Town begins charging Osoyoos arts non-profit rent to fund repairs of deteriorating town-owned building – Oliver/Osoyoos News
Photo: Osoyoos and District Arts Council
The Town of Osoyoos is now charging the Osoyoos and District Arts Council a small rental fee in order to manage future costs of its deteriorating town-owned building.
In an October Committee of the Whole meeting, members agreed to lease the Main Street building to the arts council for another fiver years, provided they pay the rental fee starting at $50.
The Osoyoos Art Gallery building at 8713 Main Street currently houses at least four other non-profits that contribute to utility fees, including the Painters and Potters Club, Artists on Main, Osoyoos Desert Centre, and a former radio station.
Now, the arts council will be paying $50 rent moving forward, which will increase $50 each following year for five years. Town staff said the money would be earmarked for maintenance and capital improvements.
“Some of it will be contingent on the state and the structure of the facilities that we have,” said Gerald Davis, director of community services. “But I can say without a doubt that some of our facilities are at the end of their life and they need some attention.”
The move follows discussions on developing asset management plans for all town facilities, many of which are aging and deteriorating. For instance, the Osoyoos Art Gallery underwent asbestos removal over the summer, which the organization and town had not factored into the budgets. Staff estimate additional future repairs will be costly.
The proposed asset management plans, which include rental fees for town-owned buildings, will be presented later this year.
“My thinking is that if, if we don’t collect a little bit of money from the arts council to add to this, then we could be stuck again dealing with some of the things that were just mentioned,” said mayor Sue McKortoff.
Currently, the arts council pays for all utilities up to $500. Anything over that is the Town’s responsibility.
The new rental agreement also sparked discussion about the sustainability of the non-profit paying additional fees, as it operates from raised funds. Staff recommended that the organization apply for various funding opportunities.
As per the town’s infrastructure strategy, it will be looking to house multiple organizations in a single facility wherever possible.
As such, council also agreed to begin looking into finding another multi-purpose facility, which would house various community organizations for the future.
