St. Albert’s Arts & Heritage Foundation is asking city council for $1.6 million in funding for 2017, a $60,921 increase over last year.
Executive director Ann Ramsden and treasurer Megan Hurley presented the foundation’s funding request to council Nov. 10, explaining the number of people visiting the city’s arts and heritage sites continues to grow.
Whereas 2015 saw 78,510 community members visit the foundation’s sites – the MusĂ©e Heritage Museum, the Art Gallery of St. Albert and the various St. Albert Heritage sites – that number is projected to increase this year.
“Our visitation continues to grow,” Hurley said. “In 2016, we will have served over 83,000 members of the community who attend our exhibitions, events, programs and archives.”
She explained the increase in funding is based on maintaining the current service levels, as well as covering some additional costs for operating the Cunningham and Hogan houses.
While those two buildings, which are both more than a century old, won’t be open to the public until 2018, there are some costs associated with keeping them heated and maintained throughout the year.
The city’s contribution to the foundation represents about 70 per cent of the foundation’s budget, with the remainder coming from program revenue, sales, memberships, donations and fundraising efforts.
Over the next several years, the foundation plans to open more buildings to the public at its heritage sites, and also to digitize some of its collections and make them accessible online.
Councillors had few questions about the operating budget. There was some concern about the various capital projects associated with foundation – specifically, the $1.5-million project to make the art gallery, located in the historic Banque d’Hochelaga building on Perron Street, barrier free.
Interim city manager Chris Jardine explained that project doesn’t appear in the current draft of the budget, as council had provided no direction to include it.
Ramsden said there could be some grant funding available for the project, but described it as a “chicken and egg” situation where without municipal commitment, the foundation would struggle to get grant money from the higher levels of government.
“We’re fairly confident we can bring in some provincial and federal grants,” Ramsden said. “We would be looking at a minimum of 70 per cent commitment, and hopefully we could reduce that commitment.”
Coun. Sheena Hughes asked whether there were other options for that project, like moving the art gallery to an existing space that’s already barrier free. Ramsden said the board had discussed the options and didn’t see that as workable.
“Without speaking on behalf of the board, we see it as a solution that may be the only solution we have in the short term,” she said.
Coun. Tim Osborne made a motion to provide funding for that amount in the 2017 budget. Council is scheduled to begin debating budget motions Nov. 24.
In an interview after the presentation, Ramsden said she was happy with that move, as the current plan is a “slimmed-down” version of previous proposals that would have actually increased the footprint of the building, and cost more. The current proposal does still leave the option open to expand the building in the future if need.
While the city’s 10-year capital growth plan includes more than $15 million worth of capital projects, including upgrades to the Heritage Park site and the installation of the next phase of the Founder’s Walk, those items are not included in the budget that’s currently on the table because of significant funding shortfalls.
Ramsden said the impact of not moving forward with these projects would have an impact on the public, and make it more difficult to market the site as a tourist destination if it looks unfinished. Work on the site has already begun, including restoring the grain elevators, which has resulted in a “huge increase” of visitors to that site.
“If everything is delayed, what will happen is the site will remain unfinished,” she said. “The parking lot will remain unpaved, there will still be a road going through the site and the French Canadian farm won’t be accessible to the public.”
