Summary
The Regional Arts Facilities Select Committee was created by the CRD Board in response to Board Priority 12a-1. Its purpose was to facilitate a public discussion on regional arts facilities in the capital region. The Select Committee, through the work of a consultant, conducted a process of community engagement and input to explore the following topics:
- a current inventory and oversight of performing art facilities, their functions and roles within the current ecosystem
- gap analysis
- consideration of equity including demographic and geographic equity
- considerations related to the intersection of local and regional interests
- funding and sustainability
- challenges
- suggested modifications and improvements (short and long term)
- partnerships
- other relevant issues as may arise
Incremental summary reports from these engagements are available at PlaceSpeak. This process concluded with a report entitled Stage One: A Public Conversation about Performing Arts Facilities in the CRD. Based on the Stage One report's four recommendations, the Select Committee forwarded a recommendation to the CRD Board to create a new regional service for performing arts facilities.
On March 10, 2021, the CRD Board passed a motion "to begin the process of establishing a regional service for the purposes of planning, developing and funding of performing arts facilities that have regional impact." The Board approved $150,000 in the 2021 budget for costs related to the establishment of the service and directed the Chair to create the Performing Arts Facilities Select Committee to oversee the work related to establishing a performing arts service.
At the Board meeting on September 8, 2021 the CRD Board defeated a motion from the Select Committee to proceed with a regional Alternative Approval Process as a means to obtain elector approval for Bylaw No. 4445, establishing a Regional Performing Arts Facilities Service.
At the Board meeting on October 13, 2021 the CRD Board directed staff to take no further action related to Bylaw No. 4445 nor to its proposed approval process, as outlined in the recommendations brought to Board on September 8, 2021, at this time.
Next Steps
Staff are directed to report back to the Select Committee with options regarding moving forward with a full regional service that does not include the Alternative Approval Process and a sub-regional arts facilities service. The motion to have the CRD Board Chair send a letter to all CRD jurisdictions to encourage non-participating jurisdictions join was postponed until after the CRD Performing Arts Facilities Select Committee review the options above.