Residents will have more reactional opportunities in Phase Four, but challenges remain for community leaders. (File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Josh Ryan

Looking Ahead

Challenges ahead for the Battlefords despite Re-Open progress

Jun 19, 2020 | 12:00 PM

Community leaders in the Battlefords are excited about the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan progressing next week, but remain focused on navigating the challenges ahead.

Earlier this week, Saskatchewan’s Chief Health Officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, ruled out the possibility of locking down the province again if a second wave of COVID-19 hits, thanks to keeping numbers low. Battlefords Chamber of Commerce COO Linda Machniak said that is extremely positive for business owners moving forward.

“So that people know that if they have their protocols in place, PPE for staff, training, if all of that is in place, they’ll feel more comfortable,” she said.

However, despite optimism, the situation remains challenging for the Battlefords. A secondary program of 62, $10,000 grants, set up through the national chamber network, had received was more than 7,500 applications, with an additional day before the deadline.

“We’re not done yet,” Machniak said. “There’s still plenty of business owners needing to work through what their needs are.”

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There’s still questions about whether enough patrons will return. One of the biggest concerns on this front, both provincially and nationally, is tourism.

“They were the first to be hit and they will be the last to come out of it,” Machniak said.

Tourism struggles also affect other business in the region, such as hospitality and recreational activities. North Battleford Mayor Ryan Bater said the latter will play a role in how they approach facility use, which has three forms of collecting revenue to cover costs.

“One is event rentals, the second is people paying at the gate and the third is city taxpayers,” he said.

Losing event rentals puts tremendous pressure on the other two, which brings into question if it’s worth opening specific facilities. In the second part of Phase four of the province’s plan, the city could open the Aquatic Centre, but would have a limit of 50 people. Prior to the pandemic, they could have 150 people, plus the high operating costs for the facility.

“So we have to evaluate [first], whether it is economical to open the Aquatic Centre for only 50 people. Second, who are those 50 people? And third, how do we ensure that we are getting their information?” he said. “Because we will be responsible for finding out their names and numbers and how to contact them as part of the contact tracing process; if there is there is a COVID-19 positive test and someone was in the facility.”

Weighing the operating costs of the Aquatic Centre, and other recreational facilities, with potential reopening restrictions of one of the most critical questions moving forward for the City of North Battleford. (File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

City council is planning for a special meeting prior to Canada Day, to specifically discuss opening facilities in part two of Phase four and beyond. Bater said they will have difficult decisions to make and plenty of information to analyze to make those decisions.

“What the profit and loss looks like, based on public health orders and the current numbers,” Bater said.

And Bater said decisions could depend entirely on the number of active cases, putting the onus once again on personal responsibility.

“As long as those numbers remain low and the curve is flat, then there’s a greater likelihood that we can enjoy those things,” Bater said. “But if we have many outbreaks and our numbers start to skyrocket, there will not only be a maintaining of restrictions, but possibly new restrictions.”

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josh.ryan@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports