Five arts and cultural groups that operate out of Coquitlam city facilities went before council this week to ask for more money in their budgets this year.
The organizations - Coquitlam Public Library, Place des Arts, Société Place Maillardville, Evergreen Cultural Centre and Coquitlam Heritage Society - had representatives at Tuesday's finance committee to highlight last year's achievements and this year's wants.
And if there was a common theme it was that managers are feeling the pinch for more programs and services in the ever-growing city, which is bustling with building activity.
At CPL, which is preparing to transfer its City Centre branch this year to a new location on Pinetree Way, program attendance is up more than 6,000 visits over five years.
This increase is despite the Poirier branch being closed for six months for renovations and with fewer kindergarten kids attending because of full-day school. As well, the young adult program has more than doubled in the same period while adult programming has increased by some 80%, said library director Rhiann Piprell.
For the new year, the library plans, among other things, to expand its multicultural collection, start a reading/learning program for people with developmental disabilities, develop a community survey and move towards a seven-day-a-week operation, year round.
The library is asking council for $50,000 this year to open on Sundays in the summer, at both branches, as well as $32,473 for a library co-ordinator.
Place des Arts, which saw a 5.2% increase in overall visits to the Maillardville facility over 2010 and a 15% hike in registrations, is asking council for $32,885 more this year to implement salary review recommendations. Executive director Joan Roberts told the committee only half of its registrants are city residents - a number that concerned many councillors. "If we bring people into Coquitlam," she argued, "they might patronize some local businesses."
Al Boire of Societe Place Maillardville said his group is looking forward to the centre's long-overdue renovations, which are proposed in this year's budget at $10 million. The facility has 35 paid office staff and youth workers - none of whom receive benefits - as well as 120 volunteers who manage 700 kids a month in drop-in programs, 500 children in after-school programs and hundreds more in adult activities.
Last year, Boire said Place Maillardville lost its executive director and a co-ordinator, primarily due to poor pay, stress and heavy workloads. Boire is asking council to put another $53,000 in the centre's base budget for employee retention, a new strategic plan, and increased accounting fees.
At Evergreen, which is marking its 15th year, executive director Jon-Paul Walden also said his centre is seeing pressures, with patron attendance up more than 21,000 since 2007. Last year, ECC put on 62 performances as well as arts programs and art exhibits in its Pinetree Way space, which is also used by 18 arts/cultural groups.
It has a long-term plan for a $7 million upgrade.
As for its new request, Evergreen is asking council to fund the replacement of appliances and the original theatre flooring, for a combined total of $51,800.
And finally, the Coquitlam Heritage Society, which manages Mackin House, Coquitlam's museum, is asking for a 3% boost to its $169,680 budget, executive director Jill Cook said.
The cultural groups are competing for tax dollars with city departments, i.e., planning, engineering and RCMP - the heads of which made their presentations before the city's finance standing committee on Monday.
City council will debate the funding requests on Feb. 13; first, second and third readings of the city's five-year financial plan is expected on Feb. 20 with final adoption planned for March 5.
jwarren@tricitynews.com
