The jewel of the City of Weyburn is its extensive park system, the Tatagwa Parkway, which has been planned for and carefully developed over the years to become a prairie oasis for the benefit of the residents of Weyburn and surrounding area.
Thus it came as a bit of a shock to be informed on budget day that the provincial government cut off funding for five urban parks in Saskatchewan, including Weyburn’s Tatagwa Parkway system.
For Weyburn, this was a grant of $46,000 which the City matched and dedicated towards the maintenance and improvement of the park system. To that end, paving of the northeast leg of the park was completed and was set in this year’s city budget at a cost of $70,000.
Unfortunately for the city, the budget cut of the province’s share of money for the park system was cut long after the city’s budget had been set. And to compound this situation, the provincial government said this isn’t a cut for just this year in a tight budget, but will be a permanent move, shifting full responsibility for urban parks to the municipality to look after.
MLA Dustin Duncan noted the City of Weyburn received an increase in revenue-sharing which was more than the grant cut. The problem with that fact is that the City, like most every municipality in the province, needs every cent of that revenue-sharing grant to assist with infrastructure deficits.
As Coun. Nancy Styles pointed out, if a municipality has potholes and watermains that need replacing, where will that money go? To the parks?
The urban parks in Weyburn, as is true in any larger municipality, adds to the beauty of the community and contributes to the quality of life by giving people a place to exercise by walking, running or cycling, or playing sports and simply being able to enjoy the outdoors.
The health and wellness benefits that parks provide are really not a luxury, but are part and parcel of what makes a community attractive and a good place to live, to work and to raise families. For the province to make a cut like this, and to make it permanent, is a short-sighted approach to setting up their budget for the citizens of the province.
It would make more sense if this was a temporary measure for a year or two while the economy is under stress, but it’s wrong to make this a permanent measure when parks provide such a positive benefit to municipalities like Weyburn, and to her residents and visitors. — Greg Nikkel
