There was a new venue for the first Parks and Recreation Committee meeting of the 2012-16 term.
Instead of holding the meeting at North Battleford City Hall, it was held in the Battlefords Co-op Aquatic Centre inside the room designated for birthday parties and other social gatherings.
The venue gave committee members, including chair Don Buglas, the opportunity to see for themselves the new aquatic centre and to make use of the facility. The shift in venue, which may be a temporary one for the month of November, was mainly due to its ground-floor accessibility compared to City Hall.
Among the items discussed was the continued strong attendance and revenue performance at the aquatic centre. The revenue report was presented and it was noted public swim admissions for October totaled $41,442.06, or roughly three times the numbers from October 2011 at the former Kinsmen Aquatic Centre.
The facility also continues to see strong attendance numbers. It was also reported that attendance for leisure swims was 12,000 for the month.
Among items on the agenda was the approval of community grant requests and they were as follows:
St. Mary Community School received approval for $700 to assist their recreational swim program at the Co-op Aquatic Centre.
Lawrence Elementary was approved for $349 for assistance with an interactive Lee and Sandy Paley Concert.
Saskatchewan Hospital was approved for $642 to enable patients to participate in a swim program at the Battlefords Co-op Aquatic Centre.
McKitrick School was approved for $700 for assistance with the cost of a ski trip to Table Mountain.
Twin Rivers Curling Club was approved for $1,200 for assistance to introduce children ages eight to 13 to the sport of curling.
And Western Development Museum was approved for $1,000 to host A Prairie Christmas - Holiday Homecoming.
