Port Moody’s arts centre appears to be back on track after the city granted the society that runs it an interest-free loan.
Valerie Simons, president of the Port Moody Arts Centre Society (PMACS), said the non-profit organization will receive $45,000 to retire a line of credit used for operations, which had an 8% interest rate and cost $1,500 a month in charges.
The city loan will be paid back on Dec. 31 of every year starting in 2017 — $4,500 a year over 10 years.
The cash comes after the society fell into financial trouble this summer. As a result, the board of directors let go its executive director, Stephen Torrence, and scaled back hours for its three full-time employees (operations manager, Lois Sharpe, has since returned to her regular schedule while gallery manager Janice Cotter is due to get back her regular hours by the end of the year, Simons vowed).
“We’re just starting to feel that we can breathe a bit now and are planning for the future,” Simons told The Tri-City News on Wednesday. “The recovery process is going to be long. We’re well aware of that. We can only recover in small amounts but we believe we’re on the path to do that now.”
News of the loan, which was published as a city advertisement in The Tri-City News, comes after PMAC last week hosted Girls Night Out, an annual fundraiser at city hall that was sold out. Proceeds from the Oct. 21 event — which were matched by its main sponsor, Scotiabank — are earmarked for operations.
Mayor Mike Clay said funding for the PMACS loan will come out of council’s contingency fund and he’s confident the society will repay it in full and on time.
Clay said council wasn’t surprised when PMACS asked for help.
In July 2013, the city provided the society with an $87,500 interest-free loan to design and build an atrium to link the PMAC building with the newly installed Appleyard House, a heritage home aimed at expanding arts programming; as per the agreement, that loan was repaid by December 2015.
“We had concerns when we had them take on the new building,” Clay said. “They said at the time it was going to put some financial strain on them but they were going to do their best to work through it. They paid us back and, probably, everyone right now is regretting that because they rushed to pay us back so quickly.
“They didn’t let it all sink in,” he said. “I think, from council’s standpoint, we knew it was going to put a burden on them.”
Clay said council hopes to work with the society to ensure its finances are in order. Discussions are already taking place about whether the city needs to rejig its fee-for-service to PMAC given that the centre has doubled in size.
jcleugh@tricitynews.com
@jcleughTC
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POMO ARTS FEEDBACK
The same week the city of Port Coquitlam officially launched its new arts and culture plan, Port Moody also called for public feedback to update its arts strategy.
PoMo has hired MDB Insight to oversee the consultation with residents as well as local and outside stakeholders in the arts, culture and heritage fields.
Starting next Tuesday, Forum Research will randomly call 300 Port Moody residents to gauge their views on the new master plan for the City of the Arts.
As well, city staff, business owners and arts stakeholders will be interviewed next month and, on Dec. 7, a public forum will be held at Old Orchard Hall (646 Bentley Rd.) from 7 to 9 p.m.
An online survey will also run from Dec. 8 to Jan. 31 while focus groups with city council, the arts and culture committee, city staff and Tri-City arts stakeholders will begin in December.
A draft arts and culture master plan is expected to go before city council next spring.
Meanwhile, Coquitlam’s arts, culture and heritage strategic plan 2015-’30 remains at the draft stage.
jcleugh@tricitynews.com
@jcleughTC
