SAAG cafe represents a massive subsidy by the city

By Letter to the Editor on May 14, 2021.

Editor: What is the city social contract with tax-paying businesses? The Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) has been released. The Southern Alberta Art Gallery (SAAG) project is again proposed, and again, wants to open a café with taxpayer money.
We believe the SAAG, in addition to sports, the Exhibition, Street Wheelers, and others, is one of many important pieces of our tourism draw. These draws pull people in who will use our hotels, restaurants, and shop throughout the City. The SAAG has operated superior programming that has enhanced Lethbridge for the past 30 years.
Unfortunately, they lost us at ‘Venti Latte.’
There is no demonstrated need for a café at SAAG, as there are multiple restaurants providing food services to the area around SAAG and Galt Gardens. Whether the SAAG operates the proposed café, or contracts it out, City funds will be used to build it with no taxes earned or costs recovered by the City. This would represent a massive “subsidy” not provided to any other small business having to compete with the taxpayer-funded café.
Further, you would think that proposing a profitable café would allow SAAG to become more self-supporting. Doesn’t appear so! The estimate provided by SAAG is for the City to increase its annual support to SAAG by $70,000. It is unclear what the additional funds will pay for.
The latest modernization proposed for SAAG in the CIP will initially cost taxpayers a staggering $5,788,000! Why is a renovation of this size and cost required only 10 years after the last modernization? How much of this cost is the café?
Consider that the SAAG only pays $50 in rent to the City each year, and receives back a monthly subsidy. The City also gifted the SAAG $76,000 for 2021 and $76,000 for 2022 for COVID offset. While COVID impacts are understandable, another $70,000 annually is not. Where is the business case?
Taxpayers need to tell council that public money should not be used to fund competition against our local businesses – the same businesses that sponsor our community in a variety of ways. Once businesses are gone, who will pay taxes and donate the soccer uniforms? Not the SAAG. Please ask your councillors to remove the restaurant from this project.
Jeffrey DeJong
Lethbridge Transparency Council