City of WL: No Station House Gallery move in 2011

The proposed relocation and renovation of the Station House Gallery will not be completed in 2011, the City of Williams Lake announced today.

City Council made it clear during discussion of the 2011 budget that the project was contingent on a successful $375,000 grant from the Provincial Towns For Tomorrow program. The province announced 47 recipients of grants, and Williams Lake was not on the list of successful applicants.

“We’re disappointed we didn’t receive the grant,” says Mayor Kerry Cook. “Council feels relocating and improving the Gallery would benefit both it and the community, but we always have to keep financial implications in mind. As such, the project will not proceed this year.”

The proposed project would have seen the Station House Gallery from its current location at the foot of Oliver Street to corner of Borland Street and Fourth Avenue North, in order to make improvements to the building and to increase its visibility in the community. Council had committed $260,000 to the project if the grant application was successful.

In 2010, as the City was evaluating the costs of stabilizing the building in its current location, the question arose if it made sense to spend funds to construct a new basement and undertake repairs to the building on the current site or move the building to a more visible location in the community.

After consulting with members of the Museum Board and Station House Gallery Board, it was suggested that the City investigate the availability of the Royal Bank parking lot for the Station House building.

The site is considered ideal for the Gallery with the Museum of the Cariboo-Chilcotin and the Central Cariboo Arts Centre (the old fire hall) located on the same corner, firming the site as the central cultural precinct of Williams Lake and the Cariboo region. By combining these cultural facilities in the one place, it will encourage higher patronage and use of the facilities. The project scope includes relocation, site preparation, renovation, parking/landscaping and retrofitting costs, which includes new electrical and plumbing work together with a new HVAC system. The project would take approximately one year to complete.

“City staff will be working with the Station House Gallery and Council to identify next steps, recognizing the building will require some degree of rehabilitation in coming years,” says Chief Administrative Officer Brian Carruthers. “Other grant opportunities will also be investigated. The $260,000 allocated for the project will remain in the budget pending any future decisions with respect to the Station House Gallery building.

For more information, please contact:

Brian Carruthers - Chief Administrative Officer
City of Williams Lake
250-392-1763 or bcarruthers@williamslake.ca

UPDATE at 9:24pm - All applicants were advised on Wednesday, June 8th on whether their Towns for Tomorrow grant applicants were successful or not.  As proof - CRD Staff received a letter from Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Ida Chong (see her letter here) this past Wednesday (June 8th) that their Towns for Tomorrow grant of $400,000 was successful

Editor's Note - In discussing this latest development with locals - one possible option is to move the Gallery itself down to the basement of the Tourism Discovery Center and use the building at the bottom of Oliver St and Mackenzie Avenue for a bike shop as it appears that the expansion of the off-street parking zone could allow for the extension of the River Valley Trail system, sometime in the future.  Other options could include moving the Gallery to the Spirit Square and even the old Cariboo Lodge site.  But at the end of the day - I hope the community will be fair and flexible to discuss many options in order to allow the best site to be selected as I don't think there is many who would want the Station House Gallery to fail permanently


In the meantime, I'm glad WL Council has postponed this project until other funding opportunities can be located and applied for.  I still believe though that the Province and Ottawa should fund this project at 100% as we need to roll back our spending habits as I believe spending at WL City Hall is a little out of control and restraint should be the "order of the day"