The City of Yorkton is growing yet again. The city's boundaries are expanding to the east, with the annexation of two quarter sections of land from the RM of Wallace.
The impetus for the annexation was the sale of the land to a private developer, who wished for the land to be made part of the City of Yorkton. Garry Liebrecht, Reeve of the RM of Wallace says that the developer approached the RM asking to turn the land over to the city.
"We told them right away there wouldn't be a problem, we have a good relationship with the city," Liebrecht says.
The annexation comes soon after the annexation of land from the RM of Orkney, which was settled through the Saskatchewan Municipal Board. Liebrecht says his RM waited to see what the final decision was with Orkney so they knew what the standard rate was to make the transfer as easy as possible.
Mayor James Wilson says this decision saved rate payers the expense of negotiating the rate for the land. It will cost the city $31,000 to bring the land within its boundaries, which is 12 times compensation of what exists today.
The plan for the land is not concrete, but will likely involve a mix of different development in the area, with a focus on residential. Wilson says the development will proceed in phases as demand dictates.
The city will be working with the developer to make it as easy as possible for the developer to bring their plan to fruition, and Wilson says that the developer has commented on the relative ease of working with the city.
This has been the second time in three years that the city and the RM have come to a land deal, and Wilson says that the relationship between Yorkton and the municipality has been strong over that time. Liebrecht adds that the RM wants to work with the city to get the most use out of the land and benefit citizens of both areas.
"This is our city, we have to get along," Liebrecht concludes.
