Last kick at the can for SOPAC
Some councillors anxious to see more than platitudes about much-hyped arts centre
The long-running effort to bring the South Okanagan Performing Arts Centre to life has received tentative support from Penticton city council in the form of earmarking a downtown plot of land.
Council voted on Tuesday to support, in principle, holding the 99 Nanaimo Ave. property until March 31, 2019. Couns. Max Picton and Andre Martin were weary of putting council’s full support behind a project that has been in the works, on and off, since the early 1990s.
“I would love to see something moving forward, but I feel like the same request is coming forward again and again, and I’ve heard of this symposium for years now,” Picton said. “To tie up a key piece of downtown property in perpetuity for something where I haven’t yet seen forward progress (is risky).”
Society member Allan Markin said holding the land for more than a year would be seen as council’s support of the project.
“We are, to some extent, making the same presentation. We are awaiting a public expression of council’s support for the project,” Markin said.
Now called the South Okanagan Creative and Performing Arts Centre Society, the group was before council in February 2017 looking for a similar commitment. The property was slightly more contentious at the time since the YES Project youth centre was looking to locate its facility there. That project has since set its sights elsewhere.
Committing the land for about 15 months (until March 2019) will give the SOPAC society time to put together a symposium with the intent of ironing out the plan before reporting back to council.
“Putting off anything to do with that property until 2019 is a gesture on our part that I believe is very positive,” Coun. Campbell Watt said. “I will suggest and hope because what I will be looking for is that the support you show coming back with your report is that you won’t need any financial assistance.
“The red flag that will go up for me is that if you can’t put together the funds for a $50,000 symposium, how are you going to put together the funds to actually build the building?”
Council voted 5-2 in favour with Martin and Picton opposed.
“If we do this, we pre-dispose this site, at least for the short term, to the SOPAC and we haven’t even gone to the community and said ‘what would you like to see there?’” Martin said.
CAO Peter Weeber said past councils have supported the project, though not through a formal policy.
“There has been past policy of direction from council. It wasn’t in paper form, that’s probably why this council has struggled with it,” Weeber said, referencing a sign currently displayed on the lot stating it is the future site of SOPAC.
If an issue arises, or council decides to actively market the property within the time frame, the in-principle support would change, Weeber said.