A new policy has been adopted by Estevan city council – one that they hope will bring a close to a recent issue.
City council approved the commemorative recognition program policy at Monday night’s meeting that will guide the city for contributions to parks, open spaces and facilities. The document is very similar to the one that is currently used in North Battleford.
It states that all requests for commemorations received by the city will be reviewed in accordance with the criteria in the policy. Commemorations can be figurative statues, monuments, cairns, fountains, artifacts, dedications benches or trees, banners, unnamed access roads, pathways and interior memorabilia or artifacts.
For each proposal, the city’s administration will determine the worthiness of the request, assess the subject where commemoration is relevant, determine the worthiness, and work with the nominator for the most appropriate location. Council then has to give its approval.
The nominator is responsible for the fabrication, development and construction of the benches, along with any necessary engineering.
“When applicable, the city may monitor the construction. Once the commemoration is completed, the nominator generally offers the commemoration to the city, which accepts ownership,” said Mayor Roy Ludwig.
Rod March, the city’s manager of parks and facilities, found the North Battleford document, and then the northwest Saskatchewan city gave Estevan the green light to use its policy.
Councillor Kirsten Walliser believes the document will be what Estevan needs.
“It focuses on clear, efficient, timely approval, but it also allows the community and individuals to be part of that collaborative process of creating something that is really meaningful to the city as a whole,” said Walliser.
Councillor Rebecca Foord said she was concerned whether the criteria in the policy might be too stringent, so someone might doubt whether their request for a memorial bench or other commemoration might be accepted.
Mayor Roy Ludwig countered that since the city needs so many benches, if the request from the family was heartfelt, it would likely be approved.
The policy has been viewed as needed after council discussed a request from Pro-Life Estevan and Area last month to have three benches installed in parks in the community. The benches, which are finished and ready to be installed, have the slogan “Always Loved” and an image of two baby’s feet surrounded by a heart.
Pro-Life had paid $300 for each of the three benches.
Council decided at Monday’s meeting that the benches would be allowed in the parks, but only with the “Always Loved” message, and not with the feet surrounded by a heart, since that is a symbol for pro-life.
The city would then pay to have the emblem removed from the bench, since the benches had already been designed.
If pro-life doesn’t want to have the image removed, then the benches would have to be placed in another location.
Ludwig hopes the issue finally has some resolution, and they will be speaking with pro-life about the next steps.
