By Alison Taylor
It has taken three years, countless hours, and endless imagining but the Museum Task Force has finally made public its lofty vision for a new Whistler museum.
The Master Plan Report, presented to council Monday night, ultimately envisions a 22,000 square foot facility in the village with a $14.65 million price tag. That cost is in today’s dollars, however the museum is not looking to the municipality to fund the entire facility.
By comparison the new public library on Main Street, set to open its doors this year, is 14,500 square feet with a budget of $9.7 million.
“We are proud of this plan,” said Alex Kleinman, president of the Whistler Museum & Archives Society, in a presentation to council.
He asked council just to receive the report Monday night. A request to approve the plan will come at a later date.
The task force recognizes that the facility will not be built before the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games and an interim strategy for the museum must be developed in the meantime.
Councillor Tim Wake was the only member of council to raise some red flags at this early stage in the process.
“I think we’re dreaming big here and that’s great,” he said. But he expressed concerns about the proposed size of the facility and the price tag.
“I’m concerned where we’re going to come up with the capital for this,” said Wake. “A $14.6 million price tag is a big price tag.”
He offered several comparable museums, such as the Colorado Ski Museum in Vail, as an example of what is possible in a small space.
“It’s amazing what they do with so little space,” he said.
Mayor Ken Melamed, however, highlighted the complex relationship between the facility and the projected revenue in the plan. The projected revenue is based on the size and function of the museum space.
The master plan identifies a long-term vision for the museum with two roles — it will celebrate local mountain culture and contribute to the resort’s economic success.
“This is a unique model for a museum,” said Kleinman.
It is based on the idea that the facility will not require extensive exhibition space, rather it will share space with community partners and focus on outreach-based initiatives that enhance existing visitor offerings.
While the task force was mandated to look at the museum’s needs, it also recognized the importance of partnerships. The museum recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Whistler Arts Council and the Whistler Centre for Sustainability, anticipating that a joint facility might be a possibility. Additional partnership discussions are part of the museum’s implementation plan.
In their research the task force found increasing growth in cultural tourism, a factor that could be compounded in Whistler by the 2010 Games.
A market analysis, done by consultants in 2005, highlighted families, tour groups, convention visitors and rail/cruise passengers as potential target markets.
The plan also relies on external funding sources both for the multi-million dollar capital costs and a portion of operational costs. More than 80 potential funding sources are listed in the report.
Whistler’s hotel tax, a large portion of which is directed into municipal coffers, is identified as a significant source of funding. The task force makes the case for using hotel tax dollars by showing the museum has a role to play in increasing resort activities and contributing to the tourism component of the local economy.
The task force report envisions a two-phased development of the museum. It will take five years or more after opening for the museum to achieve its full potential that will see 25,000 visitors coming through the door every year, not including guided tours, school groups and special events, among other things. The first year of operations would see roughly half that number of guests.
At the five-year mark a large portion of the museum’s earned revenue, roughly $125,000, will come from general admissions. Corporate sponsorships for gala events to be hosted at the museum will also account for $120,000. Total earned revenue is predicted to be $545,000. A further $57,000 is expected to come from grants.
To run a facility of that size and scope, the museum will eventually need seven full time employees. Their salaries and benefits are estimated to cost $379,000. Advertising and marketing will cost $120,000 and exhibits another $110,000. In total there will be roughly $900,000 in expenses.
The projected budget shows the museum operating at an estimated annual operating deficit of $300,000. It hopes to make up that shortfall in a grant from the Resort Municipality of Whistler. The RMOW currently contributes approximately two-thirds of the museum’s $150,000 annual budget.
Monday marked the first step in realizing this vision. The task force will be looking to council for adoption of the master plan in principle in the near future.
In the meantime, in the 2007 municipal budget, released this week, there is a $150,000 line item to improve the trailers currently housing the museum on Lot 20. The budget states: “Removal of some or all of the trailers may be part of the project scope.”
