No one is arguing that it is not a tight timeline for the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin to move into a temporary home at the Tourism Discovery Centre by early July.
Two weeks ago Mayor Walt Cobb announced the city is selling the land to InSite Housing Hospitality and Health Services which is building a 72-care-bed facility at the former Cariboo Lodge site next to the museum on Fourth Avenue North.
Jubilee House leases one end of the site for housing people with mental illness, but its lease is not up until 2020 so InSite needs the museum land to have enough room to build.
“InSite is doing its best to accommodate Jubilee House and has been looking for two months to find another location but has not found anything,” Cobb said during a meeting with museum members held Thursday at city hall. “In the meantime, Interior Health is telling InSite they have to have the care beds in place and up and running by the end of 2018.”
Everyone’s concerned, including council, Cobb told members, but the city owns the TDC and it is possible to have the museum open and operating there this summer.
Cobb insisted it would be a shame to lose the care bed facility because it is something the community has fought for.
“There are already 60 people on the waiting list and by the time it’s built there will be even more,” he added.
Many of the museum’s members voiced concerns about the rushed timeline and asked Cobb if it could be extended.
“Our plea is that you tell IH the timeline is so tight,” museum chair George Atamanenko said. “Seeing they were three months late awarding the contract, could we have more time?”
Cobb responded that some of that discussion has already started.
Museum members were relieved to learn city council has approved hiring conservators Fraser/Spattford Ricci to provide direction on the move.
One of the company’s conservators will be in Williams Lake beginning Friday (today) to meet with the museum’s curator William Adams and board members to assess the collection and the area the museum will be moved into at the TDC.
“We have 4,700 square feet of space at the museum and cherished artifacts that people have given and loaned us,”Atamanenko said, confirming the museum will have to contact everyone who has donated or loaned items to let them know about the move.
Board member Diana French said the museum owns the Cowboy Hall of Fame collection and confirmed it will be staying with the museum in Williams Lake.
Responding to suggestions by some members that the museum should be able to stay where it is, French said the board has been wanting a new building for a long time.
Pleased by the turnout at the meeting French said she hopes lots of people will step forward when it comes time to fundraise for a new museum.
Former board member Sharon MacDonald asked if visitors will be charged admission at the TDC because the fees are part of the museum’s budget, and Cobb said “yes.”
He also said TDC staff will help promote and guide visitors to the museum.
As for when renovations to the bottom floor of the TDC will begin to accommodate the museum, Cobb said that all has to be worked out but money is there to pay for the renovations with the BC Rural Dividend Fund grant the city received that is also targeted for relocating the historic 153 Mile Store which the Patenaude family donated to the city.
Museum vice-chair Surinderpal Rathor said the board called the meeting because there were so many rumours flying around about the issue.
“Our executive was not contacted by the council until we had a meeting on May 4 and we have only met once so far,” Rathor said. “We invited the mayor to attend the meeting so we could hear from the horse’s mouth.”
At the end of the meeting, museum member Charlie Wyse asked the board to draft a resolution asking city council to assure there is a commitment from the city to a permanent home for the museum in the future.
Here is a clip from Wyse’s suggestion during the meeting.