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Yorkton Council was not ready to invest in a project proposed by the York Lake Regional Park Authority.

"As you may be aware, the status of York Lake Road has been a concern to many," noted a letter from Kendra Potzus, president of the Regional Park Authority which was circulated to the regular meeting of Yorkton Council Monday.

"The road which was paved many years ago has significantly deteriorated over the last five years. The pavement becoming full of large potholes and finally crumbling apart with no choice but to add loose gravel to fill the voids.

"…The City of Yorkton owns eight kms of gravel roadways and 76 kms of gravel surfaced back alleys. Recent annexation of lands surrounding the City resulted in 1.2 km of York Lake Road being added to the City's gravel roadway network."

The letter outlined the Rural Municipality of Orkney "has hired a local contractor to haul and place re-claimed aggregate, followed by a seal to be put on the re-claim in the spring of 2015. The R. M. and Regional Park will have a dust-free and safe structured road from the city border to the entrance of the Park, approximately 1.3 miles."

"… The City has access to re-claimed asphalt as well as the staff to haul and place it. Please take into consideration your costs of maintaining this gravel road to a safe standard. And consider a more viable safe alternative. The proposed re-claimed aggregate is anticipating a 10 year solution to a dust-free road."

However, Trent Mandzuk, Director of Public Works told Council the use of asphalt aggregate was not the answer.

"The most recent letter suggests that the City should consider the use of reclaim asphalt as a repair measure," said Mandzuk, adding "we used this on Husky Road during Hwy #9's reconstruction six years ago."

Mandzuk explained, even with careful preparation the reclaim surface didn't last more than a year before potholes reappeared.

Adding reclaim asphalt on top of an existing road without widening the roadway beforehand will narrow driving lanes and steepen ditch slopes. Furthermore, covering with reclaim would not be the most cost effective option as the problem isn't limited to the surface but extends into the roadway's underlying composition.

"Lack of proper granular material and wet sub-grade conditions are also contributing factors to the roadways present condition," said Mandzuk.

In terms of maintenance Mandzuk said the City's current level of service for gravel roadways and/or alleys adjacent to multi-family dwellings and commercial properties is to blade twice per year, and to apply dust control twice per year.

"It would take 25 years to add two inches of gravel to all the gravel roadways across the City," he added.

As it stands the City-owned portion of the road to York Lake receives above the normal level of service, with it being bladed seven times this year.

"Contrary to public perception, York Lake Road received a higher level of service in comparison to all other gravel roads within the City for 2014," said Mandzuk.

"If levels of service are exceeded for a particular operation, levels of service in other areas must be reduced in order to achieve a balanced operating budget. As a result, levels of service are compromised somewhere else which can increase risk to users in the form of safety, quality of life and higher future asset costs. To ensure "fairness" to all citizens and to attain a balanced operating budget, it is extremely important for City administration to support established levels of service. Failure to comply in one area causes upsets in other services provided by the municipality," detailed a report circulated to Council.

As a result City Administration recommended; "That as a result of comparing the current road maintenance level of service along York Lake Road, with similar roads within the City of Yorkton and finding that the levels currently exceed the standard, that the present levels of service at the named location, remain as is at this time."

Council was unanimous in accepting the recommendation.