The Alberta government doubts Keyano College can afford to maintain its art gallery project and wants the college’s board of governors to cancel the planned expansion.
In a Thursday email, a spokesperson for Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the concern is warranted because the college cannot afford to support the theatre, which comes with a $2-million annual operating cost.
“Ultimately, this is a board decision,” wrote spokesperson Laurie Chandler, adding the minister told the college’s leadership about his concerns in February.
In a brief Friday morning email, Keyano president and CEO Trent Keough says work on the art gallery has stopped because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Once the crisis passes, the board will review if the project should continue.
“In light of current financial and economic circumstances… development of an Arts Centre proposal is not our top priority,” he said.
Keyano hopes to transform an underused gymnasium into art studio spaces, build a ceramics studio and expand the theatre for an art gallery.
But the project comes with a $16.85 million price tag, and the expansion plans polarized the community when council approved to fund the project during budget meetings this past November.
Administration proposed council reject the project, arguing more public engagement was needed.
Mayor Don Scott and councillors Mike Allen, Bruce Inglis and Jane Stroud voted in favour of the funding for Keyano. Councillors Phil Meagher, Verna Murphy and Sheila Lalonde opposed. Councillors Krista Balsom, Claris Voyageur and Keith McGrath were absent from the meeting.
More job losses likely at Keyano: Keough
In a December interview, Keyano CEO and president Trent Keough said the gallery’s goal is to revitalize its small arts program with a public space, and create interest in fine-arts programming. The college does not have any theatre or performing arts programming.
In a recent message to staff, Keough paints a grim picture of the college’s financial status.
Last month, Keyano cut more than a dozen staff positions and scrapped its carpentry program.
In a letter to staff obtained by the Today, Keough said more job losses are likely to be announced in the near future.
The college must cut $3 million for the 2020-21 fiscal year to balance its budget. Current cuts and reductions have added $1.3 million to the college’s bottom line, leaving $1.7 million more to cut.
Meanwhile, the largest expenditure goes towards salaries and benefits, making up at least 55 per cent of Keyano’s expenses.
Scott said in a Thursday interview the college had not yet received any municipal funding for the gallery expansion. He also said the project was no longer a priority for council as it reacts to the global COVID-19 pandemic and grapples with plunging oil prices.
“My focus, and council’s focus, is on the healh and safety of all the residents of this region,” he said. “It’s going to be put off until an appropriate time, which I don’t see being in the near future.”
He also said if he knew about the province’s concerns during the November budget meetings, “it would have been a signifcant factor” during voting.
Murphy, who was the most vocal critic of the project, said she requested Keough meet with council after Nicolaides made his opinion known. A meeting has not yet been scheduled.
“I still feel the same way today as I did in November,” she said. “Things have changed drastically again. For the next few months, we have to buckle in and be very careful with how we’re spending money.”
-with files from Laura Beamish
vmcdermott@postmedia.com