City council approved spending $260,250 to keep Studio 2880 and the Community Arts Council’s facilities at 2880 and 2820 15th Ave. operational.
The work is expected to keep the buildings, which are more than 80 years old, operational for another five to 10 years, city council heard from staff on Monday night. Funding for the project will come from federal grant money in the Community Works Fund, and won’t impact taxes.
City director of recreation and events Andy Beesley said the buildings are the oldest in the city’s inventory, and are reaching the end of the useful life despite efforts to maintain them.
“The building needs are kind of starting to overtake our ability to continue to maintain them within our current resources,” Beesley said, adding that all the work planned is essential to keep the buildings from failing. “There aren’t any wants from the Community Arts Council in here.”
City staff have been in consultation with the Community Arts Council, Beesley added, and the organization is hoping to stay in their current location until a permanent new location can be found. The new Civic Core Plan, which council approved in March, is expected to identify a long-term solution for the arts groups, Beesley added.
The planned work includes repairs to the building structure to prevent water damage, fixing current water damaged areas that include hazardous materials, replacing broken plumbing fixtures, addressing flooring issues where safety is a concern and addressing HVAC issues.
“I took a tour through the that building a couple of weeks ago, and boy does it need some work,” Coun. Brian Skakun said. “Everything from the bathrooms, the toilets, the roofing and that.”
Studio 2880 and the Community Arts Council are “an incredible asset in our community,” and spending the money makes sense to keep the staff and visitors safe until a permanent solution is found.
Coun. Frank Everitt said he doesn’t want to see a situation where the city is forced to evict the organizations because the building is unsafe.
“I think it is important that they are able to continue to use this facility,” Everitt said.
The work is long overdue and any plan to relocate Studio 2880 and the Community Arts Council will take several years to come to fruition, Coun. Murry Krause said.
‘WHERE IS THE PLAN?”
Councillors Kyle Sampson, Cori Ramsay and Susan Scott all raised concerns about spending money on the buildings which are at the end of their life.
“How many old facilities can we list off that we are hearing are at the end of their life, but we have no plan in place. Where is the plan? Where is the plan for the last 20 years for any of these buildings?” Sampson said. “We’re going to do a Band-Aid fix, and they’re still not going to be in a good facility.”
It’s not that the organizations aren’t worth the investment, he said, but Sampson didn’t like the idea of “putting money into a building we are going to be torn down.”
Ramsay said, given the condition of the building, even with the repairs it might not last another five to 10 years.
“(And) as soon as we look into (the hazardous material) abatement issues, the costs could go up and up and up,” she said.
Scott previously worked in the buildings and said she wouldn’t do it again, despite the great work being done by the organizations.
“I’m concerned that it is over a quarter million dollars that could be better placed,” she said.
Mayor Lyn Hall said there was a plan, which was to relocate the facilities to the former Bank of Montreal building downtown. However, grants for the $3 million to $4 million necessary for the move didn’t get approved.
The city needs to work with the organizations to bring that plan to fruition, or find a new one “the sooner the better,” Hall said.
“We’re on life support with a couple of our buildings,” Hall said. “We all understand the age of the building. What we are seeing is not only this building, but we are seeing it with the Coliseum and other buildings.”
