PACAG to Present to City Council

The Performing Arts Centre Advocacy Group has been provided with an opportunity to present to Lethbridge City Council on Monday, September 21, 2020, to advocate for the Performing Arts Centre project’s continuation in this current Capital Improvement Program. Members of PACAG will be presenting at 1:45 pm. 

On February 24, 2020, the following resolution was brought forward: 

“WHEREAS the City of Lethbridge is undergoing operational reviews to look for efficiencies and opportunities for reinvestments; and

WHEREAS the Province of Alberta has signaled austerity and has not supported Expressions of Interest for all of our projects submitted through the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP); and

WHEREAS Council is responsible for the prioritization of projects that support the strategic priorities of our community;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT once the study is completed and presented to Council, the following project be discontinued from the current Capital Improvement Plan for the current four year cycle (2018 – 2021)

D-34 – Performing Arts Centre; and

FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED THAT the project be resubmitted for consideration in the next Capital Improvement Plan.”

This resolution was postponed to Monday, September 21, 2020; City Council will debate and decide the project’s future at Monday’s meeting.  

Here is a link to the Agenda for Monday’s meeting: https://agendas.lethbridge.ca/AgendaOnline/Meetings/ViewMeeting?id=2646&doctype=1

The Performing Arts Centre Advocacy Group will be presenting at 1:45 pm. We will be asking City Council to DEFEAT the proposed resolution and to continue working towards being “shovel ready.” 

We thank you for your continued support and for those who have already reached out to the Mayor and City Council with letters of support. Letters of support can still be submitted (prior to Monday, September 21) to the Mayor and City Council through email; their email addresses are listed below. 

Mayor and Council Emails:

mayor@lethbridge.ca

mark.campbell@lethbridge.ca

Jeff.Carlson@lethbridge.ca

Jeff.Coffman@lethbridge.ca

ryan.parker@lethbridge.ca

rob.miyashiro@lethbridge.ca

Joe.Mauro@lethbridge.ca

blaine.hyggen@lethbridge.ca

Belinda.Crowson@lethbridge.ca

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Keep the Dream Alive

The Performing Arts Centre Steering Committee will be making a presentation to the Community Issues Committee on Monday, September 14, 2020, at 10:00 am. Here is the link to the Agenda package. 

This presentation will provide City Council with an update on the progress of the project. You may tune into this presentation on Monday by visiting lethbridge.ca or on Shaw Channel 9. 

In addition to the presentation on September 14, there will also be an official business resolution on September 21, 2020, to address a postponed motion from February 24, 2020, which states: 
“WHEREAS the City of Lethbridge is undergoing operational reviews to look for efficiencies
and opportunities for reinvestments; and

WHEREAS the Province of Alberta has signaled austerity and has not supported Expressions
of Interest for all of our projects submitted through the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP); and

WHEREAS Council is responsible for the prioritization of projects that support the strategic
priorities of our community;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT once the study is completed and presented to
Council, the following project be discontinued from the current Capital Improvement Plan for
the current four-year cycle (2018 – 2021)

*D-34 – Performing Arts Centre; and
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED THAT the project be resubmitted for consideration in the next
Capital Improvement Plan.”


The Performing Arts Centre Advocacy Group has been working to meet with City Councillors to encourage them to defeat this motion on September 21. PACAG has also provided a written submission to be included in the September 21, 2020, Agenda package (attached). 

If in fact, this resolution passes, the project will be no further ahead than where we were in 2010 with the first study on the project. Nearly $1 million has been spent on 3 studies for this project. We still have to confirm a site location, operating model, business plan and detailed plans are yet to be completed. We are concerned that if this project is discontinued at this stage, it will be very difficult to have the project accepted in the next Capital Improvement Program next summer. 

We are asking our supporters and members to reach out to City Council and express to them the importance of keeping this project moving forward in this current Capital Improvement Program and into the next CIP. We’ve included the submission from PACAG for your review and more information. We encourage you to reach out to City Council to express to them the importance of this project for our community. 

Mayor and Council Emails: 
mayor@lethbridge.ca
mark.campbell@lethbridge.ca
Jeff.Carlson@lethbridge.ca
Jeff.Coffman@lethbridge.ca
ryan.parker@lethbridge.ca
rob.miyashiro@lethbridge.ca
Joe.Mauro@lethbridge.ca
blaine.hyggen@lethbridge.ca
Belinda.Crowson@lethbridge.ca