Like a Buck-in-Rut – Council Smells a Theatre Grant

And all else is ignored.

 

The Public Services Committee, chaired by Councillor Morrissette, held its first meeting last night. The councilmen were hot on the scent of the performance theatre grant raised in discussion at the December 12 council meeting.

 

As council appointees, Councillors Bull and Seidel were in attendance. Councillor Wannan and Mayor Patrie were also present and contributed to the discussions. The meeting lasted just under one hour. Most of the discussion centered on a grant application for a new performance theatre.

 

Last June, Elliot Lake was informed our first application was unsuccessful. This is our second go-round to seek a major grant. The project's design is being modified in the hope that it will attract a grant this time.

 

Mr. Calvin Brook of Brook McIlroy attended by zoom to answer the councillor’s questions. Calvin Brook is an architect and co-founder of Brook McIlroy, an architecture, urban design, landscape architecture, and urban planning practice.

 

Mr. Brook suggested a reduction in the size of the facility by about 25%. They would accomplish this by eliminating the art workshops and reducing the size of the welcome centre and museum by about 30%. The 400-seat theatre would still be in the plan. Mr. Brook noted this is approximately the minimum seating capacity required to attract the touring performance artists the theatre would need.

 

Mr. Brook noted that construction costs have escalated 35 to 40% recently.

 

What do we need for our best chance of attracting this grant? Mr. Brook suggested three criteria that contribute to success:

 

1.   Rightsizing. The reduction from 28,000 sq. ft. to 21,000 sq. ft. could help.

 

2.   Partnering with local Indigenous neighbours for programming and content is important. (Where to start? Last fall, (then) Councillor Patrie tried multiple different ways to stop the motion to return the “MNR property” to SRFN. In the roll-call vote, he was the only one opposed. “Technically opposed,” was how he voiced it. My best guess is there will be “technical difficulties” when Mayor Patrie tries to get a phone call through to SRFN to ask for help with this.)

 

3.   Being “Shovel ready.” – Design. Cost estimate. Business plan. I have no worries about Brook McIlroy’s ability to handle the design or the cost estimate. It’s the business plan and how it fits into the (as yet unveiled) Vision for Elliot Lake that is concerning. That raises some questions.

 

Some questions the buck-in-rut is ignoring:

 

1.       Where does the rest of the money come from?

Supporting the arts is fine and good. We should support it, but we must do it equitably. We have other recreation facilities needs too. This should be done in as cost-effective a manner as we can. (See question 7.)

 

2.       What are the projected ongoing operating expenses?

Operating costs are the big cost. “Build it, and they will come” really means build it, and the operating expenses will come (and come, and come).

 

3.       How does this fit with our master plan?

The new council has not stated its Vision for Elliot Lake. The Strategic Plan has not been updated since 2014. Council is getting the cart WAY ahead of the buck-in-rut.

 

4.       How much of our recreation budget is going to this?

Unlike the arena or the pool, the theatre will be unused most days. What is its cost proportional to the recreation benefit?

 

5.       Does the performing arts community still have the volunteer capacity to make this a success?

Volunteerism has dropped so low that we have had to cancel our Drag Race. What is the amount of volunteerism required to make a theatre a success? Do the theatre groups still have that capacity?

 

6.       What will we lose in economic benefit if this project causes us to lose the hotel opportunity?

255 Hwy 108 is a prime commercial location. A hotel/convention centre would be a very significant contributor to our local economy. Jobs. Taxation. Tourism.

 

7.       Before we go down this path of spending more money on studies and designs, why don’t the performing arts people work with the hotel/convention center people to see if there are some synergies that can benefit us all?

by Stephen Calverley, December 20. 2022