The City of Humboldt has presented an interesting question to its citizens regarding the future of Sutherland Theatre, located in what is now Humboldt Collegiate Institute and what will be the new Humboldt Public School.
Horizon School Division, you see, will be converting the present high school into a new elementary school, and they've asked the city to look after renovations to the theatre area of the space, as they will not receive provincial funds to do anything to it.
The question citizens are left with is this: Do we throw $1.5 million into the present Sutherland Theatre right now in order to bring it up to date, and in the end, not own any part of it, or do we let the present theatre go, and start saving for a brand-new city-owned facility, which will cost $3 to $4 million and likely be without a theatre in the community for a few years?
It is a tough decision to make. And it's gratifying that this council recognizes this and is asking the public for input.
There are definite pros and cons for either option.
For the first option, it would be great to fix up the facility we already have, and carry on its tradition without interruption.
However, on the con side, there is no parking around the current theatre, and no lobby. It's small. It was converted into a theatre from a gym, which you can tell by its lack of acoustics. Then there's the issue of money. The money to fix up this theatre would have to come from the community - all $1.5 million of it. And with all of the projects the city currently has on the go, including making changes to the arena to accommodate the 2012 RBC Cup, there's not a lot of moola to spare these days. Or any. Are we willing, as a community, to go into debt, if that is what is required, in order to fix up a theatre that we will have no ownership rights to?
The fact of the matter is, way back when Sutherland Theatre was first built, the community put money into it. But over the years, that tid-bit of information was lost, due to changes in the people running the school, and it became harder and harder for the community at large to use the theatre. Are we willing to chance putting $1.5 million or more into fixing up this facility to end up in the same situation 20 years down the line?
As for building a new theatre, that comes with its own list of pros and cons.
It costs a lot of money to build a theatre, and takes a ton of community support. And if the city does decide to go this route, it would take years to make it a reality, due to the number of other projects already on their list - like a second arena, which will also cost in the millions of dollars to build. This means that, for years, we wouldn't have a theatre to call our own.
The pros to a new facility are this: the new theatre could be bigger in size, accommodating more people not only for dramatic productions and concerts, but also for high school graduation exercises. It would have far more parking than the current theatre, and it would be city-owned and run, which means that everyone in the community would have the same opportunity to book it for their events. It would also be built as a theatre from the beginning, which would hopefully mean that the acoustics would be better, all the seats in the house would have a view of the stage (something that is a problem in the current theatre), and that there would be a bigger stage and actual wings to accommodate larger-scale productions.
There are valid arguments for both sides. But speaking as a taxpayer and a lover of the arts, and looking at the long term, I think it's in our best interests to start fund-raising for a new theatre. Not only will we all own it at the end of the day, it would serve Humboldtonians far into the future.
But that's just one person's opinion. We all need to share ours with the city to ensure that they have heard every argument before they make their decision. So speak up. The public meeting on this issue will be held April 4 at 7 p.m. at the Seniors Hall.
