YDC weighs in on Th'YARC

By Michael Gorman

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

It's beginning to look like the debate about the location of a new arts centre is going to go the way of a death scene in a melodramatic play — long and painful.

Yarmouth town council received a letter at its meeting last week from Dave Whiting of the Yarmouth Development Corporation (YDC). In the letter, Whiting said the YDC's board of directors passed a resolution reaffirming its support for a 2003 consultants' report commissioned by the town and municipality of Yarmouth, which listed the downtown or waterfront area as the preferred locations for a new performing arts centre.

In the letter Whiting writes "as council is aware, experienced consultants who are well respected and knowledgeable in their field of expertise prepared the . . . report and it should be given the consideration it deserves given that it was funded by tax dollars."

The letter comes more than a month after a public meeting that was used, in part, to discuss the very subject of possible sites for a new arts centre. That meeting was as notable for what wasn't said as for what was. Not one downtown merchant or member of the YDC spoke at the meeting to voice an opinion on anything relating to Th'YARC. For that matter, members of the YDC were but a small presence at the meeting.

John Ryan, who is involved with the YDC and operates a business in the downtown, said it's his own view that consideration should be given to the 2003 study. "I can't answer for the rest of the group," he said, "but if the study that was done (said) the downtown, the waterfront is the best place for it, to me (I wonder) why are we rehashing it . . . We wanted to know where the best location was and we're being told by the professionals that (the downtown or waterfront) is the best location."

Board members for Th'YARC have a study of their own, which lists the existing location on Parade Street as the most favourable location.

Since that public meeting, several town councillors who are open in their support of locating the project in the downtown, have questioned the logic of fighting a battle on behalf of the downtown when members of that community did not voice their own opinions at the public meeting.

Mayor Charles Crosby, who is on record as saying that his preference would be to see a new arts centre in the downtown area, reiterated his stance that he would not let his personal views get in the way of development if Th'YARC is in a position to build on Parade Street. "Council has a preference of where it should go but they said they would not stand in the way of it being built somewhere else," he said. "I'm glad for the input from these people. I think it's a little late, but it's still input and we have to look at that."

Crosby said the letter from the YDC was something they were hoping to hear at the public meeting at the Wesleyan Church. "We wanted people to come out and do that at that meeting at the church; that's where it should have been all done. (The YDC) didn't do that. Some (members) did (attend the meeting) and they didn't feel they should get up and speak."