The Golden Spike Days Society was hoping for a "golden parachute" of sorts when it asked Port Moody city council for thousands of dollars in debt relief last month.
But PoMo council voted Tuesday against forgiving $14,000 in outstanding loans to the summer festival society, offering instead to look at the Spike budget itself and possible determining a repayment schedule that satisfies both parties.
The society, which hosts the annual Golden Spike Days Festival celebrating both Canada Day and Port Moody's railroad history, is due to repay $5,000 to the city by October, according to Port Moody's director of corporate services, Paul Rockwood.
But the society has blamed a lack of festival sponsorship and general hard economic times for this year's funding shortage, saying that visitors to 2011's Golden Spike Days in July can expect a stripped-down festival.
"These things go in cycles," said Coun. Gerry Nuttall, a former Golden Spike Days president. "Right now, we're in a down cycle in the economy, sponsorship is down. That's the way it was my first year and then they worked themselves up to a $60,000 surplus before it went back down again. I think we just have to wait it out."
Coun. Meghan Lahti, another former Spike society president, agreed that the red ink on the festival's books would eventually turn to black again given enough time, but suggested that Golden Spike organizers might look for a fresh approach to attracting more festival attendees.
"The festival probably needs to have a little bit of a step back and maybe reinvent themselves," Lahti said at Tuesday's council meeting, adding that she would not support erasing the society's debt to the city but suggested re-evaluating the terms of the loan after the revenue from this year's festival has been counted.
Golden Spike Days vice-president Sally Comin told The Tri-City News Wednesday that this year's festival would take a "back-to-basics" approach due to the loss of some longtime sponsors but said the society will make up for the lost revenue by holding some large fundraisers in the lead-up to the festival's July 1 kick-off.
A fundraiser is planned for 5 p.m. on June 5 at Port Coquitlam's Cat and Fiddle Pub. The all-ages event is $15 and will include door prizes, a 50/50 draw and silent auctions.
