SASKATOON – A skyscraper, bridges and recorded votes were on the agenda for Saskatoon city councillors at the final meeting of 2014.
A massive project for downtown that has the potential to be the largest skyscraper in Saskatchewan was approved by councillors. “City Centre Towers” needed approval from council to exceed the downtown height limit of 76 metres.
Ward 6 Coun. Charlie Clark said the project is good for the city and the downtown core.
“It’ll have restaurants, retail, it will have all those things that are going to add to the vitality and vibrancy of the downtown.”
MORE: City council approves taller buildings for downtown Saskatoon
North Prairie Development is behind the project located in the block surrounded by 3rd and 4th Avenues and 22nd Street. It will consist of a 29-storey, 105 metre commercial/residential tower and a 19-storey, 86 metre commercial office complex.
The proposal also shows an overhead walkway connecting it to BHP Billiton which is also located in that block.
The North Commuter Parkway project also advanced, with councillors agreeing to secure land at a cost of $3.5 million for the bridge which will connect at Marquis Drive.
Administration was also given the go-ahead to issue a request for proposals to three companies short-listed for the project, which also includes a replacement Traffic Bridge.
The public-private partnership will have the winning company design, build and then maintain the infrastructure for 30 years. The cost of the project is pegged at $250-million, with the federal government chipping in $66-million.
MORE: Bridge projects get funding from feds, province
Councillors also looked at recording votes on every decision in an attempt to be more transparent. Currently, votes are only recorded as passing or failing unless a councillor asks to have each individual vote recorded.
Councillors would also like to see electronic voting availability, a move Ward 5 Coun. Randy Donauer would like to take one step further.
“How that works is we all have a clicker and we say yea or nay, but the nice part about that is it’s all displayed publicly,” explained Donauer.
“The system I would like to see is that none of it is displayed until everybody votes because right now, you can check around the room and see how other people are voting.
Switching to recorded votes requires a change in the bylaw, which is the next step in the process.
With files from Wendy Winiewski
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