THUNDER BAY – A request to spend an additional $2.5 million of city money on a new waterfront art gallery did not find approval at the committee level.
In a 3-2 vote, the five-member standing committee on finance and administration did not endorse the recommendation at Tuesday’s meeting.
Couns. Albert Aiello, Mark Bentz, and Michael Zussino each said they felt wary that providing more money to the gallery for a partial opening would set the precedent for the independent project to ask city council to open up its coffers again.
“We’ve got to stop the precedent of bailing people out. How you can start building a building and not have the money to finish it, for me, it’s very difficult to understand that, but I, in good conscience, cannot support this proposal,” Aiello said.
Zussino said he was concerned that the bigger space would require “more money to operate,” and the gallery’s latest ask for more money won’t be the last.
“There are way too many questions that have not been answered to make me happy to spend any more money, actually on this project whatsoever. I think it’s way too big personally for our community, in terms of size. That’s just my own personal opinion on it. And in terms of questions I’ve asked in terms of how much it’s going to cost to actually utilize and go to this place, I have not had any answers,” Zussino said.
City council first committed $5 million to the project in 2017, with conditions on when it would be disbursed. Council finally voted this August to release those funds once a formal lease and funding agreement were signed.
The funding agreement was finalized and the gallery received half of the money, $2.5 million, earlier in the day Tuesday, said Keri Greaves, commissioner of corporate services. The remaining $2.5 million will be released once a new lease agreement is signed by both parties.
Coun. Brian Hamilton and Mayor Ken Boshcoff, who supported the funding request, both said they agree the city should not bail out non-city projects, but would like to see the gallery reach completion.
“I think everybody knows how frugal I am, but this canoe is in the river and we have to see it through to successful completion. I think the signal is being sent to people, on all other types of projects, is that first of all there’s not much capacity left in the city to support luxury items. So that our only goal is to live within our means,” Boshcoff said.
“In this one, I don’t think we have much choice about our support for it, so I will do that with the greatest of reluctance. And I think the message not only has been sent, but I truly believe it has been received.”
However, they would like to see the gallery cross the finish line and open its doors rather than see the project fail, leaving behind what city manager John Collin described as “a white elephant on the waterfront, a partially built building that’s not being used.”
“I think the community, in my mind, needs to understand the consequences as well of having a giant unoccupied building, a white elephant on the waterfront, right in the most prime spot in our brand new downtown,” Hamilton said, echoing Collin.
“To that end, I think, it’s important to recognize that we are not funding this project in a significant capacity, given that we are the number one and primary beneficiaries of a waterfront development. We are lucky that the art gallery is leading this project on our behalf.
Having the city back the gallery, not “as the main funding source,” but a source which will add to the “momentum” of the project will “send a signal” to other donors, such as the federal and provincial government, that the city sees the value of having the art gallery at the waterfront, Hamilton said.
“I’d like to get the ball rolling and then let the success and the partial opening demonstrate some success, and hopefully that builds some momentum to get us across the finish line,” he said.
Raising the possibility of a middle ground, Bentz said he was open to the idea of increasing the city’s financial support, but not at the full amount the gallery was asking.
“I might support $1.25 million, but with some very strict adherence,” said Bentz.
Those adherences would be that the gallery would have to prove they are successful in securing other donors before the city would release the money.
Bentz then asked for a re-vote and put forth an amendment to the gallery’s $2.5 million ask, which would allow the committee to endorse providing the gallery $1.25 million funded from the municipal accommodations tax.
“My rationale for it is that that is a proportionate increase of about 25 per cent on our side to achieve partial opening, and that would also trigger a 25 per cent increase on the other funding partners to get to that $64 million number,” Bentz said.
$64 million is what the gallery would need to get the building ready for a partial opening sometime next year.
However, Bentz’s amendment also failed 3-2. Hamilton, Aiello, and Zussino voted against, while Bentz and Boshcoff voted in favour.
Hamilton said that the $1.25 million is not “going to signal what we need to, especially to the higher levels of government, to actually contribute to get this project across the finish line.”
As per the city’s new governance rules, the gallery’s funding request will still go to council without the standing committee’s endorsement. That debate is expected to take place in November.
