Battleford Town Council voted unanimously to sign another contract with artist and former City of North Battleford galleries director Dean Bauche to act as consultant to its Opera House project.
Bauche had already been onboard the project on a commission basis of a percentage of grants obtained. This new contract will pay $25,000 for the year 2013.
A lengthy list of duties in the contract includes continuing work on grant opportunities already in the works and identifying further funding programs for capital, including possible "green" funding.
Other duties include conducting research into best practices and programming, liaising with the Opera House project steering committee and working with the committee and architects on cultural amenities and design considerations.
Bauche is also expected to come up with a human resources plan and to work closely with the Town and steering committee on a fundraising plan, establishing bylaws for incorporation, developing and designing policy and programming, establishing partnerships, as well as assisting in the visual identity/logo development and communications strategy.
He is also to work with the steering committee and Town to establish a clear mission, vision and goals that reflect Town's and the cultural community's vision for the project and pave the way for the transition from steering committee to a board governance structure.
A report for the chairman of the steering committee was also presented at the same meeting.
"Over the past six months the Battleford Historic Opera House Gallery Steering Committee has made significant progress on a number of fronts and is close to incorporation as a legal body," wrote Chris Odishaw in his report.
According to Odishaw, the steering committee's mandate includes:
working to put in place key building blocks on which the Opera House Gallery Board can incorporate, become established and flourish;
representing and reflecting the broader views of the community and those expressed in community consultations; and
working with the Town, community and all partners in a co-operative, transparent and positive manner through the design, construction, fundraising and incorporation stages associated with the Opera House Gallery.
The committee's biggest challenges and responsibilities are threefold, he said. They are:
assisting in planning the cultural component of the Opera House Gallery, legacy tower and capital project;
undertaking a communications fundraising campaign for the capital culture component; and
preparing strong community-based program and operational plans with respect to the ongoing operations of the facility.
Odishaw said the need to work closely with the Town is clear, especially in establishing:
the scope of the capital project;
the cost of the capital project;
how the cost and responsibilities will be split;
how the capital project is represented in a fundraising marketing campaign;
whether the project will be phased;
when the campaign should be announced and what the timelines should be;
who should sit on the fundraising committee;
where funding will come from for the fundraising campaign; and
how the fundraising committee and the town can work together in a co-ordinated way with respect to donations and communications.
