City to pursue Library/Arts Building renovations

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This article was published 19/06/2024 (553 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon City Council voted Monday to proceed with preparation work for the renovation of the Library/Arts Building on Rosser Avenue into a new cultural hub.

The motion that passed recommended that the city proceed with the enhanced sustainability option city staff previously said would include energy efficiency improvements that could help the city access funding through green grant programs.

Before any of the work starts, the motion calls for grant funding worth at least 50 per cent of the total project cost to be secured.

Last week, Brandon’s director of planning and buildings, Ryan Nickel, offered two possible major scenarios at a special meeting: renovate the existing building at a rough cost of $15 million to $18.5 million or build a new one at the corner of Ninth Street and Princess Avenue at a cost of $25 million to $28 million.

On top of providing the Western Manitoba Regional Library and Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba with renewed spaces, it would also bring the Brandon General Museum and Archives under the same roof from its current location at 19 Ninth St.

Renovation would cost less and offer more square footage, but a new build would have a more efficient use of space and reduced utility costs.

At Monday’s meeting, Nickel said city staff were not seeking funding for the project at this point, but to be provided with a direction so that they can continue to explore the sale of the Princess Site if the renovation option is chosen and to start to apply for grant funding for the cultural hub work.

Coun. Bruce Luebke (Ward 6) pointed out that the project is currently tabbed as a $15-million secondary amenity project for 2026 in the city’s capital budget and asked how that status would change as funding is received.

General manager of corporate services Cory Schermann said the 2025 budget process is only just starting, with all capital projects to be reviewed and reprioritized.

“I somewhat feel like we’re moving forward by making a decision tonight, but if we don’t have a plan to fund this, it doesn’t seem like we’re as genuine about moving it forward as we should be,” Luebke said.

“I think we know we’ve got some challenges, even with what we’ve looked at as some of our items we know we’re over budget on or we know we’ve added. This is going to be a tough one to fit in to any one (category) but secondary.”

Mark Allard, the city’s general manager of development services, said next year’s budget deliberations will likely reveal that the project can fit anywhere within the next five years.

Currently, Nickel said there’s not a lot available for grant programming. The biggest potential source of funding, the federal Green and Inclusive Buildings Program, is not currently open.

The Green Municipal Fund is currently open, and Nickel said staff are prepared to apply right away. It could fund up to 20 per cent of a loan of up to $10 million.

In the future, Nickel said the city is hopeful that applications will reopen for the provincial Arts, Culture and Sport in Community Fund.

“That was one we applied for last time,” Nickel said.

“I think we were a good candidate. It just didn’t proceed. I think that would be the strategy, to try and get approval through this Green Municipal Fund first and then if successful, try to top it off with the Manitoba arts and culture fund. There are a lot of unknowns there, but at least it would give us a way forward to start working through some of these grant options with the hope we could assemble some of them for budget deliberations.”

Coun. Shawn Cameron (Ward 4), a member of the WMRL, AGSM and BGMA boards, said he was concerned by the grant funding requirement given some of the restrictions outlined by Nickel.

“I believe wholeheartedly in the project, I believe in what we need to do here and I believe in the transformational effect the program will have, but I’m fearful that 50 per cent cap is going to limit it before it’s even out of the gate,” he said.

In response, Nickel acknowledged that condition poses a risk as some previous projects have failed to garner grant funding, but said it seemed like a responsible addition. Also, he said it’s the kind of project that should be a good candidate for funding when funding programs open.

“I think we if took that out, the partners might be under the impression that we’re putting a full amount in with the capital, which might be challenging,” Nickel said.

Should council not decide to proceed with either option, Nickel said there is still maintenance work that needs to be done on the existing building. Work would also have to be done on the wall shared by the building and The Town Centre mall should it eventually be demolished.

Arguing in favour of a new build was Coun. Greg Hildebrand (Ward 5), while Coun. Heather Karrouze (Ward 1) and Coun. Glen Parker (Ward 9) said preserving what was the historic Eaton’s building and getting more than double the space seemed to be a better deal.

A motion to pursue the renovation was passed, with a motion from Coun. Shawn Berry (Ward 7) amending it to remove a requirement for the project to be considered in the 2025 budget deliberations.

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