For the first time since the Multiplex was proposed, Canmore council moved towards deciding what one of the facilities left vacant by the project may become – an arts development centre.
On Tuesday night (May 3), council considered two motions put forward by Councillor John Borrowman and Mayor Ron Casey to establish an arts development centre in the downtown building soon to be vacated by the Canmore Public Library and the Canmore Artists and Artisans Guild.
But the way in which the motions were brought forward, along with the process to be followed, caused some concern for others on council.
Coun. Joanna McCallum said she was under the impression the future of the facility would comprise part of the 2012 business plan, along with the futures of the Rec Centre and the daycare/preschool buildings.
“I assumed this would be part of a bigger conversation as part of the business plan for 2012,” McCallum said, adding other groups may have ideas of what is the best use of the space into the future. “I envisioned this being one big conversation, not one conversation at a time.”
Coun. Hans Helder shared McCallum’s concern, saying he supports the concept and thought it would form part of the 2012 business plan, which is not yet in front of council.
“It seems a bit hasty to put this forward at this point and ask council to take a fairly directive path,” Helder said.
The original motion proposed used the word dedicate with respect to the facility, but was scaled back to investigate as several councillors were concerned the wording promised an end result before all the information was collected.
In the end, council voted to investigate the idea and directed administration to create a terms of reference document for a task force.
Casey said the move is a high level exercise to develop the idea in time for inclusion in budget discussions for 2012.
“This discussion needs to occur and come back to council for clear direction at budget time for 2012,” said the mayor.
Borrowman presented the council report, saying he has thought about the opportunity to further the idea of an arts centre for several years.
He noted the idea dates back to the ‘80s with the Mineside Cultural Centre and, more recently, its incarnation as the Lamphouse Society for the Arts.
“There has been a number of times a project like this has been on the table and it has always stumbled at the price of a facility,” he said.
Unlike before, however, he said the library building currently exists and is an excellent size to examine for this specific purpose.
“Right now there is no facility in town providing coordination of a wide variety of arts and cultural programming,” Borrowman said, adding it aligns with several Canmore planning documents like the Municipal Development Plan, Mining the Future and Cultural Master Plan.
Borrowman, a potter and former art gallery owner, said an arts development centre speaks to many needs in the community and would include dedicated and non-dedicated arts spaces for people in the community to learn and teach as well as enjoy the offerings of many arts groups in town, including musical endeavours, travelling exhibitions at a public gallery and performance space.
He added the ability to provide cultural programming of a varied nature would add to the vibrancy of the downtown core.
The motion passed by council after some debate committed politicians to investigating the idea and establishing a task force to develop the concept, operational model and management structure of an arts centre and consult with the public on the future use and function of the facility.
Casey said while the Multiplex is being constructed it is the perfect opportunity to engage in planning for the facility that will become vacant with the relocation of the library.
The mayor said if planning does not begin now, it is possible the former library could remain vacant for an extended period of time.
Casey said the idea is about developing a model based on arts development and expanding arts in the community.
“There is nothing wrong with council saying this is a good use for this facility,” he said. “There is nothing uncommon for a council to take a position and say ‘this is what we think is a good and appropriate use’.
“If it is wrong, we will hear about it.”
