Report to/Rapport au :

 

Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee

Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique

 

and Council / et au Conseil

 

9 November 2007 / le 9 novembre 2007

 

Submitted by/Soumis par : Steve Kanellakos,
Deputy City Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint,

Community and Protective Services/Services communautaires et de protection 

 

Contact Person/Personne ressource : Colleen Hendrick, Director

Cultural Services and Community Funding/Services culturels et financement communautaire

(613) 580-2424 x 24366, colleen.hendrick@ottawa.ca

 

Somerset (14)

Ref N°: ACS2007-CPS-CSF-0013

 

 

SUBJECT:

COMMUNITY CONCERT HALL

 

 

OBJET :

SALLE DE CONCERT COMMUNAUTAIRE

 

 

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

 

That the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee recommend Council:

 

1.      Withdraw its endorsement of municipal and provincial funding for the community concert hall, since the Ottawa Chamber Music Society has not met the funding requirements by the Council approved deadline of November 30, 2007, resulting in the termination of the community concert hall project at 150 Elgin Street;

 

2.      Direct staff to advise Morguard that the City will not exercise its first option to lease or purchase the concert hall space for another municipal cultural facility project and that the City and Morguard will now negotiate and enter into a new agreement for the redesign and construction of the concert hall space for alternative public benefit uses in accordance with the provisions of the Development Agreement between Morguard and the City dated 21 December 2005; and 

 

3.      Direct staff to recover any unexpended portion of the $500,000 advanced to the Ottawa Chamber Music Society in 2006.

 

 

RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT

 

Que le Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique recommande au Conseil :

 

1.      retire son approbation relative au financement municipal et provincial octroyé au projet de salle de concert communautaire, étant donné que la Société de musique de chambre d’Ottawa n’a pas respecté les exigences en matière de financement avant la date limite approuvée par le Conseil, soit le 30 novembre 2007, ce qui a donné lieu à l’abandon du projet de construction d’une salle de concert communautaire au 150, rue Elgin;

 

2.      demande au personnel d’aviser Morguard que la Ville ne se prévaudra pas de sa première option, soit la location ou l’achat de l’espace prévu pour la construction de la salle de concert en vue de l’utiliser pour un autre projet de construction d’installations culturelles municipales, et que la Ville et Morguard négocient et concluent une nouvelle entente visant la réalisation de nouveaux plans et la construction d’installations dans l’espace prévu pour la salle de concert, aux fins d’une utilisation publique, conformément aux dispositions de l’entente d’aménagement conclue par Morguard et la Ville le 21 décembre 2005; et

 

3.      Enjoigne le personnel de récupérer la partie non dépensée des 500 000 $ avancés à la Société de musique de chambre d’Ottawa en 2006.

 

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

On February 14, 2007, City Council approved the extension of the City's endorsement and funding deadline from September 30, 2006 to November 30, 2007 (ACS 2007-CPS-CSF-0003) in order for the Ottawa Chamber Music Society (CMS) to receive a response on essential federal funding and other private funding for the construction of the concert hall. At that time, Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee (CSEDC) passed a motion requesting a copy of the OCMS Fundraising Plan.

 

This report provides an update on OCMS fundraising activities and attaches a copy of the OCMS Fundraising Plan.

 

 

RÉSUMÉ

 

Le 14 février 2007, le Conseil municipal a approuvé la prolongation de l’approbation de la Ville; il a également approuvé que la date limite fixée au 30 septembre 2006 soit reportée au 30 novembre 2007 (ACS 2007­CPS­CSF­0003) pour que la Société de musique de chambre d’Ottawa (SMCO) puisse recevoir une réponse relative au financement fédéral essentiel et aux diverses sources de financement privées en vue de la construction de la salle de concert. À cette date, le Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique (CSODE) a adopté une motion demandant l’obtention d’un exemplaire du plan de financement de la SMCO.

 

Le rapport présente une mise à jour sur les activités de financement de la SMCO et s’accompagne d’un exemplaire du plan de financement de la SMCO.

 

 


BACKGROUND

 

Since May 2004, the Ottawa Chamber Music Society (OCMS) and Morguard Elgin have partnered on a design and construction plan for a 925-seat community concert hall at 150 Elgin Street. Over 700 anticipated uses of the concert hall would include concerts, rehearsals, radio broadcasts, television broadcasts, web casts, CD recording, and DVD recording.  In addition, the venue could accommodate conventions, convocations, weddings, lectures, readings, receptions, films, symposia, and business conferences. Over 100 music organizations, festivals, broadcasters and recording players have already indicated that they would definitely use and need the community concert hall as a venue. The proposed concert hall would fill a significant void in Ottawa's complement of local arts facilities. It would provide Ottawa with its first purpose-built, mid-sized concert venue and would fill many local needs that currently go unmet. 

 

The total area of the community concert hall, including lobby, backstage and offices now has a confirmed building program of 51,528 square feet. The City sold the land to Morguard Elgin with specific provisions to incorporate the community concert hall and other public benefits on the site. The community concert hall constitutes the primary public benefit component for the combined residential/office/retail project and represents a unique and innovative feature of the development of this former municipal site which has been a parking lot for the last 20 years.

 

The community concert hall was identified as one of the five top infrastructure priorities within the Ottawa 20/20 Arts and Heritage Plan adopted by Council in 2003. It was anticipated that the construction of the community concert hall would play a major role in the revitalization of the downtown core. Initially the construction multiplier (estimated at $50 million in 2004) would generate a significant number of construction jobs, taxes, fees and revenues for suppliers and Ottawa's service economy. Patrons of the concert hall, the majority of whom would be in attendance in the evening, would provide a major boost to the restaurants and retailers in the area. Hotels and the tourism industry would be major beneficiaries of the concert hall which is expected to retain a reasonable percentage of leisure spending dollars from local residents in the City. Current studies in Canada have proven that when cultural facilities are developed within a specific area, that area experiences increased economic activity such as increased property values, decreased crime rates and improvements in business activity.

 

On October 13, 2004 City Council approved the 150 Elgin Street Concert Hall Business Plan Evaluation Report (ACS2004-DEV-BUS-0007). Funding of $5.47 million and waiving of permit fees and development charges was approved, conditional on the OCMS securing all funding for the construction of the 925-seat community concert hall within the parameters established by City Council.  City Council approved 10 recommendations including the following:

 

1.      Support the Ottawa Chamber Music Society (OCMS) in their pursuit of a concert hall at 150 Elgin Street,

2.      Pre-commit the 2005 Capital Budget by $5.47M to allow a municipal capital grant for the concert hall in the proposed Morguard building at 150 Elgin Street, with funds to be released to the OCMS upon:

a.       The City receiving prior to September 30, 2006 satisfactory written confirmation from a Chartered Accountant in good standing representing the OCMS, that all required funding for the construction of the concert hall is in place save and except the City’s $5.47M share;

b.      The City receiving prior to September 30, 2006 an executed memorandum of understanding between Morguard and the OCMS specifying the terms, conditions and timing of the delivery of the concert hall space; and,

c.       The execution of a Contribution and Community Access Agreement by September 30, 2006 between the City of Ottawa and the OCMS, which among other matters will establish the specific timing of the City’s contribution and the amount of community access required for the concert hall facility.

 

In March 2006, in response to a request and business plan submitted by the Ottawa Chamber Music Society, provincial funding of $6.5 million was announced for the community concert hall project. These funds were transferred to the City. At the request of the OCMS, City Council approved the transfer of $500,000 from this amount to the OCMS on May 24, 2006, to offset project management costs and to finalize the design and building program for the facility.

 

The Province had not imposed any restrictions on the dispersal of the grant monies to OCMS, consequently, it was permissible for Council to advance a small portion of the monies as requested by OCMS at a then-critical stage of the Project to allow it to finalize the design or the concert hall and pay for project management costs incurred up to that point in time.

 

The monies were released to OCMS without a requirement to repay the advance should the project not proceed.  However, it any portion of the advance has not been expended by OCMS then it would be required to repay that portion to the City.

 

February 2007 Report to Council

 

On February 14, 2007, City Council approved the extension of the City's endorsement and funding deadline from September 30, 2006 to November 30, 2007 (ACS 2007-CPS-CSF-0003) in order for the OCMS to receive a response on essential federal funding and other private funding for the construction of the concert hall. At that time, Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee (CSEDC) passed a motion requesting a copy of the OCMS Fundraising Plan:

 

“That the Ottawa Chamber Music Society provide a fundraising plan clearly detailing how the necessary funds will be raised for the concert hall, including timelines, to the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee within 30 days.”

 

The OCMS fundraising strategy, developed with the assistance of professional fundraising advisors at Ketchum Canada Inc. in 2004, had been to focus on securing funding commitments from all three levels of government before attempting to secure a naming sponsor in the private sector. They were advised that having the required funding confirmed from all three levels of government would greatly facilitate efforts to secure a naming sponsor as it would raise the level of confidence that the requisite elements are in place to ensure that the project can be completed.

 

However, federal officials informed the OCMS in late February 2007 that confirmation of significant progress in securing private sector funds would be needed before any recommendation could be made with respect to the community concert hall funding application. Given these changes, the OCMS had to develop a new approach and put in place a revised strategy, and advised staff that they would be unable to provide a revised Fundraising Plan document to the City within 30 days of the February CSED Committee meeting as requested. The CSED Committee Assistant was informed by City staff that the OCMS would be revising the Fundraising Plan and would provide it at a later date. A revised Fundraising Plan was provided to the City on November 6, 2007 and is attached to this report. The OCMS indicated that the delay in providing the Plan was due to the fact that its principal focus and resources between March and September 2007 were directed to staging a successful summer festival, and responding to significant staffing changes and organizational pressures within the organization. The OCMS has identified a deficit in the current year, as a result of these pressures and the Board is currently implementing a deficit reduction plan to retire the deficit within three years through a combination of increased revenues and reduced expenditures.

 

On November 2nd, 2007, the OCMS announced the appointment of Glenn Hodgins as Executive Director. Mr. Hodgins is a well-known and respected arts administrator, who, while at the Ontario Arts Council, managed the design and implementation of the successful Compass Program, a capacity-building program for arts organizations. He also has many years experience in managing arts organizations, recording projects, and managing tours, volunteers and contracts. While at the world renowned Tafelmusik Baroque Ensemble, Mr. Hodgins was responsible for the orchestra's entire budget and investment portfolio. This appointment is viewed by funders as a very positive development, and is expected to provide increased stability to the concert hall project.

 

Development Agreement between Morguard Elgin and the City

 

The Purchase and Sale and the Development Agreements entered into by the City and Morguard Elgin on closing contain provisions that if the OCMS failed to meet its commitments to Morguard Elgin by February 28, 2007, Morguard Elgin could still proceed with the development subject to Morguard Elgin providing written notice to the City that the OCMS will not be proceeding with the acquisition and development of the Concert Hall Space, and that :

 

a)      The City has, until February 28, 2008, the first option to purchase or lease all or a portion of the Concert Hall Space for use as a visual or performing arts facility identified as a priority in the Ottawa 20/20 Arts and Heritage Plan adopted by Council on April 23, 2003.

 

b)      If the City leases or purchases, the City will negotiate with Morguard Elgin provisions of a lease/sale agreement for the City facility but the City is still entitled to comparable benefit to that set out in the approved Development Plan for Community Accessible/Public Benefit Space. The agreement will also provide for an extension to time limits for the commencement and completion of construction as required to accommodate the redesign and construction of the Concert Hall Space.

 

c)      If the City decides not to lease or purchase the Concert Hall Space, the City and Morguard Elgin will negotiate an agreement for the alternate use and design of the Concert Hall Space to ensure the City still receives comparable public benefit to that set out in the approved Development Plan for Community Accessible/Public Benefit Space and that alternate uses are consistent with those set out in the Concept Plan submitted by Morguard Elgin. The agreement will also provide for an extension to time limits for the commencement and completion of construction as required to accommodate the redesign and construction of the Concert Hall Space.

 

d)      The City will not be responsible for any costs to Morguard Elgin if the OCMS does not proceed with the Concert Hall and space is used for an alternate use.

 

Since the Ottawa Chamber Music Society did not meet its commitments to Morguard Elgin by February 2007, Morguard Elgin has been in a position since that time to advise the City that it will proceed with its project without the inclusion of the community concert hall. Notwithstanding this, Morguard Elgin has been cooperative with both the OCMS and the City in making every reasonable effort to include the concert hall in its project and, therefore, has not yet triggered the provisions in the Development Agreement to allow it to proceed without including the concert hall.

 

Although Morguard Elgin has been continuously supportive of the OCMS and the community concert hall project, they recently advised that they are considering other options for the space in the event that the community concert hall project does not come to fruition by February 28, 2008 and the City does not execute its option to use the space for City purposes. 

 

As stated above, the Development Agreement gives the City the option to exercise its right to lease or purchase all or a portion of the space, or to enter into an agreement with Morguard Elgin to provide another alternative cultural facility on the site. However, there are no alternative cultural facilities that are presently funded and ready for development and construction on this site. Any other option, such as a proposed 38,500 square feet home for The Ottawa Art Gallery (included in the Council approved Ottawa 20/20 Arts and Heritage Plan), would be starting at the feasibility stage and its layout, collections storage and environmental requirements are not compatible with the Morguard Development Plan for a multiple use high rise building. There is no funding currently in place, and like the OCMS project, it would take at least three years to reach construction readiness and get confirmed funding from all levels of government and the private sector. This would cause major delays to start-up of construction of the entire site.

 

The City Archives building program is another critical cultural infrastructure priority in the City's Arts and Heritage Plan, however its requirements and layout (48,000 sq ft) are not necessarily compatible with Morguard Elgin’s proposed development at 150 Elgin and the Archives' long term expansion requirements would, in any event, not fit within the Morguard Elgin project. A multiple use high-rise building also presents unacceptable risks for the Archives holdings (e.g. water damage from above, fire, security). The archival vault should be at ground level with nothing above it or underneath it. The majority of the floor space for Archive uses is assigned to storage and staff use and these uses are not necessarily suited to, or compatible with other uses in, a high profile downtown complex such as the one proposed for 150 Elgin. A report on relocating the Archives to another site was carried by the Community and Protective Services Committee on November 1st 2007. 

 

In the event the Ottawa Chamber Music Society does not raise the funding for its project by November 30, 2007, the City has, for the reasons set above, no clearly identified alternative civic use nor funding for the Concert Hall Space at this time and would not be exercising its first option to lease or purchase all or a portion of the space.

 

 


DISCUSSION

 

OCMS Request for Extension

 

In a letter to the City dated November 2, 2007, the OCMS has requested an extension of the City's funding commitment to February 28, 2008. The OCMS feels that the commitment of municipal funding is "absolutely critical for the Concert Hall to proceed". In the letter, the OCMS indicates that it is making "definite progress in efforts in securing the required naming sponsor", which is a pre-condition for federal support, but that termination of the funding commitment on November 30 "would effectively force cancellation of the project." 

 

Summary of Revised Fundraising Plan

 

The total private sector contribution to the community concert hall to date is $5 million. This includes over $1 million in pledges and Morguard Elgin's contribution valued at $3.8 million. Morguard Elgin has committed to cover the cost of constructing the shell for the concert hall and related office space. The revised private sector fundraising target is $14.2 million (originally $8.5 million).

 

The OCMS had been counting on confirmation of strong support from all three levels of government as a lever to secure the required naming sponsor, a standard fund-raising strategy. The OCMS revised that strategy and have been "re-doubling" their efforts on securing more major donors from the private sector as a pre-condition to getting a decision with regard to federal funding.

 

The OCMS Fundraising Plan indicates that the organization hopes to conclude an Agreement in Principle with a prospective naming sponsor by the end of February 2008. A number of prospective leading donors have already indicated their serious interest in making substantial contributions to the project. The strategy calls for a substantial portion of the required funds for  project to be obtained in the form of larger contributions from a limited number of prospective leading donors.

 

The OCMS Fundraising Plan stipulates that most of remaining funds will be raised over the course of a three-year public campaign, co-chaired by two prominent individuals from the business community that will be launched at or before the 2008 Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. 

 

Department of Canadian Heritage Funding

 

In the revised budget submitted to the Cultural Spaces Program, the OCMS requested $10 million, the maximum contribution available under the funding criteria established for the Cultural Spaces Canada program. The OCMS has not requested additional funding from the City or the Province. If the application for federal funding is approved, the OCMS will have secured 90% of the funding required to complete construction of the concert hall before construction commences.

 

According to the Department of Canadian Heritage, there has been no decision by the federal government on funding for the community concert hall and it is unlikely that any decision will be made until both the project start date and financial viability of the project are clearer.  The application for federal funding towards this project was undertaken through the Cultural Spaces Program (CSC) of the Department of Canadian Heritage. It has passed through the National Review process but remains on hold until the OCMS demonstrates that it can raise significantly more funds through private fund-raising and naming rights. If this is achieved, it would proceed through the system and the Minister of Canadian Heritage would still have to approve the project in order for funds to be awarded. CSC program authority expires in March of 2010 and projects approved under CSC must be completed by that date. No project expenses incurred after March 31, 2010 can be considered for reimbursement in the current program cycle.  If the project cannot, for any reason, be completed by this date, Department officials have suggested that construction and fit-up could be considered for funding in separate phases, provided the project has met all requirements mentioned above. Consideration for funding elements of the project occurring after March 2010 is contingent on the renewal of CSC as a program.

 

Revised Community Concert Hall Project Costs

 

The OCMS has identified a number of developments, which have affected the budget for the community concert hall project. In the revised budget plan, the total budget for the community concert hall project has increased by approximately $10 million to $38 million since 2004. This budget includes a construction budget of $33 million, and provisions that an additional $5 million be raised for an operating endowment, which was in both the original and revised budget.

 

$3.8 million of the additional $10 million increase to the construction budget is attributable to the fact that Morguard Elgin’s contribution to the project was not fully accounted for in the original submission made to the City in 2004. This contribution was being carried by Morguard Elgin as an expense of the larger development project at 150 Elgin Street. Approximately $2.5 to $3.0 million of the increased cost is attributable to general inflation in construction costs over the intervening two years. The balance is attributable to new costs identified as the specifications for the project were worked out in more detail, from a preliminary estimate in 2004 to a Class "D" estimate. Inflation and liability for GST, which were not included in the original estimates, have also added to the cost.

 

Recommendations 1 and 2

 

City staff does not have the authority to grant another extension to the OCMS, based on the November 30, 2007 deadline approved by City Council to have funding secured for the construction of the concert hall. The OCMS, in a letter requesting the extension (November 2, 2007), stated that "termination of the funding commitment on November 30 would effectively force cancellation of the project." City staff concur with this statement, that without municipal endorsement and provincial funding, the project would no longer be eligible for federal funds and make it next to impossible to secure private funding.

 

The City has until February 28, 2008 to exercise its option and negotiate with Morguard Elgin in accordance with the Development Agreement described earlier in this report. Since the City has no clearly identified alternative civic use nor funding for the concert hall space at this time, it is recommended that Morguard Elgin be advised that the City will not be exercising its first option right to use the space and the Development Agreement provisions for alternate use by Morguard Elgin as described in this report can now be followed. If an extension were to be granted to the OCMS, it would be incumbent upon the OCMS to meet its commitments to Morguard and the City by February 28, 2008 at the latest. Recommendation 2 would not change and staff would advise Morguard accordingly.

 

Recommendation 3

 

As noted previously in this report, at its meeting of May 24, 2006 Council approved the transfer of $500,000 of the $6.5M provincial grant to offset project management costs and to finalize the design and building program for the facility.  The monies were released to OCMS without a requirement to repay the advance should the project not proceed.  However, it any portion of the advance has not been expended by OCMS then it would be required to repay that portion to the City.  Recommendation 3 directs staff to recover any unexpended portion of the $500,000 advance.

 

 

CONSULTATION

 

The Community and Protective Services Department has consulted with the Ottawa Chamber Music Society, the Department of Canadian Heritage, Legal Services and Real Property Asset Management on this report.

 

 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

 

$11.47 million is currently available for the Community Concert Hall project.  $5.47 million was approved in the 2005 Capital Budget and $6.5 million was received from the Provincial Government in June 2006 of which $.5 million has been advanced to the Ottawa Chamber Music Society as approved by Council in May 2006.

 

 

CITY STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS

 

This report has no direct impact on the City Strategic Directions.

 

 

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

 

Document 1 - Updated Fundraising Plan for Ottawa Community Concert Hall Project - Submitted by the Ottawa Chamber Music Society.

 

 

DISPOSITION

 

RPAM and Community and Protective Services Department will take the necessary steps outlined in this report and in the Development Agreement with Morguard Elgin.

 


Document 1

 

 

OTTAWA CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY

SOCIÉTÉ DE MUSIQUE DE CHAMBRE D’OTTAWA

 

Seven-time winner of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for the Arts

Event of the Year at the 2003 Ottawa Tourism Awards

 

 

 

Updated Fundraising Plan for Ottawa Community Concert Hall Project

 

A number of developments which have affected the budget and our fundraising plans for the Concert Hall project have occurred since our original submission to Ottawa City Council in 2004

 

  1. The proposed renovation of the First Baptist Church has been deferred.  Uncertainty regarding possible capital cost of extensive renovation of this heritage building makes it too risky to include the church as a core part of the project.  There has also been reluctance on the part of some members of the church congregation to enter into the proposed long term leasing arrangements that would be required to enable the OCMS to finance the cost of the proposed renovations. Meanwhile, the church has proceeded to replace the roof and install air conditioning. These renovations, while not as extensive as originally planned, do make the sanctuary more suitable for use as a small concert venue ancillary to the Concert Hall.  The OCMS will seek an option to rent the sanctuary space from the church when required for smaller concerts and rehearsals.
  2. On the recommendation of Theatre Project Consultants, space for circulation and backstage facilities has increased.
  3. The budget has also been refined (from a preliminary estimate to a Class “D” estimate) and increased to take into consideration inflation and liability for GST, which was not included in the original estimates.  PCL Contractors, who were the builders for the Winspear Centre for Music in Edmonton, assisted the OCMS in developing a more accurate estimate based on that project.
  4. Morguard has indicated it will be providing $3.8M to construct the shell.

 

Financial Summary:

 

The original capital budget submitted to Council was for $27,525,154 which was to be obtained as follows:

·          $8,472,097      to be obtained through a title sponsor and public campaign

·          $5,474,948      (25% of $21,899,751) to be provided by the City

·          $   625,403      Building Permit and Development charges waived by City

·          $6,476,358      (27.7% of $23,392,220) to be provided by the Province

·          $6,476,358      (27.7% of $23,392,220) to be provided by the Fed. Govt.

 

The new estimated budget is $38,046,407 which is to be obtained as follows:

·          $15,135,709    from private donations, Morguard and GST rebate

·          $ 5,474,948     to be provided by the City

·          $    925,992     Building Permit and Development charges waived by City

·          $ 6,500,000     to be provided by the Province

·          $10,000,000    to be provided by the Fed. Govt.

 

Both budgets include provision of $5 Million for an operating endowment.

 

We have not requested additional funding from the City or the Province to meet the revised budget.  The OCMS has requested from the Federal Government the maximum contribution available under the funding criteria established for Cultural Spaces. The balance will be raised from the private sector.

 

To date the OCMS has obtained individual pledges and donations which approximate $1million.  Morguard has committed to cover the cost of constructing the basic shell of the concert hall, representing an additional private sector contribution of approximately $3.8 Million. With these commitments in hand, we have already raised almost $5 Million of the total $14.2 Million required from the private sector.

 

Current Status of Fundraising Plan:

 

Our original fundraising plan, developed in consultation with Ketchum Canada Inc. (KCI), called for the OCMS to secure the required funding from the three levels of government before launching our public fundraising campaign for the Concert Hall project. It was felt that assurance of required funding from all three governments would greatly enhance confidence among private sector donors that the project was going to proceed. This would enable us to meet our campaign target in the shortest possible time, thereby minimizing overhead expenses of the public campaign. When we requested the extension of the funding commitment from the City in February of 2007, we were planning to stay with this fundraising strategy and to launch our public campaign as soon as we received a decision on our application for federal funding, which had been revised in January of 2007 to take account of the increased capital cost of the project.

 

In late February of 2007 we were informed that the federal government expected the OCMS to provide evidence of strong private financial involvement in the project before any recommendation for funding under the Cultural Spaces program would be forwarded to the Minister of Canadian Heritage for consideration. This forced us to revise our fundraising plan by moving to secure a title sponsor for the concert hall before we received conformation of federal funding. When revising our plan in late February we were preparing to recruit a prominent community leader to head the public campaign which we then planned to launch in conjunction with the 2007 Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival.

 

The unexpected resignation of Julian Armour, the founder and Artistic Director of the OCMS in early March of 2007 delayed implementation of this plan as the ensuing uncertainty about the future of the festival and the concert hall project made it difficult to engage the sort of people whom we want to lead the public fundraising campaign. We respond to this challenge by focusing most of our attention on ensuring a successful festival this past summer in order to maintain public confidence in the long-term stability of the OCMS and our ability to see the concert hall project through to successful completion. The 2007 festival was an outstanding success and we are now ready to move forward to implement our fundraising campaign for the concert hall

 

Five new members were added to the OCMS Board in March of 2007. The addition of these members has strengthened the capacity of the Board to deal with the challenges relating to development of the Community Concert Hall. The Appendix A includes a list of the current Board members and the committees to which they are assigned.

 

To satisfy the federal government requirement that there be strong evidence of private sector support before any decision is made with regard to federal funding, we are currently focusing our efforts on securing a title sponsor for the concert hall. Over the past summer, we have contacted a number of prospective title sponsors. One of these, a major financial institution, has expressed serious interest in the possibility of becoming a title sponsor for the project and is currently reviewing our detailed proposal in this regard. In the event that this prospective sponsor declines the naming opportunity, we plan to step up our approaches to other prospective title sponsors whom our research indicates have an interest in pursuing this sort of opportunity.

 

We have also been approached by other corporations that have expressed an interest in supporting the concert hall project with financial contributions below the amount we are expecting to raise from a title sponsor. We are continuing our discussions with these corporations and expect them to result in substantial contributions that will significantly help us to reach our new fundraising target.

 

The basic strategy for the public fundraising campaign remains the same as originally planned in 2004. We expect to have a Concert Hall Campaign Committee co-chaired by two prominent individuals from the business community who have the capacity to attract other significant contributors to the project in place early in 2008. As soon as the members of the Campaign Committee are appointed, we will make a decision on whether to launch the public campaign immediately or to delay formal launch of the public campaign until the start of the 2008 Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival when public awareness of the Chamber Music Society and the concert hall project is at a peak. In the meantime, we are re-doubling our efforts to identify and cultivate more major donors to help us reach our ultimate fundraising goal.

 

We hope to conclude an Agreement in Principle with a prospective naming sponsor before the end of February 2008. Most of the remaining funds will be raised over the course of a three year public campaign that will be launched at or before the 2008 Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. In accordance with the original fundraising plan, the bulk of this money will be raised from major donors each contributing in excess of $10,000, with some individual contributions exceeding $100,000.

 

The combination of committed funding from the City of Ottawa and the Province of Ontario, together with the funds that we have already raised and the funds we expect to raise from a title sponsor, will cover roughly 60% of the projected capital cost of the project. We expect to receive a decision on federal funding shortly after we conclude an agreement with a title sponsor, likely early in 2008.

 

Conclusion:

 

If our application for federal funding is successful, we will have secured almost 90% of the funding required to complete construction of the new concert hall before construction commences. The remainder will be raised over the next three years in the course of our planned public campaign. This leaves plenty of time to raise the balance of the funds required to complete construction and to fully fund the $5 Million operating endowment that is planned to ensure the long-term operational stability of the concert hall. The business plan for operation of the concert hall provides for gradual building up of the endowment fund over the first three years of operation.

 

If we fail to secure the required naming sponsor or the required federal funding, the economic viability of the entire project will be seriously in doubt. The timetable outline above allows time for a final decision on whether to proceed with the project to be made early in 2008 before extensive expenses are incurred to run a sustained public fundraising campaign. The next critical date in the planning process for this project is the end of February 2008 when the development agreement between the City of Ottawa and Morguard Investments Limited comes up for review.

 

 

2 November 2007


Appendix A

 

OCMS Board of Directors

 

Name

Colin Cooke

 

City/municipality/reserve

Ottawa

Expertise

Financial and investment management

Role on governing body

Board Chairperson

 

Andrew Lister

Ottawa

Lawyer

Past Chairperson and Chair, Governance Committee, Concert Hall Committee

 

Ainslie Benedict

Ottawa

Lawyer

Corporate Secretary, Member, Governance Committee

 

Thomas Swindells

Ottawa

Chartered Accountant

Treasurer, Member, Finance Committee,

 

Marina Kun

Ottawa

Businesswoman – President, Kun Shoulder Rest

Chair, Fundraising Committee, Member, Concert Hall Committee,

 

Pamela Mcdonald

Ottawa

Businesswoman – General Manager – CD Warehouse

Member, Fundraising Committee

 

Maria Somjen

Ottawa

Architect, Lawyer and Construction Project Manager

Chair, Concert Hall Committee, Member, Fundraising Committee

 

Terry Simpson

Ottawa

Investment Analyst and Professional Engineer

Chair, Finance Committee, Member, Concert Hall Committee

 

Warren Coutts

Ottawa

Management Consultant, President Applied DI

Member, Finance Committee, Concert Hall Committee

 

Harvey Glatt

Ottawa

Broadcaster and Concert Promoter

Member, Finance Committee, Fundraising Committee

 

Pierre Poirier

Ottawa

Project Management, Human Resource Management

Member, Finance Committee and Concert Hall Committee

 

Kathy Shaw

Ottawa

Manager, Restauranteur

Member, Fundraising Committee