Richmonds veteran councillor pulled another rabbit from his magic hat this week on the prospect of a new $59 million destination museum.
Fresh from suggesting the plentiful local dog shark be harvested for its fins to deal with the shark fin importation issue, Coun. Harold Steves pitched Tuesday the idea of a $16 million community museum being built on Sea Island.
Steves said perhaps the Vancouver Airport Authority (VAA) might be willing to donate some land and some cash to help build a museum with an aeronautical theme adjacent to the proposed designer outlet mall.
Such a move would tie in with a city-led consultants report, which called for any new museum to be built near a Canada Line station.
Steves said he came up with the idea because he doesnt believe the consultants recommendation to build either a $48 million or $59 million regional destination museum should take precedence over the likes of a new seniors centre.
I dont think the public would go for a $48 million or $59 million museum, but I think they would go for a $16 million one on Sea Island, Steves told the News.
We might also get some money from the VAA, which would bring the cost down even more.
In addition, the Richmond Museum Society could raise up to $5 million for the project, keeping down the taxpayers contribution to a minimum.
VAA spokeswoman Kate Donegani said a museum is not something the airport has been actively considering for its lands on Sea Island, nor would it be something it would typically fund.
We already maintain a number of recreational amenities on Sea Island, including a network of cycling paths and several parks that are free for public use, and we consult with the city on how to expand and upgrade those amenities.
Donegani said VAA is in the process of upgrading Flight Path Park, at the end of the south runway along Russ Baker Way.
All decisions, she added, about development on Sea Island have to fit the airport authority's land use plan, as designated by its 2027 Master Plan.
However, Steves feels hes out on a limb anyway by backing the cheapest of the three options, with widespread committee support for a fully-fledged $59 million museum, apparently capable of pulling in visitors from around the province.
Others on the committee think (the bigger museum) is a great idea as itll bring tourists into town and build income, Steves added.
I agree that it has to be big enough to host big shows that people will want to come see.
But why not have a high-end museum next to a high-end shopping mall? And we excellent land, sea and air history in Richmond that we could showcase.
Steves said hed like to see continuing work at London Heritage Farm and the Britannia Heritage Shipyard completed before the city wades into another major project.
The committee received the report and approved adding a destination museum to the citys priority list, along with Steves suggestion to canvass VAA about hosting a museum.
A decision on what museum is going to be built, if at all, will be made by council later this year.
The report presented Tuesday was an update of a 2009 destination museum vision at that time costing $45 million and recommends building a 75,000 square feet facility on the middle arm of the Fraser River near a Canada Line station.
Rough estimates indicate that such a venue would potentially break even financially by its fifth year.
A slightly smaller project, at 60,000 square feet and costing $48 million, would take six years to break even.
Building a community museum would not be worthwhile, according to the report, as it would have limited appeal and wouldnt be able to draw in visitors from outside the city.
The City of Richmond is growing rapidly and the increased and increasingly diverse population has created a tremendous demand for new services, said Connie Baxter, the citys museum and heritage services supervisor, in her report.
