Fort Qu鈥橝ppelle town council decided Thursday night to form a committee that will meet with a local non-profit arts group to reach an agreement over the group鈥檚 use and operation of a 110-year-old building in the town.
The non-profit group, the Qu鈥橝ppelle Valley Centre for the Arts (QVCA), has renovated and maintained the town鈥檚 old Central School since 2011, calling the building by the same name as its group.
In November 2014, the group and the town signed a six-year letter of agreement allowing the arts group to rent and operate the heritage site, paying $1 per year to the town. The QVCA provided an unsigned copy of the letter to the Leader-Post.
Town chief administrative officer Victor Goodman said council decided to strike 鈥渁 committee of three council members and the mayor to meet with a committee from the QVCA. The first meeting is scheduled for this week.
鈥淭hey are going to discuss the issue at hand and hopefully amicably work towards a solution that鈥檚 agreeable to everyone.鈥�
In a written submission to council, QVCA board chair Jim Harding accused Goodman of not holding up the town鈥檚 end of the 2014 letter. His submission claimed the CAO 鈥渂asically threw away the collaborative Agreement (sic) that was in place from the start, and has tried to impose a Commercial Lease or some other sort of lease upon the QVCA. But, as he should know, we are not a commercial group; we are a non-profit group.鈥�
Three members of the arts group presented Harding鈥檚 concerns over the yet-to-be-renewed agreement to council. Harding could not attend because of a health issue.
Goodman denied the accusations. He said, 鈥渢he town has proposed a mutually-acceptable landlord-tenant agreement be formalized simply for the purpose of protecting the old town school as a town asset.
鈥淨VCA has done a great job operating the school to date and we hope this relationship will be maintained for many years to come.鈥�
Harding could not be reached for comment, but QVCA communications director Brian Baggett called council鈥檚 decision a 鈥渉uge relief,鈥� describing the municipal body as 鈥渆xtremely cordial and supportive鈥� during Thursday鈥檚 delegation.
When they finished speaking, he said, council responded, 鈥溾�榃e don't want to see the QVCA go away.鈥欌��
A date for the meeting hasn鈥檛 been set.
In making its case to council, the QVCA also pointed to a clause in the original letter that states the non-profit had first right to renew an agreement with the town upon expiration in 2020 and every six years after that.
The non-profit also plans to host council members 鈥� who Baggett said he learned Thursday had never been to the QVCA facility 鈥� for a socially-distant tour of the building, to show renovations and work the group does there.
Baggett also noted the group鈥檚 concern about possibly losing non-profit status, if a landlord-tenant agreement were to be signed with the town.
A non-profit, he said, 鈥渒eeps the integrity of art in general 鈥� I'm a musician and a wood-worker. When I work for a person ... I've got to do what that person wants 鈥� it's what I get paid for."
"As an artist, you can create what you need in the moment, so nobody's breathing down my neck ... with a non-profit status it allows us to not be controlled by others," including for grant applications, he said.
Baggett confirmed there鈥檚 also concern if a planned art exhibit were to 鈥渙ffend and represent the town poorly,鈥� a landlord-tenant agreement could cede control to the town to cancel the exhibition.
