Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets

FROM:

Director, Office of Cultural Affairs

SUBJECT:

Grants Equal to Theatre Rent: 1998/99 Season

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

In 1979 and again in 1983, City Council affirmed the principle that Grants Equal to Theatre Rent are provided to non-profit cultural organizations that use the Civic Theatres on a regular basis and have been assigned an annual "base level" of theatre rent uses by Council.

Council approved the current process for Grants Equal to Theatre Rent on July 27, 1995. This provided for seasonally based grants allocated in July of each year for the coming Fall (Sept. 1 to Dec. 31) and Spring (Jan. 1 to Aug. 31). Rental grant recommendations for the Spring are approved in principle, subject to the Operating Budget Review process for the applicable year.

Approval of grant recommendations requires eight affirmative votes.

PURPOSE

In accordance with the process Council established in 1995, this is the second of two annual reports on Grants Equal to Theatre Rent. It makes grant recommendations for the 1998/99 season (Fall 1998 and Spring 1999).

BACKGROUND

Budget Level:

On February 5, 1998, Council approved a Grants Equal to Theatre Rent budget of $1,451,985 for calendar year 1998, not including the $100,000 allocated in that budget for the Vancouver Symphony Society's rental of office space in the Orpheum Theatre. On April 21, 1998 Council confirmed 12 rental grants totalling $840,075, leaving an unallocated balance of $611,910 in the 1998 rental grants budget.

On July 7, 1998, to offset the costs of the new Civic Theatre rental rates for the 1998/99 season, Council approved an increase of $26,575 in the 1998 rental grants budget. In this report, staff are recommending the transfer of $5,475 from the Project Grants category to cover the costs of assigning a rental use of the Orpheum to the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra. If Council approves this transfer, the unallocated balance in the 1998 Grants Equal to Theatre Rent budget will be $643,960.

DISCUSSION

Requests:

For the 1998/99 season, 11 applicants have requested rental grants totalling $1,540,465, including 11 uses over base level and 13 uses booked for possible holdover performances, as summarized in Table 1. A detailed discussion of applicants' grant requests for the season is provided in Appendix A.

TABLE 1

1998/99 GRANTS EQUAL TO RENT
REQUESTS

* Uses within base levels booked for possible holdovers of successful events.

Recommendations:

As summarized in Table 2, staff recommend grants totalling $1,470,855 for the 1998/99 season. This consists of $643,710 for Fall '98, and $827,145 for Spring '99, all within base levels, but including three uses booked for possible holdovers in Spring '99. A detailed discussion of staff recommendations is presented in Appendix A.

TABLE 2

1998/99 GRANTS EQUAL TO RENT
RECOMMENDATIONS

CONCLUSION

The Grants Equal to Rent budget available for Fall 1998 has not allowed for any grant recommendations over assigned base levels, nor for recommendations for unconfirmed uses. Approval of the Fall uses will leave an unallocated balance of $200.

Since the City budget operates on the calendar year, grants approved for Spring 1999 will have to be reconfirmed by Council next year, after the annual Cultural Grants budget is established. Given the pattern of requests in recent years, no grants over base level have been recommended for the Spring.

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APPENDIX A
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1998/99 RENTAL GRANT REQUESTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Academy of Music

The Academy rents the Orpheum four times a year to present its student orchestral concerts; its current base level covers these uses. Staff are recommending approval of the Academy's request for a grant of $27,375 towards one use in Fall 1998 and three uses in Spring 1999.

Ballet B.C.

Ballet British Columbia has asked for a $93,075 covering 16 uses, seven over its base level of nine. One of these extra uses is for a rehearsal in Spring 1999. The other six are for a presentation of Carmen on the Dance Alive! series, a type of use Council has not previously funded, except when the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra has been involved. (As discussed in the section on the VSO, the two organizations have submitted a joint rental grant application, which staff are recommending, within the VSO's uses.)

Given budget limitations, staff are not recommending any grants over base levels for the 1998/99 season. In that context, staff recommend a grant of $54,750 covering the Company's nine base level uses of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Ballet B.C. received a 1998 Operating grant of $80,000.

Coastal Jazz and Blues Society

The Society, which organizes Vancouver's Jazz Festival, has asked for its base level use of the Orpheum for the annual opening night concert, scheduled for June 25, 1999. Approval of this $7,300 grant request is recommended. The Society's 1998 Operating grant was $10,000.

Friends of Chamber Music

This organization has a base level of seven Playhouse Theatre uses. It has applied for a grant of $19,750 to cover ten uses: three in the Fall and seven in the Spring. Staff recommend a grant of $13,825, covering only the base level uses: two in the Fall and five in the Spring.

APPENDIX A
2 of 3

Vancouver Bach Choir

The Bach Choir has requested a grant of $60,650 for six performances and eight rehearsals at the Orpheum, including two performances of "Messiah", which the Choir is due to present this year as part of a rotation with the Cantata Singers and the Chamber Choir. Combined with the two base level uses assigned to the groups doing "Messiah", the Bach Choir's base level this year is 13 uses. Staff recommend a grant of $58,880, covering base levels but not including one Spring rehearsal use over base.

Vancouver Chamber Choir

The Chamber Choir has requested a grant of $21,900 for four uses of the Orpheum, within its base level. Approval of the request is recommended.

Vancouver Opera Association

For 1998/99 the VOA has asked for a grant of $240,900 covering 42 rental uses of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, within its base level of 49. Staff recommend approval of the request. The Association received a 1998 Operating grant of $14,000.

Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company

The Company has requested a grant of $391,415, representing 224 uses of the Playhouse Theatre. The request is within the Company's base level of 234, but includes 11 uses (nine for Fall `98 and two for Spring `99) booked for possible holdovers of successful events. While recognizing the Company's need for flexibility, the City's policy regarding holdover uses has been to approve them only after all other base level uses are covered in a given budget year. This is not the case for 1998, and staff are not recommending the holdover uses for Fall `98. However, staff are recommending the two unconfirmed uses for Spring `99, since an adjustment can be made in the Spring `99 rental grant update report if the uses are not needed. The total rental grant recommended for the Playhouse Theatre Company is $375,125 (215 uses).

Vancouver Recital Society

The Society has a base level of ten uses, and has applied for a $22,500 grant to cover four Playhouse uses and two Orpheum uses. Approval of the request is recommended. The Recital Society received a 1998 Operating grant of $10,000 for its Chamber Music Festival.

APPENDIX A
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Vancouver Symphony

For its 1998/99 season, the Vancouver Symphony is asking for $595,375 to cover 97 Orpheum uses, which are within the VSO's base level of 105. However, two of these requests are unconfirmed holdovers in the Fall and Spring. Given current budget constraints, staff do not recommend the Fall holdover use. As with the Playhouse Theatre Company, staff are recommending the Spring holdover use, which is within base levels and can, if necessary, be adjusted in the Spring update report. The total rental grant recommended, therefore, is $588,075 (96 uses). The VSO's 1998 Operating grant was $46,000.

Joint VSO/ Ballet B.C. Request

As noted earlier, the VSO and Ballet B.C. are requesting $54,750 towards nine uses of a joint presentation of the "Nutcracker" at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in December 1998. The uses are within the VSO's base levels and staff consider such collaborations a priority for support. The grant is recommended.

Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra

In the Operating and Project Grant allocation report presented to Council on March 24, 1998 the Youth Symphony was turned down for a grant and referred to the Grants Equal to Rent category. The Society has now applied for a rental grant of $5,475 towards a concert at the Orpheum on Nov. 8th, and for an annual base level use. Staff recommend that the VYSO be assigned one base level use of the Orpheum, and that the $5,475 grant request be approved. At the same time, in keeping with previous practice, staff recommend the permanent transfer of $5,475 from the Project Grants budget to the Grants Equal to Theatre Rent budget to cover the costs of the use. Approval of this transfer will leave an unallocated balance of $3,240 in the Project Grant budget.

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