Art Gallery funding sought -- By Jennifer Smith - December 21

Despite painting some elaborate pictures of a proposed civic complex, Vernon isn’t having much luck finding funds for the art gallery portion of the building. The city’s chief administrative officer Leon Gous briefed Coldstream council on the civic complex plans Monday, which now include 11,300 square feet for the art gallery. At an estimated cost of $5 million for the art gallery portion alone, financial support is needed to fund the space.“It’s the one function that isn’t really ours and that there isn’t any money on the table for,” said Gous.

While the art gallery is a Greater Vernon function, Gous says they’ve been unsuccessful raising the issue at the Greater Vernon Services Committee. But without GVSC’s support and resident approval, Coldstream councillors agreed to hold off on their decision until after the Jan. 26 referendum. “I wouldn’t support trying to do an end run around GVS, because that’s what they’re trying to do,” said Coun. Doug Dirk.The artist renderings presented also aren’t enough to get Coldstream on board.

“It’s hard to really make a decision on the presentation without some numbers,” said Glen Taylor, questioning how much Coldstream would need to fork over. The proposed art gallery space would nearly double from its current 6,000 square-foot facility. Rental rates would also increase from the current $11 per square foot to $25. “They are very pleased with the outcome today,” said Gous.

The overall proposal includes doubling library space to 29,000, as well as providing offices for city workers and the RCMP. The upcoming referendum will ask residents to approve borrowing up to $30 million over 25 years for construction of a civic building. While the Okanagan Regional Library Board is supporting the library expansion with $9 million, others are questioning the need for more library space in this tehnologically-advanced society.“We think that physical expansion to the library is a mistake,” said Andy Danyliu, Coldstream Ratepayers Association president, who is also a member of the Vernon Taxpayers Association. “What we need is satellite branches and we would like to see a branch library in the Coldstream.”

Danyliu also questions just how much taxpayers can handle, with Vernon taxes proposed to increase approximately five per cent and Coldstream jumping nine per cent for 2008.“We have people being taxed out of their homes, we have people selling because they can’t afford their taxes,” said Danyliu. “The pennies add up and that’s why we (taxpayer associations) exist because the pennies adding up are breaking the backs of taxpayers.”For more information on the proposed civic complex, including artist renderings of the project, visit www.vernon.ca. “We’ve gone through a whole number of concepts and costed them out,” said Gous.

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