First, I’d like to wish all of Cochrane and especially all of the arts community here a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. As mentioned in the previous column, the Tri-Site Advisory Group presented its plan to town council on Dec. 10. I would encourage you to check out the video of that meeting at https://cochraneab.civicweb.net/document/24115?splitscreen=true&media=true. Click on the video button at the right side of Item 6a of the agenda or go to the 48:40 minute section of the video to see the Tri-Site presentation. You can also click on item 6a “Tri-Site Concept Plan” for a copy of the PDF. I recognize that there was a tremendous amount of work put into this by the Tri-site Committee. The members had a huge amount of information to work through from all the groups that wanted to be included in this. So I do want to thank them for that. I was also thankful to hear Mayor Jeff Genung’s comments after the presentation that while the committee was told to dream big, this was not something to now be put on the shelf to gather dust. He wants to see movement on this as soon as possible. So as I understand it, part of the acceptance motion for the Tri-Site Plan also includes that town administration present a phasing and implementation plan to council by mid 2019 for the Esso/Library blocks (which is where the arts are presently located in their plans). I have spoken to Gerry Murphy, the senior manager for community services. He assures me that part of the upcoming process is to include input from the arts community. So, arts community, this is your opportunity to give your feedback and input. At present, CIAS is planning a council meeting with the main arts groups and businesses on Jan. 8, followed by a full community meeting later in January. I will be contacting the groups and businesses that I am aware of, but I’m probably missing some, so if you’re not sure you’re on my list and want to have your voice heard, then please email me at [email protected] or call me at 403-510-9091. I don’t want to leave anyone out, so if you aren’t already part of some arts group or business and also want your voice heard, I will try to personally meet with or talk with as many people as I can, so please contact me. We need to know what you want included in this project. What space requirements do you need? What specific rooms do you need? What specific things need to be included in the planning – i.e., for electrical, plumbing, tech and so on? What kind of events, workshops, classes might you want to hold in these facilities? Also consider who else in the arts community – or even in the broader community, such as others who are included in the Tri-Site plan – you could partner with when it comes to the rooms and spaces you might need. The plain and simple of it is that we are going to need to share spaces and work together. It is time for groups or businesses to get together with all their members or people and talk about what you need and want. As individuals, get together with others from the arts community and talk about this. Share your thoughts. Come up with ideas. Please do this as soon as possible. Remember that if the town wants an implementation plan to council by mid-2019, they are going to need input from us in pretty short order. For those attending the January 8 meeting, please come prepared with very specific feedback in response to the Tri-Site Plan. If there is something you think is missing, or that you have issues with or concerns about, be specific about that, and also come with a plan or ideas for what you would want done differently. We need to hear very direct and to-the point issues and what could be done to make things better. I had included a starting list of what I was aware of at the time I did the CIAS presentation to the Tri-Site Group in September. You can see my presentation notes at: http://www.cochranearts.com/cias-art-centre-presentation-to-tri-site-group/. We are also going to need to do some serious work when it comes to funding. So if you have any thoughts or suggestions or leads on who to contact and what to do with that, I’d like to hear from you. The town council has included the arts in their vision for the future, and they are willing to move ahead with this as soon as possible. That’s great news! But now we as an arts community need to come together and do our part of this. Please let your voice be heard.
