WELLINGTON COUNTY – Rising costs won't put a stop to a handful of Wellington County Museum and Archives (WCMA) capital projects after a committee approved funding the additional $150,000 on Tuesday.
This will need to be ratified by county council at Thursday’s meeting.
A special meeting of the information, heritage and seniors committee on Tuesday on five projects planned for this summer at WCMA, three of which have already been approved.
Those projects are a museum barn repainting, artifact storage mezzanine expansion and flat roof repairs which were tendered earlier this month at $550,000 as a single item.
Jana Burns, WCMA administrator, said no bids had been received on it and therefore staff were looking to retender with an increase in budget to $650,000 to better accommodate “post pandemic costing.”
The additional funding would come from the property reserve and general capital reserve.
The next project on the list was the Indigenous Gathering Circle, the county’s first dedicated Indigenous space for healing, ceremony and learning. After consultation with the public and Indigenous groups, the committee was asked to approve a design and the budget of $250,000 which is the original budgeted amount.
The two-acre site includes orchards, native plants and trees, pathways, a water feature, gathering circle with stone seating and a new roadway.
“The site is designed for the Indigenous, by the Indigenous as it has been put by the Indigenous advisory committee,” Burns said.
The last capital project is a 4,000 sq. ft. playground which needs a $50,000 increase in its $160,000 budget bringing it to $210,000.
The committee didn’t appear to have an issue with the increased cost but focused on the benefits these projects bring to the museum and the Wellington Place campus.
“We should have such pride in being able to create both of these important projects but particularly the Indigenous Gathering Space,” Coun. Diane Ballantyne said.
Coun. Doug Breen also highlighted the gathering space as a meaningful way to show commitment to Indigenous people, calling it a proud day to be part of Wellington County. He noted in his experience going to local museums, they often have an Indigenous section that feels “condescending.”
“A lot of times it’s always almost a sense of obligation that they do it,” Breen said. “There’s always been legitimate sort of nod to the Indigenous cultures in that museum (WCMA). To take it outside and expand on that, I think it’s consistent with what we’ve been doing in the past.”
Warden Kelly Linton said the two new projects in particular are going to help make the museum grounds more lively.
“I don’t want to say that it was stuffy and old before but it’s going to be less that way, it’s going to be much more vibrant,” Linton said. “I feel like we're tapping into a whole new demographic with some of the stuff that we’re doing and it’s bringing us into a whole new dimension.”
Linton did ask if staff were confident an additional $100,000 would bring in bid which construction manager Kevin Mulholland confirmed as he had conversations with pre-qualified bidders.
The committee unanimously approved the additional funding, the design for the Indigenous Gathering Circle and the concept for the playground.
