Skip to content

Palace sidewalk budget increased by $40,000 due to retaining wall complication

MELFORT — Due to an unexpected complication with a retaining wall, the budget to replace the sidewalk on the north side of the Northern Lights Palace went up by around $40,000 Melfort council voted in favour of the increase at its meeting on July 9.
Melfort City Hall

MELFORT — Due to an unexpected complication with a retaining wall, the budget to replace the sidewalk on the north side of the Northern Lights Palace went up by around $40,000

Melfort council voted in favour of the increase at its meeting on July 9. The overall sidewalk rehabilitation project for the city was budgeted for approximately $605,000.

“There was always an intent to replace the sidewalk,” said Rick Lang, Melfort’s mayor. “When they went to do that, they found out that it was pinned into the retaining wall, which meant they had to rip out the retaining wall as well.

“That was not originally costed into the equation.”

The mayor said that this time the wall will be installed differently, so the sidewalk can be replaced without removing it.

“Lesson learned, eh? Lesson learned. When you do it the first time and you realize that, ‘Hey, that wasn’t the best way to do it’ and we can achieve the same thing without tying it in quite the same way, so that when it comes time to replace the sidewalk again we won’t have to do it that way.”

Lang said the sidewalk is a high traffic area all year long due to the hockey and swimming use for the facility.

The funds will be taken from the city maintenance fund.