POSSIBLE FEASIBILITY STUDY ON CULTURE
By Kirk Winter
At a special meeting on October 29, the Mayor and Council heard from the Cultural Centre Committee Working Group, who recommended that the City move forward with a feasibility study regarding what would be the best way to proceed regarding a new cultural centre or centres for CKL.
Members of the working group include councillors, representatives of the Library Board, the Academy Theatre, the Art Gallery and the Olde Gaol Museum. The organization is chaired by Susan Taylor, who is also the Manager for the Lindsay Art Gallery.
The group reported that the time has come for the City to act regarding the future of culture and cultural tourism in CKL.
The Cultural Committee suggests that a formal feasibility study will do the following:
Assess a proposed model for a Cultural Centre/hub
Follow up on the City’s Core Service review for a proposed site
Recommend a capital budget and an operating budget
Review potential funding sources
Recommend potential governance models
Provide time for further communication and engagement
The model favoured by most is a “hub and spoke” example diagramed in the group’s presentation. There is a central hub with collections storage and exhibit space. Then there would be multiple outlying hubs that would allow residents to access culture in their own communities. One City source has suggested that the outlying hubs could be in already existing library branches currently managed by the City. The central hub is expected to be located in Lindsay, but where is a key question for the feasibility study to answer.
Many in the cultural community would like to keep the central hub in Lindsay’s downtown core, ideally within walking distance of the Academy Theatre and the riverfront. Some have made a case for the lot where the Old Mill currently sits, while others worry that with the Municipal Archives, Art Gallery and Victoria County Historical Society all vying for space, the Old Mill location is too small.
Ever-increasing real estate/lease prices along Kent Street may prove problematic for this project to stay in the downtown core. One individual I interviewed suggested that we are looking at core location too narrowly. This individual posited that a reworking of the Boyd Museum in Bobcaygeon should be seriously considered, making Bobcaygeon the core of this multi-hub cultural centre.
The Cultural Committee would like the City to take the following action:
Endorse the multi-hub model for future CKL cultural facilities
Commit $50,000 in City funding to the feasibility study that will be matched by $50,000 donated to the Kawartha Lakes Art Council
Commit to partnering 50/50 in ongoing planning and oversight of the feasibility study
Endorse the establishment of a Cultural Steering Committee
Endorse the provision of City staff/technical expertise and support as required by the City Cultural Steering Committee
If the City signs on to this feasibility study, the Cultural Committee believes they could have a study underway by March of 2020, and completed by June of 2020.