Vernon, B.C. cultural centre to be scaled down after being rejected for grants

North Okanagan officials are planning to scale down a proposed multi-million-dollar cultural centre in Vernon, B.C., after the original project failed to secure grants.

The change in direction comes almost three years after voters originally approved borrowing up to $25 million for the new development.

After not being able to deliver on the original proposal, and with construction not yet started, politicians now plan to seek a fresh approval to borrow money for a modified project.

The original plan was for a $40-million centre, with $25 million being borrowed and $15 million being funded through donations and grants, but officials have run into problems raising the $15 million of non-borrowed funds.

“We’ve been turned down twice in major grant applications from the federal government,” said Vernon’s mayor Victor Cumming.

“We’ve been turned down because we are not shovel-ready…and to be shovel-ready we’ve got spend money upfront.”

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However, during the referendum voters were promised the $25 million would only be borrowed if the rest of the funds were raised through other sources such as donations and grants.

So Vernon’s mayor says officials have decided to scale down the project and seek public approval for a second time to borrow the $25 million for the centre.

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However, this time, the proposed borrowing will likely not come with a guarantee that any other funds will be raised for the construction first.

“We do want this cultural centre, therefore, let’s switch the strategy slightly, and let’s come back to the public so that we are straight up and honest and clear. Let’s move on this,” said Cumming, explaining the thinking behind the new approach.

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The Greater Vernon Museum and Archive is happy to see the cultural centre project move forward.

The museum would be one of the main tenants of the new space.

“One of our biggest hopes and plans for the new cultural centre would be to work with our partners in the Okanagan Indian Band and the Syilx community to have a new and dynamic exhibit that reflects their culture and that’s difficult for us to do in our current museum,” said museum executive director Steve Fleck.

The regional district is expected to use an alternative approval process to seek a fresh approval to borrow the funds.

That means the cultural centre borrowing would go ahead unless 10 per cent of the voters notify the district they are opposed.

No date has been set for the alternative approval process. However, Vernon’s mayor would like to see the process finished by the end of January.

No revised budget has been determined for the smaller cultural centre project at this point, but officials still plan to seek approval to borrow up to $25 million.

“Additional funding is to be determined,” the regional district said in a statement.

Both the museum and the mayor said the intention was to still seek alternative sources of funding for the project besides borrowing to top off the $25-million loan.