With the two-year anniversary of the flood that devastated their community nearing, Roche Percee has a plan to revive the village and move forward.
A meeting was held Wednesday night in Estevan where the three members of the village council informed residents that they are no longer waiting for help from the government and have taken matters into their own hands.
Since the 2011 flood that destroyed the majority of homes in the village, Roche Percee has essentially been stuck in neutral as they waited for the province to help them with a plan to get the community back on its feet.
To that end, the previous council teamed up with an Edmonton-based group to secure government funding and create a plan for a new development on land purchased at the village's southern border, out of the flood plain. Under the plan, residents who lost their home in the flood plain would be eligible for a land swap to help keep them in the community.
However, after months of working on the land swap proposal and seeing no likely funding coming from either the provincial or federal governments, the Village announced a new plan at the meeting.
Mayor Blake Penna said Roche Percee has never actually been told no, they have just never received a straight answer and can't afford to wait any longer.
"It's either sink or swim," Penna said. "We've had the carrot out in front of us for going on two years now. There's a reason the funding didn't go through, I don't know what that reason is and at this point I don't care."
The plan presented at the meeting will use the 10 acres of land the Village already purchased for the land swap for a new development. Although many of the details are still in the works, Penna said there should be space for 15 to 30 homes depending on how big they decide to make the lots.
Penna added that council batted around a number of ideas and feels this was the Village's best chance to move forward. It was noted that because Roche Percee is in dire straits financially, the village cannot afford to develop the lots.
Instead they plan to find a developer who will be asked to develop the land and build the homes. To guide the project through its various stages, Roche Percee plans to hire a consultant but Penna said council would maintain control.
"We still have full control, we are just relinquishing the actual administration. We are not a big city, we don't have the manpower," he said.
Penna admitted the situation wasn't ideal, but the Village did not have any other choice. Working with a developer also offered them the best chance to get this project underway in the relatively near future. A handful of residents expressed concerns about the potential cost of the new homes but Penna said the hope is there will be different price ranges to allow anyone who wants to return to Roche Percee to do so.
"It is important to us. We want you to come back," he told the crowd in the Taylorton Room of the Days Inn.
A number of other items were also discussed during the two hour-long meeting. Among them was the state of the dikes that protect Roche Percee.
Penna said the damage the dikes suffered during the floods of 2011 has still not been repaired and the Village does not have the money to carry out the work. Asked why funds were not provided through the Provincial Disaster Assistance Plan to make the needed repairs, Penna said he did not know the answer to that.
"Keep in mind that we came into council in October. There are mountains of communication that I am not aware of and probably never will be. I just know that it went on long enough that I am not interested in waiting any longer."
Penna asked for the support of the entire community in helping the Village move forward and said any news will be made available to them through a handful of methods including their Facebook page. He said they are confident they can find a way to make Roche Percee work again but they will need everyone's support and help.
"There needs to be a willingness to work with us and make some compromises."
