Discussions

On Monday December 3rd, Counsellor Black presented the Report of the General Museum Advisory Committee to City Council. Council accepted this report unanimously on three different motions including the following:  
“It is estimated that in future the Committee will require a Budget of $40,000 to $50,000 to assist with the technical work needed to evaluate site locations, existing buildings, and define collections available for relocation to the new facilities. Fund meetings with senior levels of governments, foundation personnel and other individual/organizations that may contribute to the project, perhaps fund visits to locations of companionable size to Brandon that have achieved positive outcomes with similar projects.”  
This request was forwarded to the Budget deliberations on Wednesday December 12th. We on the Committee thought that this stage of the process to establish a General Museum had gone quite smoothly, but on December 7th, in an interview on CKX News, Mayor Dave thinks that a General Museum will be too expensive for the City at this time, and will not support it at any cost. He has pre-judged the work of the Committee before it has even researched these topics. In the past I have noticed that it is not what Mayor Dave says, its what he doesn’t say that leads to problems. He has said that the old Fire Hall will make a good General Museum. The committee has looked at this location, among others, and some of the problems with this site are it is too small for what we had in mind and there is no room for expansion. It is estimated that the New Museum would welcome over three thousand visitors a year, including School Bus loads of students through out the school year. Where will all the transportation for these people park? If it is his mission to save both the CPR Station and the old Fire Hall, they are both Heritage sites, it would make sense to turn the Station into a Casino, when the NDP government changes its rules to allow one in Brandon, and turn the old Fire Hall into a General Museum. The minimum cost to re-fit a Heritage Building is at least $3.00 per square foot. This cost is the same whether it is the Fire Hall, the CPR Station, or the Pine Ridge Building at the new ACC site on the north hill. A Casino in Brandon would generate unlimited funds to re-fit the station to its old splendour, and when filled with slot machines and gaming tables will look as esthetic as the Casinos of Winnipeg. The Fire Hall is the Cities and so money to purchase it will not be required, but mayor Dave has stated that it will cost $3 million to re-fit any way. The plan for financing the General Museum was for the City to only supply seed money for the project and the rest of the funding would come from the Provincial and Federal Governments as well as Private and Corporate donations. This part of the Committee’s mandate has not even started yet. At this time the General Museum and Archives Project requires Public support to further research the feasibility of this project. You can access Mayor Dave and your local city councillor at the City of Brandon Web Site, by slow mail or talk to them on the street.  
 
Web Site:  
 
http://www.brandon.ca/main.nsf/Pages+by+ID/372  
 
Source: http://www.ckxtv.com/news_story.php?id=12400&PHPSESSID=1e59aba4c3c4aae04b08b2494bc196ad