Vernon's mayor was surprised to hear the latest development on the city's proposed civic complex.The Vernon Art Gallery's board of directors is not interested in moving into the the new complex, saying it wouldn't meet its space needs.President Marion Morrison tells KISS FM, it would only be 10 percent bigger than their current faciltiy in the parkade. "It just isn't adequate. It doesn't have have the kind of space that we need. Not just the size, but the kind of space, and having noticed that very quickly, there didn't seem any reason to pursue it any further."And while her group doesn't support the plan, Morrison says they won't actively campaign against the referendum which is set for January 26.
Contacted by KISS FM while on a good-will trip to California, Mayor Wayne Lippert called the gallery's decision unfortunate, and said the city tried to accomodate their needs. "In the space in (the design) for their display area, it's a lot more than what they've got now, because it's all 16-foot ceilings. The other area that we looked at was for office space that they can expand into for the future."The mayor was surprised at the decision considering a member of the gallery's board, Lubos Culen, was in on the design plans and gave his approval. "If the art gallery doesn't want to go in, then certainly we won't force them to. And if they're happy where they are and waiting until something else comes along, or they can do some fundraising for it, then that's okay by me. That's good for them."Lippert says its not too late to re-design the building to exclude the art gallery which he says may actually reduce the 31 million dollar cost.
No comments:
Post a Comment