It started with the desire to build a performing arts venue. Then the term changed to community centre and lately, it has evolved again. It is now coined "community campus" and includes a new municipal hall. But even though the name has changed, the concept is the same, the Community Centre Standing Committee assured members of the public at the council meeting on May 7.
Paul Hoosen has been part of the community centre initiative from the beginning. He signed up for public comments and said, "The survey identified that the community hall was top priority for many islanders and [building a] municipal hall was seen as less important. I suggest that the site plan should be done immediately." Hoosen explained that the site plan would clarify the components of the community campus.
"Building new municipal offices without a cultural centre is fiction," he said. "The public supported this council in the last election because we believed that the community centre would move forward."
Hoosen also drew attention to the fact that certain grant money, for instance the Cultural Spaces Canada grant, would only be available to non-profit groups like the Bowen Island Arts Council, and only if the community campus includes a sizable cultural component.
Councillor Darron Jennings presented the report of the Community Centre Standing Committee and said it had looked at the "age-old challenge of how to get something started." He explained that the site is perfect for the idea of a community campus because it is close to the school and Snug Cove. Some of the aspects the standing committee has taken into consideration include how to deal with tenure and making sure that the cost of operations doesn't put taxpayers at risk.
Jennings also said that, due to the inconsistency of funding from senior governments, fundraising efforts are crucial. "We looked at how we can stand on our own two feet and found that building a municipal hall gives us the ability to build a community hall," Jennings said.
Councillor Tim Rhodes said, "I agree that rezoning and site analysis are where we need to start." Rhodes also mentioned that other components of the community campus may include a clinic.
Councillor Cro Lucas believes that the report maps out a positive way of physically moving the process forward. "We've had committees that have done a lot of work on paper," he said. "But now, with each step that is taken, the process becomes more accelerated. Phase one was identified as including a municipal hall but that's not to say that the arts community can't alter that plan."
Hans Behm is one of the founders of BIAC and asked to speak to the concept. "I want to say that a community campus is a very appealing land use for that site. I have two concerns. You were elected on two premises: the community centre and fiscal management," he said, adding that the public would not look too kindly on adding the cost for a new municipal hall to the community centre project. Behm asked council to reassure Bowen Islanders that the community centre is the first priority.
"To say that we are going to put a municipal hall ahead of the community centre is not correct. We wanted to develop the concept and look at the site and rezoning so we can have an idea what is going to happen on the property," mayor Jack Adelaar said. "The question of fundraising is always an issue and we are cognizant of the fact that there is great interest in creating a performance hall."
Adelaar also added that one of the concerns of the committee is fiscal management. "We are not moving ahead without a complete understanding of the fiscal cost. We are not concerned about fundraising because we know people are prepared to contribute but we are grappling with the operating cost. It is one thing to build it it's another to operate it. We are not going to build it if it's not going to pay for itself," he said.
Rhodes clarified that including the municipal hall should not be seen as an obstacle but an opportunity. "Building a new municipal hall was always the vehicle to build more than a municipal hall," he said. "The money we currently pay in rent [for municipal offices] will support a mortgage that supports more than just a municipal hall."
Lucas added that it was identified by the Community Centre Implementation Committee that the replacement cost of the rent could go into a mortgage that will make the whole project possible. "By building a municipal hall, we can make it bigger and the cost will be covered by a mortgage. It's a win-win situation," he said.
Councillor Alison Morse explained that the municipality pays $80,000 a year in rent at the municipal hall plus $25,000 for other venues. "That comes to about $105,000 and that would service a $2 million debt," Morse said. She explained that the mortgage would finance about 4,500 square feet. The municipal hall component would take up 3,000 square feet that could include other multi-purpose spaces such as council chambers.
Jennings added that the estimated price per square foot represents a high construction cost and a lower estimate could leave a more substantial budget for the cultural spaces.
"The next exercise will determine how much arts space we will get," he said. "Then it's time to get shovels in the ground and work with hard numbers."
