COUNCIL
	TO:	Mayor and Members of Council
	FROM:	Andy Taylor, Commissioner, Corporate Services Jim Baird, Commissioner, Development Services
	PREPARED BY:	Linda Irvine, Manager, Parks and Open Space Development
	DATE OF MEETING:	2003-Dec-16
	SUBJECT:	International Stone Sculpture Symposium

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the Town accept the organizers decision to defer the International Stone Sculpture Symposium (ISSS), originally to be held in the summer of 2004, to the summer of 2005;

THAT the Memorandum of Understanding between Echo Research Institute and the Town of Markham be amended to change the date of occurrence to the summer of 2005, and establish December 31, 2004 as the date by which financial sustainability must be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Town in order for the event to proceed on Town owned lands;

AND THAT no funds, either as a grant, loan or letter of guarantee, be advanced to Echo Research Institute at this time.

PURPOSE:

At the December 8, 2003 Finance and Administrative Meeting, staff were directed to report back to the Committee of the Whole on December 16, 2003 on Echo Research Institute’s request for immediate funding support and on the financial viability of holding the symposium in 2004. The purpose of this report is to recommend acceptance of the organizers decision to defer the International Stone Sculpture Symposium (ISSS) to the summer of 2005 and to seek authorization to amend the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), accordingly.

BACKGROUND:

On December 10^th, 2002, the Town approved, in principle, a 2004 ISSS event to be held on Town owned lands at Toogood Pond. On November 10, 2003 a Memorandum of Understanding was formally signed between the Town of Markham and Echo Research Institute.

The Echo Research Institute is a non-profit charitable organization whose mandate is to research and develop, document and promote contributions from persons of diverse ethnic groups to the cultural, intellectual, artistic and literary life of Canada. Echo Research Institute is the organizer of the International Stone Sculpture Symposium which is an open sculpture studio involving participation of artists and the public.

The MOU outlines the roles and responsibilities of each party including but not limited to:

• The Town agrees to provide logistical support and in-kind services to a maximum equivalent of $55,000;
• The Town agrees to provide its expertise and support, where available, to Echo Research Institute in its fundraising activities; and,
• Echo Research Institute agrees that it is solely responsible for raising all funding to plan, organize, deliver and clean-up the ISSS.

The MOU requires that Echo Research Institute demonstrate in writing to the satisfaction of the Town’s Treasurer, that it has achieved financial sustainability for the ISSS no later than February 29, 2004.

At the December 8, 2003, Finance and Administrative Committee meeting, William Pickering, Chair of the ISSS Steering Committee, on behalf of the Echo Research Institute, asked for additional assistance from the Town of Markham in the form of $50,000 in immediate financing. Three options of obtaining the $50,000 were presented by Mr. Pickering:

• Grant
• Loan: To be repaid conditional upon other fundraising objectives
• Letter of Guarantee: To be secured but not necessarily drawn upon. Could be used as a method to obtain grants that require a “matching” amount.

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:

Event Analysis:

This event would be the second stone sculpture symposium of this type to be held in Canada. An annual stone sculpture symposium has been held in the Okanagan area of British Columbia for a number of years, and has been very successful in attracting visitors to that area and generating tourism dollars. The organizers of the proposed Markham event estimate that the International Stone Sculpture Symposium will attract 30,000 visitors to Markham.

The ISSS Steering Committee, which includes three event organizers, have met and assessed the ability of Echo Research Institute to host this symposium in six months. Based on the current status of fundraising, and on the desire of the event organizers to still host a successful event, rather than cancel it, the organizers recommend that the event be postponed and deferred until the summer of 2005.

This additional year will permit organizers to be in a better position to prepare for the event and to obtain financial sustainability. As a consequence, the MOU needs to be amended to change the date of occurrence to the summer of 2005, and to change to date to demonstrate financial sustainability from February 29, 2004 to December 31, 2004.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Staff have reviewed the financial plan prepared by Echo Research Institute and confirm that the budgeted expenses for the project are $396,750, with the majority of the costs attributed to Program Costs of $243,900 (including Promotion, Site related costs, Stone, and Artists travel & accommodation costs) and Salaries & Benefits of $82,170 (including artists/sculptors’ fees and sculpting related costs such as maquettes). Other costs account for $70,680 of the budget. The matching revenue budgeted for the event includes $250,000 from various levels of government (including Markham’s $55,000 services in-kind), fundraising revenue of $105,000, and other Revenue of $41,750.

To date, Echo Research Institute have had difficulties in obtaining the budgeted funding from all the grant sources identified. Fundraising activities have not yielded the returns that were hoped for. Based on this, it would be inadvisable for the Town to provide $50,000 in the form of any of the above options at this time.

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

The Varley Art Gallery, Finance, and Planning and Urban Design have been consulted in the preparation of this report.

ATTACHMENTS:

None

Andy Taylor Commissioner of Corporate Services

Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Commissioner of Development Services