaiming Humboldt Dances week as April 16-22.
The competition will bring 800 dancers from 19 dance companies from across the province.
Peggy McDougall has written to council requestion April 6 to be Tartan Day in Humboldt.
Tartan Day was started in 1986 by the Federation of Scottish Clans of Nova Scotia and is a way to make Scottish culture visible by wearing Scottish attire, said McDougall in her letter to council.
“Tartan Day concept started in Nova Scotia and has spread across Canada. On October 21, 2010 it was officially declared by the Minister of Canadian Heritage. The date of April 6 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the signing of Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, the Scottish declaration of Independence.”
City council also heard the 2017 successes and challenges of the Department of Cultural Services during their annual report presentation at the council meeting.
Board of Directors Chairperson, Susan Bellamy, and board member Carol McLaren, presented a recap on 2017 for the Museum and Gallery, Original Humboldt, Humboldt Public Art displays, and the Humboldt Water Tower.
For 2017, 9,466 visitors took in the Humboldt and District Museum and Gallery and off-site programming.
Of that number, over 6,000 visitors were from Humboldt, “889 from the region, 381 from the province, 161 from out of province, 70 from out of the country,” said the report.
In addition, this was the first year that the Humboldt Water Tower held regular visiting hours with 650 visitors taking in the tour provided by staff.
Some highlights from the year included the Stories of the Land event at Original Humboldt, Culture Days Sept. 29-30, and the numerous exhibits held in both the Museum and Gallery throughout the year.
Another 757 artifacts joined the Humboldt museum collection for a current total of 20,989 items.
The Department of Cultural Services also held 226 heritage programs and 83 arts programs during the previous year.
