The City of North Battleford is offering a letter of support to the Battlefords Agricutural Society.
The letter of support is being provided to help the Ag Society in their effort to lobby the province for funding support. Ag Societies across the province are joining together and lobbying the province for more funds to address a loss of revenue from the past year.
According to Mayor David Gillan, the Ag Society did receive funds, but only in the amount of $15,000. This is “not a lot when you are facing two years of no revenue.”
In a city memo from administration that was circulated at the council meeting Monday, it was noted that with “even with staffing reduced to only the general manager on a part-time basis, keeping the doors open is a challenge as prior year savings are now getting dangerously low.”
The draft letter prepared by the city states the Ag Society would “benefit greatly from stabilization and reopening funding from the province allowing them to get through this rough time. And be able to once again serve and support their Community when the pandemic has subsided and help make the Battlefords and Saskatchewan the great place it is to live.”
It was also noted at the meeting the Ag Society’s general manager, Jocelyn Ritchie, would be presenting to council on their current situation and plans for 2021 at a meeting in April. There had been plans for her to present at Monday’s meeting but that appearance was put off until later, due to a large number of delegations appearing at Monday’s meeting.
Also at Monday’s meeting, council has also appointed their representative to the board of the Battlefords Ag Society. Councillor Len Taylor has been appointed effective immediately, serving until Dec. 31, 2021.
In his remarks Taylor expressed his support for the letter of support for the Ag Society.
“For a hundred years and more, they’ve provided tremendous benefits for the Battlefords and area,” Taylor said. “This is a small thing for the city to do but it could have significant consequences — positive ones.”
