The following article appeared in the October 15 edition of the Guelph Mercury:
The city will have to wait at least three weeks before it can make a plea to the Ministry of Culture for $3 million in funding, money that would support the relocation of the Guelph Civic Museum to the Loretto Convent.
But in light of former culture minister Caroline Di Cocco’s defeat in last week’s provincial election, the wait could be even longer.
Guy Lepage, a ministry spokesperson, said it will be at least two or three weeks before a new minister is installed. It will also take some time for the appointee to adjust to the new role.
The city will need to make its case for funding by meeting with the minister, since there is no capital program from which to draw, Lepage said.
“The ministry does occasionally give funding for different projects, but that’s on a case-by-case basis,” Lepage said. “If the Ministry of Culture hands out funding, it’s usually one-time (funding).”
The City of Guelph met in April 2006 with Di Cocco. Following the meeting, the city received $800,000 to help restore a heritage wall from the old Memorial Gardens arena as part of Guelph’s new city hall.
Lepage said the Loretto Convent was also discussed at the meeting and the ministry agreed it’s a suitable site to relocate the civic museum.
As part of its culture platform, the McGuinty Liberals promised a three-year, $40-million cultural capital program.
If the program is instituted, Guelph would be eligible to apply, Lepage said. The program is intended to help municipalities provide artists with space to do their work.
The city has already applied for $3.3 million in federal funds through the Cultural Spaces Canada program.
But federal officials informed the city it had to request a similar amount from the province. Previously, the city indicated it would only ask the province for about $1 million.
The city should hear the outcome of the federal application in December. But as a condition of the grant, renovations to the Loretto Convent need to be “substantially” completed by March 2010.
That means a funding commitment from the province is essential to move forward with the current financial framework.
City council will weigh in on the matter at tonight’s meeting and decide whether to pre-approve project costs in advance of the 2008 budget process.
Katherine McCracken, city director of museums, has previously said waiting until February for the city to finalize the 2008 capital budget will be too long to ensure the project moves ahead on schedule.
Council will also vote tonight on whether to sign a 50-year lease with the Diocese of Hamilton for the Loretto Convent.
The agreement includes an exit clause in case the provincial and federal funding fall through.
Councillor Mike Salisbury said the city needs to keep moving forward with what it can at the moment.
“If at the end of the day the deal falls through, heaven forbid, we’re approaching it in a way that doesn’t put us in a box,” he said.
Coun. Ian Findlay said city council will meet this week to discuss priority setting, and the Guelph Civic Museum will be identified.
“We’ve always looked at this as something that’s going to happen in the next three or four years,” he said.
Estimated project costs are $12.7 million including grants and subsidies. Costs to the city — roughly $6.7 million — will be identified in the 2008-10 capital budgets.
Financing the project would be dependent on receiving $3 million each from the provincial and federal government.
If the grants come through, city staff would be authorized to prepare and issue a tender for design and consulting services. Construction will be tendered and awarded within the amount of $11.4 million.