Town Council can be a relaxed affair.
The town can go weeks without receiving correspondence, but the April 16 meeting saw the town receive four separate letters calling on the Town to take action.
The first letter came from the Canadian Mental Health Association Battlefords Branch, requesting that the town name May 6 to 12 Mental Health Week.
The second letter, from Battlefords Tourism, requested that the following week, May 14 to 18, be named Tourism Week in Battleford.
The Town complied with both requests, and councillors all agreed that Ryan Bater, now the tourism development manager for the Battlefords Tourism and Convention Association, be invited to council some time in the future.
The next two letters proved slightly more controversial.
Tanya Callaway, the Development and Marketing Assistant for the Western Development Museum Curatorial Centre in Saskatoon, sent the Town an email requesting that the museum's supporters "write a letter to Premier Wall as well as [their] MLAs stating why [council thinks] the WDM is important, and asking that the provincial government reconsider its budget decision in order to provide the museum with more sustainable funding."
Because of the recent provincial budget, the four Western Development Museums around the province are closing their doors on Mondays year round.
Councillor Cameron Duncan immediately expressed some misgivings, stating that, while there was no doubt the museum is important, he had a problem writing a letter of support when he didn't know "the whole picture."
The rest of council agreed, arguing that agreeing with the letter was tantamount to trying to interfere with provincial budget issues.
Mayor Chris Odishaw did express some reservations, arguing that he would have "looked at it differently if the local manager had sent it," but council ultimately agreed with Councillor Bill Halewich, who wanted to deny the request, diplomatically.
Finally, the Town received a letter from Richard Hiebert at the Battlefords Heritage Society requesting a letter of support in their "quest to have the Saskatchewan Hospital designated as a provincial heritage site."
The request had previously come to the North Battleford Parks and Recreation Committee, and was partially published in the April 16 News-Optimist. Council reacted to the letter by asking about the future of the building.
Mayor Odishaw argued provincial heritage status might "hurt the building going forward."
Council ultimately agreed to acknowledge the receipt of the letter while denying the BHS their letter of support.
