Carol Baldwin
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Wakaw Recorder
Wakaw’s Recreation and Community Development Manager, Dwane Burke, opened the ceremony celebrating the completion of the First Street South revitalization project on Saturday, August 16.
Although the weather was anything but warm and balmy, the clouds and cold wind did not stop over 100 people from coming out to participate in the celebratory ribbon-cutting and the season’s final “Walk-aw” Day. Situated at the intersection between the 100 and 200 blocks, the brief ceremony got underway at 11:00. Guests were invited to enjoy a celebration cupcake before they visited businesses for in-store specials, checked out the vendors at the Farmers Market or supported the Travel Club through buying a burger and drink for lunch.
Present for the event were representatives from neighbouring municipal governments, Catterall and Wright Consulting Engineers, several members of the present and former Wakaw Town Council, Wakaw Mayor Mike Markowski, Wakaw CAO Melissa Dieno, and Batoche Constituency MLA Darlene Rowden.
Burke acknowledged the many other contractors, businesses and organizations involved in the project, including ASL Contracting, Valley Trenching, DC Trenching, Saunders Concrete Services, Allbright Electric, as well as Conexus Credit Union and the legal representation firm of Robertson Stromberg.
“This project began as a vision of Council, and I am incredibly proud to have played a part in bringing that vision to life,” said CAO Dieno in er address. “Your leadership and commitment made this possible. The results speak for themselves… The improved accessibility, enhanced safety features and stunning aesthetics will serve our community well for many years to come.”
Dieno expressed her thanks to everyone involved, especially the project team, starting with Carolyn Wright, the lead engineer, and Alysha Kraft, the engineer-in-training with Catterall & Wright. She also extended thanks to Drew Mitchell, the general foreman with ASL, for his “steady guidance on the ground.”
It is often only the key players who are recognized in major projects, but Dieno made sure to recognize, by name, the public works team for the Town of Wakaw, Tom Oleksyn, Jason Sosnowski, Neil Fidler, and Lynx Fast, and thank them for their quick responses to challenges as they came up. Dieno also recognized the Town of Wakaw office staff, Ann Olson, Jessica Rejc, and Jaide Patrick, for fielding calls, addressing concerns, and supporting the town’s residents through this journey.
“This is no doubt one of Wakaw’s biggest projects to date, at least in recent times,” added Mayor Mike Markowski in his address.
Markowski went on to explain that the early concept was born approximately six years ago when the town established a replacement program for the aging infrastructure and roads. He noted that after Dwane Burke joined the town’s team, several strategic planning sessions were held. From those planning sessions came the realization that 1st Street South needed to be a priority, mainly due to its failing infrastructure and inaccessibility.
As the main business core, to support the existing businesses and attract new ones, improvements needed to be made. From broken sidewalks and patched, uneven pavement to widened, smooth sidewalks and even continuous pavement, both foot and vehicular traffic can now safely traverse from one business to the next along 1st Street. The improvements will hopefully be enjoyed not only by residents but also by visitors coming to town to enjoy time at the lake or one of the themed excursions on the Wheatland Express Excursion train, whose new facility graces the east end of the street.
Markowski thanked Dieno and Burke for all they did to support and bring the project to fruition. Dieno also thanked the business community and its staff, who were on the front lines, faced the frustrations and the day-to-day challenges, and whose resilience, she said, “helped carry us through.” New businesses and old appreciate the improved accessibility the project has brought to their doors.
