The future of Greater Sudbury museums will be determined during Tuesday night’s city council meeting, at which the city’s elected officials will discuss the development of a long-term plan.
Or, a winding down of operations.
On the table are a couple of resolutions, including one that would see the continued suspension of museum services throughout 2022 so staff can develop a Museums Revitalization Business Plan for consideration as part of the 2023 budget.
The city would provide up to $210,000 in one-time funding from reserves and maintain museum operations throughout 2022 to allow staff to assist in developing the plan.
The work would build upon a report Letourneau Heritage Consultants developed, “Greater Sudbury Museums High-Level Review of Operations,” which recommended immediate and long-term actions as well as a process to end museum operations if that should end up being city council’s direction.
“Staff generally support the experts’ conclusion that, despite the current challenges, the City of Greater Sudbury Museums Section has the potential to provide an effective level of service that provides significant community value,” this week’s report by city executive director of Strategic Initiatives, Communications and Citizen Services Ian Wood reads, adding that this can be better understood by the development of a plan.
In the event city council wishes to wind down museum operations, funding will still be required “to ensure adequate staff and other resources are available to assess and dispose of museum artifacts in a manner consistent with City of Greater Sudbury obligations as a steward of community heritage,” the report reads.
As such, regardless of which path city council chooses, Wood recommends the city maintain its 2021 budget direction to retain museums funding despite their being closed to the public.
During early 2021 budget deliberations, city council initially directed staff to remove salaries and program budget from the Museums Section, but decided during the final day of budget deliberations on March 3 to reinstate the $152,518 expense on a one-time basis.
The city’s Museums Section includes the operation of four sites, including Anderson Farm Museum in Lively, the Copper Cliff Museum, the Flour Mill Museum and the Rayside-Balfour Museum in Azilda. The Anderson Farm Museum is the largest and receives the bulk of visitors, which in 2019 totalled 19,158, while all other museums received 169 visitors.
The Northern Ontario Railway Museum and Heritage Centre in Capreol is not owned by the city, but the incorporated not-for-profit museum receives municipal funding.
All four municipal sites were in place prior to amalgamation and are not the result of a specific co-ordinated strategy, according to a report by Ian Wood, who also noted that their associated municipal funding has remained unchanged since amalgamation.
The city has allocated approximately $2 million toward facility capital renewal during the past 10 years, including the relocation of the Flour Mill Museum to O’Connor Park, for which approximately $410,000 remains held in reserve.
It’s now recommended that permanent fencing be installed around the museum at a cost of $90,000 from the reserved and that plans to construct a storage and administrative building be suspended and that their associated costs go toward whatever comes out of the Museums Revitalization Business Plan.
The following topics are also expected to be raised during Tuesday’s city council meeting, for which the agenda and a livestream can be found beginning at 6 p.m. by clicking here.
Montpellier seeks clarity on KED build agreements
In a motion to city council, Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier will ask his colleagues to OK a city-issued media notification “that the only current build commitment for the KED is limited to the site preparation.”
His motion includes a preamble that notes “(city executive director of Strategic Initiatives, Communications and Citizen Service) Ian Wood, (city clerk) Eric Labelle, (city CAO) Ed Archer, (city integrity commissioner) Robert Swayze and (KED developer) Dario Zulich have all publicly, factually confirmed that no legally binding hotel or casino building commitments actually exist for the KED beyond site preparation,” and that, “one Councillor using authoritative overtones continues to claim on social media that such commitment does exist and that a hotel and casino will be opening in less than two years.”
Although he doesn’t call out Ward 5 Coun. Robert Kirwan by name, Kirwan has been persistent both in council chambers and on the Valley East Facebook page he moderates alongside his wife, Valerie, that the project’s partners are legally obligated to move forward with their respective builds. This includes Gateway Casinos and the hotel partner, which has recently been announced as Genesis Hospitality.
In emailed correspondence with Sudbury.com during the weekend, Kirwan described the current situation as a “three-way legally binding agreement to fully complete their respective projects,” which “will allow Gateway Casinos, Genesis Hospitality and the City of Greater Sudbury to move forward with the KED knowing that all of the partners are legally committed. That should put an end to the anti-KED protests and allow us to advance the project without the need for any more delays.”
However, city solicitor and clerk Eric Labelle clarified during a special city council meeting last month that this is not the case.
“The agreement that we have is an agreement that commits the parties to the early works and the site preparation costs,” Labelle said at the time — a point Wood also shared.
This is the main sticking point behind a motion that Ward 4 Coun. Geoff McCausland plans on fine-tuning and re-tabling at some point in the future, which would seek stronger assurances from the project’s partners.
Anti-Kingsway Entertainment District petition
A group of four residents is expected to present an anti-Kingsway Entertainment District petition during Tuesday’s meeting.
Patrick Crowe, Keith Clarkson, Hazel Ecclestone and Arthur Peach are behind the change.org effort, called “We want Sudbury's new Arena located downtown to fuel our city’s urban renaissance.”
As of today, it had received 3,332 signatures, a jump from the 2,500 Sudbury.com reported in August. Physical copies of the petition have also been made available at Sudbury businesses since July, and proponents now report a total signature count of more than 3,000.
The effort joins legal action undertaken by the Minnow Lake Restoration Group to kill the KED, which is a proposed municipal arena expected to accompany a casino and hotel on a property at The Kingsway.
Although city council remains divided on the KED, a majority has consistently voted in favour of the project, for which site preparation work was expected to begin by Nov. 29 but was delayed at the request of Gateway Casinos.
Social media policy for council and local boards
A request is scheduled to be made for a report from city administration on a social media policy for members of city council and local boards.
Ward 1 Coun. Mark Sigonretti first suggested the policy in September in response to Ward 5 Coun. Robert Kirwan’s online activities, for which his colleagues on council have reprimanded him.
Outside of the city’s Code of Conduct, which makes brief reference to social media, the city does not have a dedicated policy related to social media.
Update on integrity commissioner activities
An update on city integrity commissioner Robert Swayze will be presented, at which he’s expected to highlight his most recent activities.
His services commenced July 10, 2018, for a five-year term ending July 22, 2023.
In 2019, he responded to 22 complaints and his services totalled $76,065.
The following year, he responded to 12 complaints and charged the city $20,283, and in 2021 to date he has responded to 16 complaints at a total cost of $85,943.
Mandated with helping ensure the city’s elected officials follow their code of conduct, he has occasionally come under fire himself. In September, Ward 5 Coun. Robert Kirwan called for Swayze's resignation in response to his handling of an investigation into his online activities.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
