SPC to address fee-for-service and lease agreements

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on September 13, 2023.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

The Cultural and Social Standing Policy committee of city council will be asked on Thursday to recommend approval of a pair of fee-for-service and lease agreements.
The first will be with the Southern Alberta Art Gallery.
The proposed agreement calls for funding support to be paid to SAAG this year and for the following three years. Payment in 2023 would be $369,300. Funding of $380,379 would be provided to SAAG in 2024, $391,790 in 2025 and $403,544 in 2026. Lease payments by SAAG would be $25 per year.
Last November, council approved the 2023-26 operating budget which included an increase in base funding to SAAG.
A report to be presented by Community Art & Culture Manager Jillian Bracken says administration is recommending that council approve the agreement as well as one for the Southern Alberta Ethnic Association.
SAAG opened in 1976 and has been operated by the SAAG Association since then. It’s a non-profit arts organization. Its mandate is to foster the work of contemporary artists and to encourage broad public engagement.
The SPC consists of councillors Mark Campbell, Jenn Schmidt-Rempel, Jeff Carlson and Nick Paladino.
At the meeting, a report by Bracken will also be recommending that council approve a fee-for-service and lease agreement with the SAEA. Lease payments to the City would also be $25 per year while the SAEA gets funding of $137,000 this year, $141,110 in 2024, $145,343 in 2025 and $149,703 in 2026.
The SAEA has since 1977 worked to promote the awareness and understanding of cultural diversity here while celebrating different cultures through various community events and programming.

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