It’s been a difficult year. 

That was the message from many of the 13 organizations that made pitches for municipal funding for 2021 as they went through this past year’s financial records. 

The organizations presented to city council during a special budget meeting on Thursday night. 

STARS Air Ambulance did not receive any funding from the city in 2020, but made a request for $3,500 for 2021. 

Tammy Beauregard, development officer with STARS Air Ambulance, said Moose Jaw plays an important role because the Dr. F.H. Wigmore Hospital has a hyperbaric chamber as well as a helipad. 

She said having the helipad at the hospital saves about 30 minutes per mission, which could be a matter of life and death. 

Since 2012, STARS has flown 2012 missions to Moose Jaw including 30 missions so far in 2020. 

Beauregard added that STARS has asked for municipal funding in the past and it wasn’t well-received. She felt at the time the price tag was too high and was hoping $3,500 would be a more realistic number. 

The two senior citizens associations put forward requests.  

The Moose Jaw and District Seniors Association asked for up to $50,000. Last year, they received $35,000. The Cosmo Senior Citizens Association expressed concerns with funding $25,000 for roof repairs and $15,000 to replace an air conditioner. 

Tourism Moose Jaw and the Canada Day Committee were one of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

They were allotted $90,775 in 2020 for tourism and $2,534 for Canada Day, but those numbers were reduced once the pandemic hit. Executive director Jacki L’Hereaux Mason said Tourism Moose Jaw just had to get creative and used the Internet to their advantage. 

“We had already committed to the second of three big overhauls done on the trolley. We were able to run an entire year without breakdowns for the first time in 10 years, so this allowed us to provide revenue into October for the first time ever. Based on the records I have, the trolley literally saved our hides,” L’Hereaux Mason said. 

As for Canada Day, the festivities were toned down but the fireworks still went ahead.