Nothing is resolved yet with respect to a permanent funding solution for The Lighthouse Serving the Battlefords, though it does seem as if the most recent fundraiser has helped matters somewhat.
Still, council members continued to express interest Monday in finding some resolution to the funding issues that have plagued the organization over the past few months.
Councillor Ryan Bater sought an update in the wake of the City’s $25,000 contribution to The Lighthouse to match the more than $30,000 raised during the Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser.
“How helpful was that – where are they at financially?” Bater asked.
But Mayor Ian Hamilton did not have any specific update to share.
Instead, he did say that in conversations with Caitlin Glencross, manager of The Lighthouse, they “do see themselves being bridged into the end of April, end of May,” he said.
Hamilton pledged to make every attempt to obtain additional assurances and to continue working “to obtain sufficient funding to keep their services available in this city,” but admitted “it’s all compromised a little bit by the drop of the writ.”
He expected there would be a further update at council in a couple of weeks.
In other council news, members of Scouts Canada went before council to let them know about the Yellow Fish Road program. Scouts will be painting yellow fish on storm drains throughout the city April 23 to raise awareness of the importance of not polluting the waterways through the storm drains. Mayor Ian Hamilton commended their efforts saying they were “demonstrating great citizenship.”
North Battleford has agreed to take part in the Mayor’s Poetry City Challenge. The challenge was issued by Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi to his fellow mayors and involves having a local poet read a poem at the start of a city council meeting. North Battleford has participated in the challenge in previous years.
As well, Hamilton has proclaimed March 21 as World Poetry Day and April as National Poetry Month in the city. Also proclaimed was March 20 as Shift Work Recognition Day.
