Art Gallery to go to tender
Posted By Hugo Rodrigues, SENTINEL-REVIEW
Posted 19 days ago
City council has approved going to tender on relocating the Woodstock Art Gallery to 449 Dundas St.
In a recorded 4-3 vote, council has directed staff to have its architect prepare final design and tender documents with cost-control alternatives and proceed to tender-- with a reminder the budget not exceed $5.05 million. Couns. Jim Northcott, Deb Tait and Pat Sobeski did not support the resolution.
"My concern -- this will be a standalone building with a much larger operating expense," Tait said after a series of questions on where a revised operating budget for a 449 Dundas St. gallery was. "This is being built with little commitment (from council) because of the grants. My concern is that future councils may find a standalone gallery easy to cut for cost savings."
Gallery building committee chair Len Reeves told council the committee would stand for the taxpayers' interest and scale back the plans for putting the gallery in the building if the tender costs came in over the $5.05-million cost. Despite that, Northcott said a scaled back gallery only makes using the rest of the building council's concern and cost in future years.
"We will definitely be into extra cost on this building," Northcott said. "It probably will be down to one floor and if that's what we accept, that's fine."
Sobeski followed up on that point, saying the arts community will only be disappointed when the tender offers come back and the city faces the realization its $5.05-million cap won't give them what it wants.
"People's expectations will be disappointed," Sobeski said. "We're spending excess money to find out we have a project that's not going forward."
Sobeski and Northcott also asked what happened to council's previous resolution that $1 million be fundraised from supporters in the community. CAO Paul Bryan-Pulham said the amount isn't on current financing charts but council's direction still stands and when - or if - the fundraised dollars come in council can reallocate.
Supporters on council spoke to the need to move forward with this project and take advantage of the $3.3-million federal-provincial Build Canada - Ontario grant to invest in the gallery and the city's cultural community.
"The (current) gallery houses a multi-million dollar collection valued at $1.4 million. It has a 310-square-foot space for programming, through which approximately 7,000 kids, youth, children and adults go through the services provided by the gallery," Coun. Ross Gerrie said. "A new gallery would complement the little theatre, the museum, the courthouse, the old jail and will enhance efforts to attract more people to the downtown."
Coun. Sandra Talbot said the Friends of the Gallery would, to address Northcott and Sobeski's concerns, continue to fundraise to add to the $150,000 already donated. By opening the building at 449 Dundas St., programs, interest and revenues would grow, she said.
"(The city) received $7.5 million this year, part of that being $3.367 million for the art gallery. The other $3.162 million all went to recreation, the complex, the aquatic centre, Cowan Park and the public works building expansion," Talbot said. "So again, it's nice to see something dedicated to the cultural end of it because it never seems to get much money."
hrodrigues@bowesnet.com
