Two options for Lynnwood Arts Centre

Luke Edwards

Grant Haven Media

Councillors aren’t quite ready to decide whether the Lynnwood Arts Centre should move or if there’s a future for the organization at its namesake historic building.

However, after referring the issue back to staff during the March 10 meeting, councillors did approve a motion from chair Adam Veri to have staff prepare a report considering the feasibility of creating a culture master plan for the municipality.

“And then we can start to look at how Norfolk County can have a strategy going forward on supporting arts and culture and heritage in this community,” Veri said.

The municipality has identified significant capital needs for the Lynnwood building and under their current arrangement, Lynnwood is required to pay for 60 per cent of that work. It’s something Lynnwood board chair Paul Hammond has said the organization is not in a position to manage.

At a January meeting he presented two options. Their preferred option would see the County sell the property to Lynnwood for a nominal fee. That would allow Lynnwood to undertake the capital work on a time frame better suited to them.

The second option has them moving to the Eva Brook Donly building and sharing the space with the Norfolk County Archives.

Staff’s recommendation was for Lynnwood to move in with the archives, allowing them to declare Lynnwood surplus and begin the process of selling the national historic home.

At the March 10 meeting, Hammond acknowledged their preferred solution does come with risk, as they’d have to reach new levels of fundraising.

“It still involves us consistently raising $100,000 to $150,000 in capital funding annually. That’s a lot of money, and maybe we can do it, maybe we can’t,” he admitted.

While the move to the Eva Brook Donly building would reduce the amount of space Lynnwood has, staff did suggest some of the art collection - valued at $3.1 million - could be kept at the Gilbertson Administration Building, where storage upgrades such as climate controls are planned.

Still, Coun. Alan Duthie said he didn’t think he had enough information to make a decision quite yet. His referral motion gives staff time to have more discussions with the Lynnwood board and the Norfolk County Archives, look at ways to simplify a new agreement, and take a further look at where the Lynnwood art collection will be kept.

“I am genuinely concerned with what happens with that art collection,” he said. “Let’s make sure we know what we’re getting into before we do it.”

The report is expected to come back to council in a month or so.