(file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

HOPE AND THE FUTURE

Hope and the Future: Town focused on staying the course despite COVID-19 challenges

Dec 29, 2020 | 3:02 PM

The COVID-19 pandemic makes 2020 a year many may prefer to forget, but there is hope for the future. We’ve decided to make that the focus of our series of end-of-year stories.

Similar to other municipalities, the Town of Battleford had a challenging past year due to the pandemic. But it still managed to keep on target, and stay in the black at budget time.

Here are some of the highlights of 2020.

In February community consultations continued on the proposed renovation and restoration of the old Town Hall building. Residents and stakeholders shared their thoughts on whether they would like to see the top floor of the facility returned to is former use as an opera house, or used for another purpose.

Mayor Ames Leslie said at that time most of the community indicated it wanted the top-floor to be accessible as a multi-use facility. The space hasn’t been used since the building was damaged in a fire in 1965. Leslie said the public did not have an appetite for the town to spend a lot of money on potential improvements.

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In March when the province’s COVID-19 precautions were implemented, the town initially moved its council meetings to the Alex Dillabough Centre for safer social distancing. Soon after, it instead opted to hold meetings online. Also starting in March, the town temporarily closed the town hall building to install personal protective equipment and modify the public access space for increased safety and security.

In July the town announced it would apply for Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP) support after 155 mm of rain fell in the Battlefords during July 7 and 8, causing flooding damages to the community. The town also hoped to seek assistance to help fix significant erosion around the north span walking truss bridge connected to Finlayson Island.

In August the town offered some positive news it was able to provide a partial restoration of the old St. Vital Church, saving it from demolition. Originally constructed in 1883, the structure needs substantial rehabilitation work, with an estimated $500,000 investment to permit entry. Council instead decided to restore the building’s exterior, while keeping the inside inaccessible to the public. In an agreement with the town and SL Contractors, the cost to the town for the external work is about $50,000 to $60,000, roughly the same as the demolition estimate. After the rehab is complete, the town will further improve the property with tables, benches and signage, all of which is estimated to cost between $5,000 to $10,000.

In September it was reported the Town of Battleford was allocated $264,208 in the federal government’s Safe Restart Canada Plan. The plan provided money for each province to use for lost municipal revenue, with funds allocated on a per capita basis. The town estimated losses to be between $200,000 to $300,000 from recreation facilities being unable to open to full capacity, if at all. The City of North Battleford’s allocation from the plan was just under $854,000.

Also in September, the town’s finance director at that time David Gillan announced he would resign his position and and throw his hat into the race for the City of North Battleford mayoral seat in the fall municipal elections.

In October, the town identified another possible funding source for the truss bridge repairs. The town announced it would apply for funding through the federal government’s Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) to help repair the north and south span truss bridges that link to Finlayson Island, as they are both in poor condition. The north side pedestrian-only bridge has been closed since July due to significant erosion. The south-side bridge used mainly by vehicle traffic remains open but also needs significant repairs. The estimated total cost of the project is $4,567,000.

Also in October, the town announced Ash Alam was selected as the new chief administrative officer. The town’s outgoing finance director David Gillan, acted as the interim CAO since the position was left vacant when John Enns-Wind departed in the summer.

November was election time in Battleford. When the ballots were counted, four of the five incumbents seeking re-election managed to retain their councillor seats – Kevin Russell, Judy Pruden, Shelley Boutin-Gervais and Doug Laing. Newly elected for the remaining councillor seats for the new term were Alexis Christensen and David George. Ames Leslie was re-elected as mayor by acclamation.

Also in November, the province announced mandatory mask wearing for communities with populations of more than 5,000, including those in close proximity to cities of that size.

December marked budget time for the Town of Battleford. The town passed its proposed budget for 2021 with a zero per cent property tax increase. Council was mindful that many people are facing challenges at this time as a result of the impact of the pandemic and recommended administration seek a tax increase as low as possible. Chief Administrative Officer Ash Alam previously told battlefordsNOW even with no tax increase, the town will still be able to continue its initiatives for the year ahead and longer-term goals, and maintain the level of service residents expect.

When the budget was passed Mayor Ames Leslie told battlefordsNOW he hopes when the COVID-19 vaccine is rolled out it is effective, so possibly people can return to playing hockey again in the spring.

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– With files from Josh Ryan

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW