Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Director of Civic Theatres

SUBJECT:

Civic Theatres Capital Project - Funding

 

RECOMMENDATION

COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

PURPOSE

Civic Theatres seeks approval of an allocation of $360,000 from Civic Theatres Capital Reserve to:

1. Pay consultant fees and miscellaneous expenses in support of the fund raising effort for the redevelopment of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and Plaza - $110,000.

2. Out of that budget, to engage Bridge Communications as the fund raising support consultant for a maximum of $50,000.

3. To fund replacement and upgrades of miscellaneous theatre furnishings as detailed in Appendix "A", in the amount of $250,000.

BACKGROUND

On September 13, 2001, Council approved the submission by Civic Theatres of a grant application to the Federal Department of Canadian Heritage Cultural Spaces Canada Program for $5 million as one third of a proposed $15 million redevelopment of the QET and Plaza.

Another $5 million is proposed to be paid by Civic Theatres Capital Reserve which earns revenue from a surcharge on all tickets over $12 value sold for events at the 3 theatres plus net revenue from the QET Parkade. The Capital Reserve earned $840,000 in 2001.

The final $5 million is proposed to be raised from other public, private and corporate sources. It is this $5 million that is the subject of Recommendations "A-1" and "B".

Having secured Council approval to apply for the grant, the Civic Theatres Board appointed a committee to develop strategy for raising the third $5 million. That committee is led by Civic Theatres Board Chair Art Jones, board members John Plul, Elizabeth Ball and Diana Lam and includes Russell Anthony, appointed by the Vancouver Opera Board and Mark Ufford, appointed by House of Blues on behalf of commercial presenters.

The committee is now poised to launch the fund raising drive.

DISCUSSION

1. Fund raising budget - $110,000; (Recommendation A-1).

The budget is to pay for:

* a fund raising consultant to support the efforts of the committee by formulating the details of the agreement between donors and the City.

* print and display materials to illustrate and publicize the project and sponsorship opportunities.

* fees for the architect and theatre consulting team to develop presentation and display drawings and models.

2. Fund raising support consultant; (Recommendation B).

After searching for fund raising consultants who have recent, successful experience with raising public funds for a live theatre, Bridge Communications, (principal Ms. Marlie Oden), was recommended to support the effort. Bridge Communications was the consultant selected by the Arts Club to raise funds for the Stanley Theatre. Other performing arts experience includes the Fringe Festival, Nanaimo Festival Theatre, Vancouver TheatreSports, the Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance, Women in View, the Comedy Festival, TheatreOne (Nanaimo) as well as a broad range of other community and corporate projects, including the City of Vancouver Community Visions project.

On April 11, 2002, the Vancovuer Civic Theatres Board resolved:

It is estimated that a maximum of $50,000 will be sufficient to fund the work of Bridge Communications for the first phase of fund raising - direct, private appeals to individuals and corporations, principally in exchange for naming opportunities. Hopefully we will only need a first phase, but we recognize that we may need to implement a second and very public phase to reach the target.

3. Equipment and Furnishings - $250,000; (Recommendation B).

The Civic Theatres Capital Reserve is dedicated to upgrades of the theatres, while City operating budgets are supposed to look after maintenance. However theatre equipment andfurnishings tend to fall into a gray area outside of Building Management's mandate and in excess of the funds provided in the theatres' annual operating budget. NNR budgets in recent years have not been able to accommodate the needs. Therefore a number of life-cycle replacement items are being proposed for replacement at this time as well as a couple of upgrades. Attempts will continue to be made, with the assistance of the Budget Office, to find ways to accommodate these kinds of maintenance issues within the operating budget.

Details of the items proposed are listed in Appendix "A".

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The financing plan requires a loan from the PEF to be repaid from Civic Theatres Capital Reserve Revenue as it is earned. The further advance from the PEF, increases the outstanding balance in the existing loan from the PEF from $3.67 million to 4.03 million. Given, the Capital Reserve Revenue in 2001 was $840,000, the additional loan of $360,000 is still less than annual reserve revenues.

The PEF loan will be established with terms acceptable to the Director of Finance.

CONCLUSION

This report requests approval of $360,000 from the Civic Theatres Capital Reserve, with interim financing form the PEF, to provide a budget for fund raising for the proposed QET redevelopment including appointment of Bridge Communications as a fund raising consultant and in addition, to replace some furnishings and equipment for the 3 theatres.

LINK TO APPENDIX A

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ag020730.htm

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