City of M.L. creates survey for grandstands

Jan 12, 2018 | 6:00 PM

In an effort to consult and engage the community on the future grandstands at the local stampede grounds, the City of Meadow Lake has launched a survey which opened this week and will stay active until mid-March.

In November 2017, city council voted to temporarily close the grandstands, as the cost to repair them to code grew exponentially since 2015. Over the last several years, the structure required an engineering assessment every two years to ensure it was safe for public use. At the time, city council and administration also acknowledged the importance of the structure’s historical significance.

City Clerk Jessica Walters said the short survey is the first step in consulting the public on the matter.

“There was a lot of community discussion generated out of that, which we appreciate and kept an eye on and were listening to what the feedback was,” she said. “We thought we really need to hear from the community as a whole before we make any drastic decisions one way or the other, so the survey’s the first piece of that.”

The survey is available online, as well as in paper copy at city hall. Residents of the region and those who have attended events at the facility can answer the short survey until March 15, when the city will collect the information.

“We’ll gather some aggregate information out of that to get a feel where the majority of the community sits on this,” Walters said. “There’s a couple open-ended questions on there too, where we really do just want to hear what peoples’ opinions are.”

After compiling everything, a town hall style meeting will be held in April to discuss the various options.

“It will be good to also have that communication in person,” Walters said. “They can say their piece, or ask questions or present their ideas.”

 

kathy.gallant@jpbg.ca  

On Twitter @ReporterKath