THURSDAY
S I N C E
FEBRUARY 28, 2013
1 8 9 5
Vol. 118, Issue 34
110
$
Series shifts to Fruitvale tonight Page 9
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Trustee pitches ‘managed deficit’ to school district BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
TIMOTHY SCHAFER PHOTO
Charles Bailey Theatre manager Nadine Tremblay has begun work on a business plan for the venerable facility to increase the amount of shows and the impact it has on the entertainment scene in the city.
Breathing new life into the Bailey BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
The face of the Greater Trail’s arts scene could be changing. A new business plan is in the works to chart the future and the direction of the Charles Bailey Theatre, determining how the under-utilized facility could better serve the people of the area. The bottom line for the plan—due out in August—is putting bottoms in the seats of the 764-seat facility, said theatre manager Nadine Tremblay. She said the facility was “totally under utilized” and that some similar sized communities have a theatre that is used almost every day of the week, while Charles Bailey is used around four times per month. “So we want to get our numbers up and find out what people want and make it happen,” Tremblay said. “Everything is going into this business plan that goes into a conventional business plan. We also want to ... find out what kind of programming the community wants.” The intent is to increase the number
“We are trying to look into the crystal ball a little bit and find out what we can do to better the facility for the community.” MARK DAINES
of acts coming into the community, said Mark Daines, Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) director of facilities and recreation, and have the theatre become more viable. A business plan will give the RDKB a better idea of how to run the theatre for the community, and see what type of arts and cultural acts that can be brought into the city. “We are trying to look into the crystal ball a little bit and find out what we can do to better the facility for the community,” he said. Daines said an initial survey one year ago when he joined the RDKB showed the theatre in the Silver City had a lot of potential but it wasn’t being fulfilled. It had around 35 bookings per year,
while the Capitol Theatre in Nelson hosted over 150. Although the market is different here—and other municipalities aggressively “sell” their theatres—the plan would determine how the RDKB could contract out agent services to help increase bookings. “We would find out through the business plan if that is viable to do,” Daines said. “It seems to me that would be the missing link.” But the facility will still be made available to the local population first, with acts from outside of the area filling in the rest of the bookings. “Our challenge is we are off the beaten path ... and the winter time has its own challenges,” Daines said. “We have tried working (with Nelson) before ... and maybe the business plan will determine those partnerships.” A big part of the plan will be market research and devising a marketing plan for the theatre, said Tremblay. “We are already an operating business so we know a lot of what it costs to open the doors. See GRANTS, Page 5
The school district could be borrowing against its future if one school trustee has his way. Mickey Kinakin will be arguing in favour of a managed deficit for School District 20 (Kootenay Columbia) as the board of trustees begins its annual budget deliberations this month. Last year the board cut nearly 14 full time equivalent jobs across the district to deal with a $1.55 million operating shortfall. And with a total “That’s what of $700,000 needmanaged ing to be trimmed deficits do, is from the $42-million budget for try to minimize next year, coupled as much damwith enrolment age done to set to rise over the next few years, the students Kinakin felt the and the staff.” time was ripe for stopping the blood MICKEY KINAKIN letting cuts. On Monday SD20 board chair Darrell Ganzert said programs and services will have to be trimmed—and some staff members as well—in order to account for some of the budgetary shortfall. But Kinakin said a managed deficit would keep the programs, services and staff positions the district now has until its enrolment begins to rise within the next five years. “Once you cut something it’s really hard to put it back,” he said. “That’s what managed deficits do, is try to minimize as much damage done to the students and the staff.” A managed deficit—borrowing money from the province to pay for a current shortfall, on the promise of paying it back— needs to get approved by the Ministry of Education, It’s like getting a loan from the bank, said Kinakin, you have to prove you can pay it back. And that will have to be negotiated with the government. “So that means there’s a few thousands of dollars of tough changes you don’t have to make right now,” he said. “We know our figures are going up in the future, our population numbers, so stretch that (deficit) out over a five-year period. See BUDGET, Page 5
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