'Pie in the sky dream' comes true in Rosthern

Rosthern residents have reason to celebrate From CTV Saskatoon's Joseph Bernacki: Here’s how the town built a house whose sale will support a new hospital.

In the town of Rosthern, a finished home nearly three years in the making started with a vision.

"Then just sort of a pie in the sky dream felt that 'oh maybe we should do more,'" Kathy Enns said.

While drinking coffee with her friends, Enns organized the idea of taking an empty lot and converting it to a brand new home. The eventual proceeds of the sale would go towards a new hospital for the town.

"We were very fortunate to gather together a very good group of friends and team workers for this project and that’s how it started," said Enns, the committee chairperson.

Her first step: hire a project manager. Together, Enns and David Ratzlaff organized a committee of 10 volunteers with trade and building expertise.

"We all have the shared philosophy that we are owners of the district and of the community," said Ratzlaff. "We started to look for contractors in the district and kind of brainstorm who might and who might not be willing to contribute to it."

Ratzlaff says it’s been a joy to work on the project between the outgoing generosity and respect he’s discovered from the support of small businesses throughout the entire process - from a roof contractor providing the work and materials with no invoice, to a grateful deed from a former Laos refugee who was sponsored by Mennonites in the community.

"He’s now the owner of a granite counter business in Saskatoon and he said he’d like to give back to the community and all of the counters that you see in the house today are a gift from him," said Ratzlaff.

The nearly 1,800 square foot bungalow offers three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a two-car garage. Across the home is an open concept main floor featuring a fireplace, large windows, and a wealth of new appliances in the kitchen. Ratzlaff says the house has garnered serious interest and is listed at $405,000. Rosthern Mayor Dennis Helmuth says he is very appreciative of his residents’ efforts towards the funding for a future hospital.

"On one level it’s very impressive just because of size of the project and the profits that are being realized from the sale of the property. On the other hand I think it’s very indicative of the kind of town Rosthern is."

During the gathering that took place at the home this afternoon, finances were detailed by Dr. Don Greve who is part of the Sask Valley Hospital Foundation board. The foundation has $175,000 invested in Affinity Credit Union from fundraising efforts over the past five to 10 years. With the addition of adding in the levies from seven surrounding communities and donations from the Lions Club, the total amount secured is about $4.4 million towards Rosthern’s required share of $7 million for a new hospital.

Over the course of nearly three years, the town received outside support from Saskatoon, Martensville, Hague, Waldheim, Hepburn, and Prince Albert. The town of Rosthern says this project wouldn’t be possible without the help and support of countless volunteers and businesses alike. The group of 10 volunteers became a formal committee in November of 2016.