INNISFAIL – The town will soon start serious discussions throughout the community for a future arts centre.
But what that facility will look like is far from certain as members of council have widely different visions.
The issue briefly came up during a regular council meeting last month, following 2017 budget deliberations when $100,000 was set aside for a culture and recreation master plan.
Helen Dietz, the town's chief administrative officer, said pending final approval of the 2017 budget, expected on Dec. 12, a consultant for the master plan will be hired to get community input, which is expected to include feedback on the feasibility of a future arts centre. Dietz said she expects the master plan to take six to eight months to complete, with results prioritized on what recreation and cultural facilities are most desired and needed for the community.
In the meantime, council members are in agreement an arts facility is needed for the community, but there are differences of opinion on the level of priority, and its scope. Some feel a future arts facility should be tailored just for arts and crafts groups, while others say it should include a large- scale auditorium or concert hall that would have up to double the seating capacity of the auditorium at the Innisfail Royal Canadian Legion, the town's largest current venue.
“I don't know if it's time for us to start planning it with our projects that we are trying to finish up, the sewer lagoon and a couple of street areas we need to clean up,” said Mayor Brian Spiller. “I can see all our (provincial) MSI money in the next five or six years being spent on just catching up on basic infrastructure.
“This (arts centre) is a wish list thing and everyone has their wish list and wish lists have to move to the back when you have your basic priorities you have to fulfill first,” added Spiller.
Nevertheless, an arts centre facility is part of the mayor's long-term vision for the town. He said his idea would be a “beautiful town centre” that would have meeting rooms for service clubs and enough space, accommodating up to 600 people, to facilitate a “big political forum” or weddings.
“It would be like Lacombe's Memorial Centre, and off of that you have art galleries and everything else. You just don't have it for one purpose only,” said Spiller.
Coun. Doug Bos said he would rate the priority of a future arts centre in the top five big capital projects he would like to see. He said his vision depicts a combined type of venue that would be suitable to accommodate large weddings or conventions, as well as smaller rooms that would be suitable for arts and crafts classes.
“You could combine a lot of the stuff that we have in town under one roof and make it a community centre,” said Bos. “ I think to get the most use out of it, the biggest bang for your buck and to keep your operating costs down, having everything under one roof would be better than have everything spread out throughout different places in town.”
Bos added it should include a large hall that could host concerts, ones that would serve as fundraisers for the community to help pay for the facility's construction cost.
“In Penhold they got the multiplex and they brought in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. If you could do things like that there it would help pay for itself,” said Bos.
Meanwhile, Coun. Patt Churchill's vision, which for her is a priority, is a more modest one that would be more of an arts and culture centre that would house a variety of arts and crafts classes, or accommodate a jazz ensemble.
She noted an addition can be built at the Innisfail Library/Learning Centre, adding the building also has an oversized mechanical room that can be expanded.
“Maybe that is what this whole building can become in the future,” said Churchill of her arts and culture centre idea. She said her vision would be cost effective and that citizens could see it “sooner” than they might think.
Coun. Doug Bos
"You could combine a lot of the stuff that we have in town under one roof and make it a community centre."
