By Brock Weir
The argument over the agreement between the Town and the Aurora Cultural Centre escalated last week as the two sides argued over the intention of a motion coming before Council next week.
The battle over the Cultural Centre began in earnest earlier this month when Councillors John Abel and Paul Pirri told The Auroran they intended to put forward a motion terminating the Town's agreement with the Centre in twelve months and working together to come up with a new, mutually beneficial agreement.
Councillors Abel and Pirri said they wanted a new agreement which would address concerns brought to Council this winter by Town Solicitor Warren Mar who identified many shortcomings in the current agreement. These included the fact the Centre is not obligated to come to Council with a budget of what they plan to do with the public money it receives annually.
"We have received a lot of support and the overwhelming [feeling] is the residents are pleased to know that we're asking more about how we fund the Cultural Centre," said Councillor Abel.
Residents have told him, he said, that they believe the Cultural Centre should present a budget before any public funds are given out, as well as their ongoing sustainability. Negative feedback received, he added, had been fuelled by what he described as Councillor Chris Ballard's "rally to fight the closure of the Cultural Centre" on his blog.
"There is a lot of support and a small pocket of those against it," said Councillor Abel. "Most of the emails [we have received] are misinformation so they are not addressing our notice at all. There is a story they were given by Councillor Ballard that is not factual. I am disappointed in what Councillor Ballard is informing the small pocket of people that are concerned."
Councillor Abel said he has met with the Board of the Cultural Centre to discuss the motion, which will be spoken to on February 28. He added he and Councillor Pirri could amend their motion when it gets to the table to address some of the concerns they have heard from the board.
"We would advance the expiry date and then we would have a brand new long-term agreement," said Councillor Abel of a possible amendment. "This is the stability factor, and I like Paul's analogy - it's like an athlete in his final year of his contract getting a contract extension."
Speaking to The Auroran, however, Councillor Ballard insisted he was not "instigating a scare campaign" with a blog post describing "the fight to save the ACC" and a need to "counter the well organized misinformation campaign that seeks to shut the Centre."
"You come in and drop the atomic bomb on the Centre by cancelling their contract," Councillor Ballard told us. "What does that tell the public and what does it tell supporters of all sorts of negative things about our volunteer board, about our great staff, and the fantastic volunteers we have?
"You can't talk out of both sides of your mouth. You can't say that the Aurora Cultural Centre is a great place and they are doing a great job and they have fantastic programs, and then out of the other side of your mouth say that it all has to be changed, it's no good, the board is not doing this, that or the other. By invoking the termination clause that is exactly what Councillors Abel and Pirri are doing.
"They brought an atomic bomb to a knife fight and people are really reacting because there has been so much sniping in the last 18 months about the Aurora Cultural Centre and finally it is coming to a head."
Councillor Ballard pondered why the Councillors are "treating" the Aurora Cultural Centre different from any other corporation around Town, comparing that agreement with the agreement, for instance, that the Town holds with Turtle Island for waste disposal.
"If I were a service provider to the Town and the Town came to me and said we want to open the contract up mid-stream and develop new KPIs, I would probably tell them to go pound salt," he said. "That's one thing that bothers me that I don't think Council understands that the Aurora Cultural Centre itself is an independent, incorporated not-for-profit organization.
"I don't believe I am fear mongering. I think the alarm needs to be raised because I don't believe that Councillor Pirri and Abel understand the consequences of invoking a termination or an early cancellation clause and the damage it does to the reputation of the centre. They really don't get it."