Battleford Town Council resolved Monday to apply to the Ministry of Government Relations to become eligible for the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program.
PDAP provides financial assistance for restoring essential services and property as a result of damage caused by heavy rains on or about June 15 of 2013.
This all relates to the cemetery, said Mayor Derek Mahon, referring to a slope stability issue in the northwest corner overlooking the North Saskatchewan River.
"This is some follow-up to letters we've written to the provincial government," said Mahon.
He added engineers from Golder Associates Ltd., a civil geotechnical and environmental consulting firm contracted by the province through PDAP, met recently with Parks and Recreation Superintendent Randy Redding at the cemetery.
Town council has been hoping to get help from the provincial government in solving the instability issue.
"They asked us to formally make the application [to PDAP]," said Mahon.
It's one of the steps in the process, he said.
"We'll see where that goes from there," said Mahon. "I believe it to be an encouraging step."
The Town has had a slope stability analysis done by the geotechnical-geoenvironmental consulting firm P. Machibroda Engineering Ltd., who has also recommended stabilization mitigation measures. The report proposed two options, one of flattening the slope from its crest to its toe and one of constructing a berm further down the slope. Both would involve bringing in fill and constructing groundwater drainage systems.
Between $35,000 and $40,000 has been spent on the studies by Machibroda and work done by Meridian Surveys, which has been monitoring the area for any changes.
The area of concern is the northwest corner of the cemetery where some of the oldest graves are located, including those belonging to members of the Northwest Mounted Police and several early settlers' families from the late 1800s to early 1900s. Slope movement has already damaged plots and headstone in that area. It has been suggested upwards of 80 graves could eventually be affected.
