Candidates for mayor and city council were divided Wednesday night in their level of support of the proposed Prince George Regional Performing Arts Centre.
Arts and downtown development were the central topics of an all-candidates forum hosted by Books and Company. The importance of and, particularly the funding of, the proposed $42.5 million performing arts centre was a reoccurring theme of the candidate's presentations.
"I don't think there is a single person in the city who is against a performing arts centre - not one. It's about the money," Coun. Garth Frizzell said.
Frizzell said Prince George is in transition from a forestry town to a multidimensional city. Arts and culture are important to attracting and keeping skilled professionals in the city, he said.
It was a message repeated by several of the candidates.
"The arts are very important to me, they are very important to the community and we need to make it work," Coun. Murry Krause said. "I want to see the performing arts centre until the right funding formula is found."
Council candidate Brad Gagnon said a lot of work has been done building the case for the performing arts centre.
"We can't afford this on our own," Gagnon said.
The city needs to take a more creative approach to creating a performing arts centre, council candidate Lyn Hall said.
"There is no question there is a need for a performing arts centre. What the difficulty is, is how to fund it," Hall said.
The city needs to look at partnerships inside and outside the community, such as building the centre as part of another project.
"We could have tied the performing arts centre to the Duchess Park school," Hall said. Hall is the former chairperson of the Prince George School Board.
Council candidate Jordan Gadsby had a similar point, arguing the performing arts centre should be combined with the proposed wood innovation and design centre.
"There is already money to do that [project]," Gadsby said. "[But] I don't think a performing arts centre should take priority over the roads that you have to drive to get there."
Coun. Debora Munoz said the arts community has been waiting for a performing arts centre since at least the nearly 1990s.
"Any revitalization plan that has been done for downtown includes a performing arts centre," Munoz said. "Any community that has an economic development plan which doesn't include the arts, doesn't have an economic development plan."
On the other side of the issue were candidates likely mayoralty candidate Eugene Fetterly.
"Unfortunately the city doesn't have a lot of money for special interest groups - and that includes artsy-fartsy types,"Fetterly said.
Council candidate Scott Affleck said the taxpayers interests have to take precedence over the arts community.
"Downtown in City Hall is an empty credit card with all your names on it. It's just waiting to be used to pay for a performing arts centre," Affleck said. "I don't think this city can afford a performing arts centre right now - maybe in a couple years from now."
