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Library/Museum building on hold due to lack of funds

The proposed $10 million library/museum building has been put on hold indefinitely since the fundraising arm of the project disbanded earlier this month.

The proposed $10 million library/museum building has been put on hold indefinitely since the fundraising arm of the project disbanded earlier this month.

Citing the economic downturn over the past two years, the joint Capital Campaign for the library/museum has officially stopped collecting money for the project after falling far short of their financial goals.

Now the municipality is back at the drawing board looking at all of its options for a future library and museum in the resort.

"Even though we have always envisioned (the library and museum) being together, jointly as far as a building program, it’s probably appropriate that we consider looking at them separately now," said Mayor Hugh O’Reilly.

Council has yet to decide the fate of the project but they are considering a phased approach as one of the options.

If the municipality decides to phase the project over the next five or six years the library, which is literally bursting at the seams, would be built first, with the museum to follow.

"They both desire a new building, new facilities but the sense of urgency from the library may have been greater than that from the museum side," said O’Reilly.

Stephen Henderson, chair of the Whistler Museum & Archives Society, agrees the library is a top priority. But if phasing is the answer he said the museum doesn’t want to fall by the wayside in the planning stages.

"Our concern would be if that compromised the final building, the structure of the building, and that we wouldn’t be forgotten about," he said.

"Our concern always was that we only have one shot of doing it right and if that meant taking the time to do it right then we were willing to go there."

The municipality is reluctant to make any plans until the July 2 decision in Prague, which will reveal the host city of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

If Vancouver wins the bid there could be implications for Whistler’s museum.

"We are named in the Bid Book as one of the institutions that would be responsible for the Olympic Legacy aspect and so there would be repercussions there," said Henderson.

Some of those repercussions could be increased programming and possible funding to support that programming, though Henderson hastened to add that nothing is on paper yet.

With or without the Olympic Legacies Henderson said there is still value in the Whistler Museum.

"Even if we don’t have the Olympics there is still a story to be told about Whistler, how we became a ski resort and all the other aspects that make this place unique," he said.

He said the museum board was very pleased with the last design that went before the boards, which met the stringent requirements for a category A museum.

This status would allow the museum to handle international exhibits, travelling exhibits coming from across Canada, as well as all the necessary security and environmental controls for those types of exhibits.

While the Olympics may be delaying a decision on the project as a whole, Library board chair Anne Fenwick remains confident that at the very least a library building will be getting underway within the next year.

"The municipality has taken responsibility for library services and in that it is inherent on them to provide a decent library building for us," she said.

"Council and staff are very supportive of a new facility."

Half a million dollars has been spent to date on the design of the project that would replace the trailers with a state of the art educational facility in the heart of the village.

Even if the project completely transforms in the future, Fenwick said the work and money spent to date will not have been in vain.

"It’s not wasted money by any means," she said.

"It’s still valuable."

Despite all efforts, including black tie galas, dinner/dances and donations from private donors, the Capital Campaign fell far short of its original goal since it kicked off in March of 2002.

The municipality committed $5 million to the project with the understanding the remaining $5 million would be collected through fundraising.

Three years ago a fundraising feasibility study indicated the capital campaign could raise $4-5 million, which would be added to the $5 million municipal contribution.

The $240,000 net that has been raised to date will stay in an interest-bearing account and will eventually go towards the new facilities. Or donors can ask for their donation back.

Fenwick is not as hopeful that all the pledge money will come through now that the project may change.

When the pledges are taken into account the campaign sits at about $760,000.

After the municipality comes to a decision about the fate of the facilities, Fenwick said fundraising efforts may begin again.

"Once the municipality decides and once we see a building actually starting we may at that time look at restarting a fundraising campaign pending on the municipality’s involvement," she said.

The mayor said he is hoping to have a new plan in the next six months to a year.