Unhappy with being the lone municipal source of funding for the McPherson Theatre, the City of Victoria has made it clear things will have to change.
“Let’s be blunt. The city is not very happy with the existing arrangement or operating agreement with the McPherson by virtue of the fact that it is the sole funder of the theatre,” Mayor Marianne Alto told the Capital Regional District’s performing arts facilities select committee last week.
“The city is considering a variety of future options, and they are very broad on the continuum of possibilities.”
Alto, who chairs the committee, would not go into detail about what those options could include.
The city provides $750,000 annually toward the operational budget of the theatre, the only municipality in the region to fund it. The Royal Theatre, by comparison, is funded by Victoria, Saanich and Oak Bay.
“We know [the McPherson] is a regional facility for sure and so there’s obviously a certain frustration that it’s only the city that pays for it,” Alto said in an interview Tuesday.
But before changes or closures are contemplated for the McPherson, Alto said she’s hopeful about a new process to look into a regional funding strategy.
On Wednesday, the CRD board will consider a recommendation from Alto’s committee that the board hire a consultant to do a cost-benefit analysis of five service options for funding the regional arts facilities, including the McPherson.
Alto said the hope is the consultant, if approved by the board, will provide recommendations to the committee by the middle of next year.
The CRD has considered regional funding models in the past that did little to change the landscape.
But Alto said she believes the perspective of the board has changed and there is now increased awareness of the impact arts and culture has in the region and how much of the activity is focused on the regional facilities — the McPherson, Royal and Charlie White Theatre at Mary Winspear Centre.
The five options the consultant would consider include two fully regional options that would see all CRD municipalities and electoral areas fund the three facilities.
There are also three sub-regional options — one would see 13 municipalities fund the three theatres, another has six municipalities funding them and the final one has just the four core municipalities funding just the McPherson and the Royal.
Some options include capital reserves for the expansion of facilities and a theatre rental grant estimated at $350,000 annually that would provide funding for local arts groups to be able to afford to use the larger venues.
CRD staff estimate the proposed $350,000 grant program has the potential to subsidize between 60 and 80 shows at the three under-used regional theatres.
The grant program would make funds available to non-profit arts groups to offset civic theatre rental costs. It would mean local artists can compete with commercial productions for theatre time and space.
The cost for each of the five options ranges from $1.69 million to $3.37 million.
The motion to hire a consultant was passed unanimously by the committee.
CRD chair and Saanich Coun. Colin Plant, who was a strong supporter, warned last week that things may not move as smoothly when the full board considers the proposal, as concerns have been expressed by some CRD directors about adding new services to the budget.
“We’re going to need to be able to show the value of this service to our colleagues,” he said, pointing out the most expensive option being considered represents less than one per cent of the CRD’s total budget. “It’s tiny in the big scheme of things, but it’s new and we are in a climate where people are very concerned.”
Alto said if the board turns down the proposal, or the process ends up leading to something that jeopardizes the McPherson as a viable performance space, Victoria council will have to discuss other options.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
