The Village of Forestburg council heard that a large non-profit society in town is requesting funds from the municipality. The request letter was read at the May 7 regular meeting of council.

Staff presented councillors with a letter from the Forestburg Historical Society, which was requesting a grant from the village. Staff noted that the village hadn’t received a request like this from the historical society in the past.

Staff also observed that the letter of request wasn’t accompanied by a society financial statement.

Coun. Blaise Young noted that he wasn’t necessarily opposed to granting money to the society, but he felt a financial statement for the non-profit group should have been provided for councillors to examine.

As councillors discussed the request, they agreed there was other information missing that they wished to know; councillors noted the letter didn’t actually include a dollar amount for the request.

As well, it appeared the historical society had applied for Canada Summer Jobs grants but was not successful in obtaining the grant.

During discussion, councillors talked about different funding sources they believed the historical society relies on, among them casino work. They discussed how often a society can work at a fundraising casino, and it was suggested those funding opportunities occur every three years.

Mayor Wayne Giroux agreed with other councillors that they were willing to consider the historical society’s request, but there wasn’t enough information provided for councillors to base their decision on.

“We’re not saying ‘no,’ we just need more information,” said Giroux.

According to its social media page, the Forestburg Historical Society is “...a local organization dedicated to preserving and sharing local history.”

The village’s website notes the historical society operates the Forestburg & District Museum, described as “...a collection of homesteading and agricultural tools, mining memorabilia and an authentic 1920s kitchen.”

Councillors directed village staff to gather more information from the historical society about how much money it is asking for and its intended use, and to obtain a financial statement from the society.