Rosetown Mayor Trevor Hay should be happy with his past year at the helm in his hometown, and certainly hopes Rosetown residents are happy with the past 365 days as well. 

Some of the things that the mayor feels were accomplished in 2021 include an increased presence on social media, and an improved town website as a means for increased communication with the people. A good online community page is something that Hay believes keeps residents more than in the loop than ever. The Town of Rosetown Facebook page reminds its users that the page is meant to serve as a facilitator of discussion among people in the community, and to provide clarification on information to continue dialogue between residents. Using all of the available outlets including West Central Online is important to Hay.

“That helps get the message out there and make sure we have some open communication between the residents and ourselves.”

The mayor mentioned that some time was definitely spent catching new council members up on past projects in Rosetown, that Hay was so proud to list off when recapping the past year in the west central community.

“There’s lots of things,” beamed Hay, “We did a local improvement, three streets that were repaved. We did a new pool liner in a partnership with the RM of St. Andrews. We sold four lots, as we have a new west industrial park. There is a new vet clinic that opened up so that’s awesome. We renovated our two main bathrooms in the Civic Centre, and that was a big project we wanted to make sure got done because it’s been well needed for a lot of years.”

The Civic Centre renovations saw a little more work as some investigative work as Hay describes it had to be done beforehand, to assure stronger sewer lines and other things before the work began. Also noted was a $2.8 million grant from the federal and provincial governments to help with Rosetown’s lagoon expansion.

“We have been up against the wall with that one. Our environmental protection officer has hinted we need to get that done because we are at capacity, so with that grant coming through, that is a project that will be happening next year so that we are good for many years to come.”

The other critical things that Hay had to mention was the widening of the highway intersection in town, something that was heavily advocated for, and then also the creation of a new town staple in the Bark Park.

Bark Park Dogs Rosetownvia Town of Rosetown on Facebook

“The new dog park came together quite quickly, we utilized an area that wasn’t being used for anything,” he shared, “We had some supplies that we could utilize, and get that facility up and operating for residents at hardly any cost.”

Hay said expectations were definitely exceeded with all that went on in Rosetown this year. Especially despite the ever-changing COVID-19 situation. He is happy to see sports and other recreation activities back, and the province working together with Saskatchewan towns in providing testing to keep up with the evolving situation best as possible.

“So far so good, we are looking forward to down the road when things clear up, but there are these new variants coming out so people are being cautious, and it’s tough but we are getting through it.”

Everybody by now has their own opinion on what's going on, and Mayor Hay is just happy to see the amazing resiliency in his community.

“It’s kind of like the new normal, an accepted thing, and if everyone does their part to be cautious we will get through this,” said Hay, “It’s about adversity and overcoming some of these issues, resiliency, it’s good to see.”

Another thing that the mayor wanted to mention was the start of a recognition campaign for different town businesses through the town Facebook. Hay said it just recently started and should be a good way to share the people behind Rosetown businesses that make the Highway 7 hub tick.

“Thousands of cars drive thru daily, so there is a potential for people to stop in, spend a few dollars, and visit. It’s just huge, and I’m just really glad to be able to represent my community where I was born and raised.”

The last topic that was almost forgotten in speaking to Mayor Hay was the impromptu trip the Kindersley Jr. Klippers made to town. Ice plant issues in Kindersley forced the team to move their special Family Night for the players out of town, and Rosetown proved a gracious host as they got to watch some high level Junior A hockey.