The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was certainly felt at town council Monday.
The pandemic not only impacted the meeting itself, which was conducted mainly online due to social distancing requirements, but also some of the decisions council has made for this year.
One of the main items being readjusted for 2020 are capital projects.
Two major local improvement projects slated for 2020 are being deferred to 2021. The 23rd Street rehabilitation project between 2nd and 3rd Ave. estimated at $404,000, and the 3rd Avenue resurfacing project between 35th and 36th Street, are the two being deferred.
Economic uncertainty appears to be the main reason these major projects are being pushed back. Administration noted the “economic cost of COVID-19 is still being revealed and its impact on residents and business unknown.”
Instead, council agreed to proceed with a number of other projects in priority order: the 35th Street bypass between 2nd Ave. and 24th Street; Central Ave. between 15th St. and Campbell Innes Way; and reallocating some money from paving to sidewalk construction for 2nd Ave to extend the sidewalk to 19th St., and for Central Ave. from 22nd St. to Heritage School.
Council will be reallocating funding already in the budget to these projects, with the projects not to exceed the $283,150 capital allocation in the budget.
In general, council was supportive of getting these other priority items done this year; there was also some optimism that they would also get some good prices to get the work done.
PANDEMIC PLAN
Another COVID-19-related item at the meeting was an update to the pandemic plan.
The update, which passed at Monday's meeting, focused mainly on the town's operations and ensuring a safe workplace for employees and residents. It was also designed to deal with the possibility of further restrictions under the State of Emergency.
Some of the new operations protocols dealt with the fire hall: they include limiting the fire hall access to firefighters only, otherwise the fire hall is locked and visitors are not permitted; physical distancing must be maintained; hands are sanitized upon arrival; and there are provisions for masks as well as safety glasses, among others. The updated plan also has provisions impacting other departments with the town.The plan itself is seen as a "fluid" document that can change as required.
DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS
On a human resource front, the town itself has not been badly impacted so far by staff losses due to COVID-19 illness or any self-isolating restrictions.
“I think I am the only one who had to self-isolate,” said chief administrative officer John Enns-Wind at the meeting. He self-isolated while his son was being tested for COVID-19; the result ultimately came back negative.
There were others with the town who were out sick but they didn’t qualify for the COVID-19 test, he said.
Enns-Wind also noted there was now a special section of the time sheets that allowed tracking of any time lost due to COVID-19.
COUNCILLORS STAYING AT HOME
It is obvious COVID-19 has impacted the ability of councillors to make public appearances on behalf of the town.
Usually, the portion of the town council meeting devoted to councillors’ announcements is filled with news about councillors attendance at various meetings or events. That was not the case Monday; instead, one councillor after another spoke about staying home.
“I don’t really go too far out of my house,” said councillor Shelley Boutin-Gervais.She encouraged residents to do their part in preventing the spread.
“I just hope everybody stays safe and does their part trying to control the spread of COVID(-19). My thought on that is just act like you have it and just know you don’t want to spread it to anybody else, and you’ll take extra precautions to try and get this over with sooner rather than later.”
Coun. Kevin Russell noted that at the previous meeting he reported the “hockey I was involved with got suspended, but now it’s actually all over for the season.”
He said the series between the Battleford Beaver Blues and Meota Combines ended with no championship.
Russell also noted Concern for Youth had moved into their new building, at 1361 101st Street North Battleford, but “of course they can’t do anything with the COVID-19.”
“I have been isolated for quite a bit of time already, but I’m trying to stay out of trouble,” said councillor Susan McLean Tady.
She also acknowledged management’s efforts at town hall, because “everything is constantly changing.”
Councillor Doug Laing had a couple of updates and one concerned news about the impact COVID-19 had on Table Mountain. They had sent an email noting income was down due to COVID-19, but expenses were down as well. “Financially the ski hill had a bit of a hit,” he said.
“They shut down early, which was a very good thing and they made some good decisions out there,” Laing said.
Laing also noted that the Rotary Club of the Battlefords’ plans to celebrate their 100th anniversary in April had been put on hold. The event with astronaut Chris Hadfield had been moved to October.
Despite that, there were plans for Rotary to fly their flag at Town Hall this month.
“Even the flag flying got cancelled,” he said. What happened, he explained, was that the person who had the flag was in isolation and couldn’t go get it.
Laing also acknowledged Rotary's efforts to provide $50,000 to the Battlefords community over the next three months to deal with COVID-19. “They’re doing awesome work in our town and our city,” said Laing.
Coun. Gordon Yarde encouraged people to “continue to isolate and stuff like that.” He also noted there were good comments from people about the action the town has taken so far.
“I’ve had comments from people offering to buy my groceries,” Yarde added.
Mayor Ames Leslie urged people to take their time and “stay at home as much as possible.” He also urged people to look after their mental health as well, saying staying indoors “can definitely weigh on a person’s mental health”.
“COVID(-19) is real and it is in our community and our province,” said Leslie. “Let’s do everything we can so that we can help each other out so we can have some form of normalcy for this summer. Winter is long, we don’t need to lose our summers.”
