Tonight’s (Monday) Prince George City Council meeting was a big one, not only did it cover a lot of big topics, but it’s the last one for the 2021 year.
One of the topics that was brought up was the Downtown Arts Strategy, which is currently only a draft, but brought up a lot of conversation about bringing a new multi-use concert facility to the downtown area of the city.
Chris Bone, the Senior Manager of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships presented the strategy, but warned that some things in the plan may be skewed due to how things have changed with COVID-19.
One thing that Bone said was missing was any sort of community feedback.
“We weren’t able to do the necessary public engagement to test some of the really critical recommendations, particularly around space for the arts, space for performance.”
She added that she wasn’t sure if the proposed multi-use concert hall facility was a realistic recommendation due to the pandemic restrictions.
Bone said more information needs to be attached to planning work in the downtown core.
Many of the Councillors were in support of this strategy.
“We’ve gone to workshops and conventions and webinars and presentations about how important the arts are to our community,” said Councillor Cori Ramsay.
“I certainly appreciate there hasn’t been the time or the opportunity to do the community consultation that you would have liked to do. I guess I want to move into action, we have been talking about a facility in the downtown core for a very long time,” said Councillor Murry Krause.
“We were sitting in UBCM, and James Moore said there is no better bang for the buck than investing in arts and culture. It’s not just about what it brings to the soul of the community, it’s also good for business,” said Councillor Garth Frizzell.
Councillor Brian Skakun pointed out that the city agenda was already stacked as it was, and that a 106 page report wasn’t going to get any justice discussed during tonight’s meeting.
“This is what I wasn’t looking forward to is having this massive report on a huge agenda to start with. You know, I know we wanted this report by the end of the year, but we won’t do this any justice if we deal with this really in any detail tonight.”
The council received the report, and will come back to the Downtown Arts Strategy at a later date.
Council also discussed a potential tax hike for PG residents, more money going towards Miracle Theatre’s production at the PG Playhouse, and a letter being sent to the Provincial Government asking for some leeway on COVID-19 restrictions for the city to help out businesses.