A public meeting at the Legion in Bienfait was held Oct. 12 to allow residents the opportunity to see the latest proposals for a new housing development and receive some comments on the two proposals presented by developers.
The development is expected to introduce 14 new residential properties that will house single-family detached housing. The block between Young Street and White Street is where the proposal for a new park and the new lots is being planned.
As illustrated on the suggested proposal, the size for lots will be about 47 feet by 140 feet deep or 47 feet by 130 feet, while those that face Carbon Avenue will be 58 feet by 129 feet deep.
Eric Salmers, of Salmers Contracting Inc., presented two options, one which was heavily favoured, and led to discussion with about 30 residents who attended the meeting. Salmers and Turnbull Excavating are the developers for the project.
A paved road connecting Souris Avenue and Carbon Avenue was incorporated into the main proposal, as well as a lane connecting that new street to White Street.
Salmers said that the residents have the most input as far as what the green space is used for. It could be used for a pool, or a full-size soccer or football field, he suggested.
One issue that brought some concerns from the audience was that of the pool. There is currently a park that includes a pool at the corner of Young Street and Carbon Avenue. Under the most desired proposal, the park would be relocated just south of the Bienfait Museum and cover a space of 350 feet by 179 feet. The ground where the park currently sits would be converted to residential lots.
Most of the comments at the meeting were in favour of installing a new pool in this park. It was noted at the meeting that the current pool is experiencing some problems with one of the walls, and that in a couple of years it will be eroded away.
There was some question about putting a soccer field in the new space.
Salmers said, "You could do just about anything. You could do a soccer field-football field combination, but if you did that, you wouldn't have enough room to do a pool and a playground."
It was noted there is a soccer field at the Weldon School.
Salmers said they would be building homes on lots for people to buy. He said the houses they would build will be between 1,000 and 1,500 square feet and would include bungalow, starter homes as well as more upscale models. There was a suggestion that some of the lots would be left vacant, so people who so desired could buy the lot and build a home themselves.
It was noted that the Town may have to enact an architectural control policy to make sure the homes are in keeping with the rest of the community.
Salmers called Bienfait a perfect satellite community for Estevan. The message was repeated by several at the meeting that with the amount of energy jobs in the area, many of which are as close to Bienfait as Estevan, there is no reason Bienfait can't take advantage of the growth in the southeast. With accommodation problems in the Energy City, communities like Bienfait can provide lots of opportunities for new housing.
One problem that was brought up in the meeting was that Bienfait is nearly exhausted of land available for town expansion and that it is kind of trapped by rail lines on three sides. Land will have to be annexed if they are going to continue to develop new areas. Residents at the meeting asked about the possibility of developing west of the town by Weldon School, but it was noted the Town has no land west of the school.
The water and sewer plans in Bienfait are being updated by a firm in Regina, and Salmers, "In a month or so we should hear back from them whether everything is OK, what things need to be improved. We do kind of need that information, so we know what direction we're going."
As far as a timeline for the beginning of construction, Salmers said, construction could begin in the spring if proposals are approved, and it would likely be a couple of years before all the lots were developed.
There will be further discussion amongst the public, the Town and developers as to what the final plans will be, though the latest proposal didn't receive any vocal objections during the meeting.
