Some questions were answered, but final decisions are still some ways off after Monday night's North Battleford council meeting on a proposed city land donation to a First Nations Heritage Park.
The issue, which has turned into an ongoing saga of sorts at City Hall, was a major topic of discussion at a special meeting held Monday night - a meeting called to allow councillors to get more information so they could come to a decision on the deal.
A resolution to donate two lots in the southeast quadrant to the Battlefords First Nations Heritage Park Corporation has been before council for several weeks. Movement towards approving the land donation has been at a standstill, with a final vote now scheduled for Sept. 10.
Councillors spent over an hour Monday trying to make sense of the implications of approving the proposed land donation. At the meeting, they heard directly from Pat Woods, consultant to the project, about what the First Nations Heritage Park would entail.
He gave council and city officials a rundown of the ambitious $15 million project, which would include signature attractions such as the world's largest closed-in teepee, as well as surround-sound and IMAX attractions.
Also being proposed is an overpass "bow and arrow bridge" for pedestrian traffic to access the ravine that leads to the North Saskatchewan River, to provide for interpretive tours.
The heritage park would serve what Woods described as "the fastest-growing market in the tourism sector in Canada" - aboriginal-themed tourism.
Woods noted North Battleford has the essential elements to house such a tourism attraction due to a heavy concentration of aboriginal communities and people, a rich historical record and historical sites and significant wilderness and wildlife area, rivers and lakes for eco-tourism-type experiences.
This was the only area in Canada that has those three components, Woods said. The heritage park would give North Battleford "star power both nationally and internationally as a major world-class tourism destination site - there's nothing like it in western Canada."
There were a couple of aboriginal-themed attractions in British Columbia but little else anywhere in Canada, Woods noted.
The City is being sought out as a partner in the project, and that would be achieved through the donation of the land.
"That would make it a lot easier and a slam dunk to raise the financing that is required," said Woods.
In response to a question from Councillor Don Buglas, Woods noted the corporation desired a clear title to the land as opposed to a lease, as buildings were to be constructed on the land and they wanted to protect those assets. Reserve status was also being sought for the land in the future.
While there was general support expressed by councillors for the proposal, there was still a lot of concern about the proposed donation to the project. There was much discussion about making sure the land in question would revert back to the City if the proposed development never got off the ground.
There was also discussion about what the implications would be if urban reserve status is obtained for the land. That prospect raised alarm bells for Councillor Trent Houk, who noted that once the land becomes an urban reserve, "the City cannot take that land back," at least not without going to court
Mayor Ian Hamilton assured councillors at the meeting that clauses would be incorporated into the final agreement to protect the city.
Councillor Ron Crush expressed his readiness to support the heritage park proposal.
"I think there's huge opportunities here," said Crush.
Houk, though, did not appear satisfied. "There's a lot more that needs to be answered," he said.
Councillor Grace Lang was concerned about the recent appraisal report that showed the two parcels to be donated, Lots 6 and 7, to be worth a total of $1.2 million.
As for public input, "all the input I've got has been negative," said Lang, who noted people are "questioning giving a million's worth of land away."
No firm decisions were made at the meeting.
The next step is for the matter to return to council Sept. 10 when a resolution for the City to donate the lands for the First Nations Heritage Park will once again come up for debate and a possible vote.
