CIVIC MUSEUM OF REGINA TENTATIVELY SET TO REOPEN!!

Good evening Regina!!!

Something that I have been posting a lot on Facebook recently, but not on my website, is the issue of the Civic Museum of Regina closing - otherwise and formerly known as the Regina Plains Museum. As you may or may not be aware, the Museum faced closure last month because they simply didn't have enough funding to keep the doors open for the rest of the year. They had asked the City on a number of occasions over the past few years for a review of their funding situation - each time getting delayed or the run around. It's obvious that the closure certainly had an impact on the City's decisions, and it raised a much needed awareness around our great City (and province and country for that matter) of the great resource that is the Civic Museum of Regina.

I want to extend a HUGE congratulations to Rob Deglau, Scott Cheston and the entire board at the Civic Museum of Regina, as it is obvious that they have a great passion for Regina's Heritage and they have put a tremendous effort into getting the museum to where it is today.

Here is a video of my delegation from today: 

https://youtu.be/FYgVQCh-Bl4

Here is a great story on the situation from CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/civic-museum-of-regina-gets-money-to-stay-open-and-plan-future-1.3220751

 DISCLAIMER: The reopening of the Civic Museum of Regina is tentative only, and subject to final approval by City Council on Monday, September 28, 2015. If you want to see City Hall approve this request, then be sure to be in attendance to show your support!

If you don't follow me on Facebook (why not??), here is the upate I posted today.

CIVIC MUSEUM UPDATE:

GREAT NEWS!!!!!! Although it still has to be approved by City Council at the end of the month, the City has tentatively APPROVED interim funding to enable to the Museum to reopen it's doors ASAP. I will be meeting with the board in the next few days to find out exactly what their plans are, but the City approved a one time additional $60,000 grant which is exactly what they asked for many months ago. This is in addition to the $25,000 to hire a consultant to develop a business plan.

Where do we go from here? Simple. Publicly show your support. Call or email your councillor, the Mayor, or members of the Museum board to tell them you fully support this motion and you thank them for their recognition of the importance of our Civic Heritage. Also, buy a membership for the museum! They are only $25/yr and a portion of it is tax deductible. Donate more than that, and it's all tax deductible!

Finally, please, if you have the time,

Attend City Council on Monday, September 28, 2015. 

The meeting begins at 5:30 PM, and depending on how many items are on the agenda, it could be a long evening. If you want to speak to this issue, you must abide by certain rules and submit your prepared speech (word for word) by the Thursday prior. If you aren't comfortable with public speaking, throw your ideas my way and I would be glad to include them in my speech. Regardless of whether you plan to speak or not, your attendance would mean a lot and show that there is strong public support for the museum.

In closing, I wouldn't say the coast is clear now, but I definitely can say I've gained a lot of respect for City Council today. The hardest part is done. Getting that extra funding to simply allow them to reopen the doors is HUGE! 

Thank you everyone for your attention and passion shown to this matter. Your support has not gone unnoticed.