Fred Fedorak: Letter to School District 67 Trustees

The following letter was sent to the trustees for School District 67. It was also reprinted in the Herald on 11 April, 2007.

Dear School District No. 67 Trustee,

I was very disappointed to learn that the School Board, although extending the deadline for a plan to save the auditorium, is not interested at all in the future of the Pen Hi gymnasium. Why bring forth a deadline to save one and not the other?

I am requesting the Board reconsider this decision and take a very serious look at how the loss of the gym will impact the community. Please consider the community as a whole on this matter and not just the position of the School District. Local residents pay taxes that go into school, as well as municipal, coffers. So in a sense the community has a vested interest in those buildings.

I am well aware of the Board’s decision to provide an excellent double sized new gym complete with weight room and in accordance with the Ministry of Education regulations. You are to be commended for your decision and the numerous hours that you have spent going over the plans for the new facility. However, this new gym is primarily for student use. The community in all probability will not have access to this facility because during the winter months it is fully scheduled for student activities. At the present time I understand that the Community Centre gym is overused during this same high season period. As a result of the planned demolitions, the community as a whole will be hard pressed to provide spaces for recreational activities and performing arts.

I believe that with some creativity the parking and bus loading areas can be reconfigured to accommodate your safety concerns. Where there is a will there is a way! We are not studying buildings that are past their usefulness and ready for the landfill, as they have several years of productive use left in them.

Project to the future and visualize the negative impact that the demolition of these two buildings will have on the community of Penticton. Visualize also the positive impact for the local citizens by turning them over to the City of Penticton to operate. With the present financial situation of City Council I cannot see enough funds being made available for the replacement of the aforesaid facilities in the next decade. We really won’t know what we have lost until these buildings have disappeared.

Respectfully submitted,
Fred Fedorak

Update: A FAQ has been posted

We have created a "frequently asked questions" (FAQ) document for new supporters of S.O.N.G. There is a link to the FAQ in the section called "important documents" on the right of this page. Or you can click here.

The point of the FAQ is to bring everyone who is interested in S.O.N.G. up to speed. Members of S.O.N.G. have already met several times since early March and have had numerous consultations with representatives from the City of Penticton, School District 67, and the performing arts community. We will use the FAQ as a concise summary of what we have learned along the way. Please let me know if you encounter any errors or omissions.

Rosemarie Fulbrook: Losing auditorium would be a blow to the community

The following appeared in the 11 April, 2007, edition of the Penticton Western News:

The fate of the Pen High auditorium has been on my mind for some time and I feel compelled to add my voice to those who are encouraging School District 67 and the City of Penticton to do “due diligence” in determining its future. I must first state that I am writing from one vantage only — and that is as an audience member.

On moving here from Vancouver in the mid ‘90s, I was delighted to find a theatre with such amazing acoustics. Years of studying music and many more years working “front-of-house” at the Civic Theatres (Queen Elizabeth Theatre, the Orpheum and the Playhouse — all facilities owned and managed by the City of Vancouver), have tuned my ears somewhat and I thought Penticton was blessed to have such an excellent facility.

I felt a certain reluctance to lose the Pen High auditorium when the Penticton and District Performing Arts Facility Society needs assessment recommended a “state-of-the-art performance facility” to be built for Penticton’s 2008 centennial. But, I shrugged the feeling off as “too bad, such a shame” as the report indicated that the aging auditorium could not, cost effectively, be modified to meet current physical and technical performance needs.

Over the past few months, however, it has become increasingly clear that the South Okanagan Event Centre will usurp all the financial resources needed to construct such a state-of-the-art performance facility. It has also become increasingly clear that the City of Penticton had no intention of halting the wrecking ball until the citizens of Penticton and surrounding districts raised their voices in a concerted protest.

A few weeks ago I had the good fortune to hear the Vancouver Chamber Choir in a concert presented by the Penticton Secondary music department. Seated near the back of the almost full 737-seat auditorium, the sound was as intimate and clear as if I’d been sitting in the third row.

Afterwards I thought that this type of concert — professional musicians, students learning about music, the performance arts, and fundraising via an exceptional concert for the community, was probably exactly what the school district and the city had in mind when the facility was constructed in the 1950s.

It may not be state of the art, but it’s what we’ve got and I’d greatly prefer it if Joni Mitchell’s lyric lines, “And don’t it always seem to go, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone” didn’t play through my head every time I walked past the parking lot that used to be the Pen High auditorium.

Rosemarie Fulbrook
Kaleden

Ian Birds: Badminton Club sets sights on gym

The following letter appeared in the Penticton Western News Advertiser, Mar 25 2007:

Re: Acquisition of Pen Hi north gymnasium/auditorium for badminton/sport purposes:

We are pleased to confirm that the Penticton Badminton Club has recently re-established itself as an active, viable group, capable of joining other interested sporting/artistic groups in taking over operation of the use of the above-mentioned facilities. The PBC for many years, leased the facilities from the Penticton school district and operated both adult and junior badminton programs in the evening and valley-wide tournaments on weekends.

All of these activities and associated social functions came to an end when the school district discontinued use of the Pen High gymnasium and relocated our activities to Wiltse School gymnasium. At a later date, the city made available the recreation centre on an ad-hoc basis. This facility is inadequate due to poor lighting and inappropriate wall colours. The Pen Hi gymnasium is far superior in this respect. Badminton activities have therefore suffered. Tournament play is now non-existent except for the other centres in the valley that attract the better players. A sad state of affairs for local merchants who benefited from local players and the influx of outside players from other areas coming to Penticton.

The PBC has, over the years, accumulated a substantial fund from membership dues and tournament registration fees. This income has been well invested and members have expressed a wish to explore investing in the establishment of the PBC in the Pen Hi gymnasium. We also encourage the efforts of other clubs and organizations who would wish to join with the PBC in entering a long-term lease through the City of Penticton of the lands containing both the gymnasium and the auditorium.

PBC would be available on short notice to enter into negotiations with municipal staff to formulate a policy of use for the said facilities and look forward to your support and reply in this regard.

Ian A.Birds President,
Penticton Badminton Club

Errol Anderson: Losing building inconceivable

The following letter appeared in the Penticton Herald:

Dear Editor:

Being a subscriber to Penticton Community Concerts, I have enjoyed many theatrical and music productions over the years in the Penticton Secondary School Auditorium. This little gem of a theatre is quite unique with its approximately 700 comfortable seats, all with an unobstructed stage view, its marvelous acoustics and its central location.

The thought of losing this heritage building to the wreckers’ ball due to a lack of foresight or intention is inconceivable. What is there to take its place to serve the arts in this community?
I am pleased city council has managed to negotiate a revised decision date with the school board, to June 1 in order, as quoted, to conduct a facilities inventory. Mayor Jake Kimberley has also stated that the city has finite resources and “must be proactive in determining where facility dollars will be required in the future.”

Undoubtedly, this is a task to be undertaken but there is no commitment at this time by council to save our auditorium by their action. Nor will there be, in my opinion, unless those who pay council’s wages make it clear the city must act on the taxpayers’ wishes to retain this fine building for the benefit of us all. Bear in mind the necessary cost to separate this building from the school gymnasium and renew its air-conditioning and hearing systems and upgrade other services can only be miniscule compared to the staggering $17 million cost overrun negotiated by this council in relation to the South Okanagan Event Centre contract.

Do not assume, fellow citizens, that in the review and facilities inventory proposed by council that our auditorium will be given any special priority in their decision-making. It will have to be made clear to them we want our Pen-Hi Auditorium saved for our continued use and for our amateur dramatic societies to be encouraged and supported by its presence. So, make that call, mail that letter, talk to our councilllors. Otherwise, we shall be lectured on finite resources, competing demands and conflicting priorities by our local politicians and lose this treasured facility in the ensuing debate.

Let us unite in our determination in this and ensure council carries out our wishes in the matter.

Errol Anderson
Penticton

Michael Brydon: All gyms are not created equal

This letter has not been submitted to any paper. These are just some rough thoughts on the potential community value of the north gym.

In the early 1980s, Princess Margaret was a pretty tough junior high school with its share of problems. Organized sports were not seen as being especially cool (I was one of exactly two Grade 10 players who bothered to go out for the junior boy’s basketball team). Yet I do recall a brief period in the spring, when the gym was not booked for anything else, one of the PE teachers would be on hand on Wednesdays from roughly 7 to 9 PM for “open gym”. A surprising cross-section of students took advantage of the opportunity to play informal games of floor hockey, shoot hoops, or just hang-out in the mezzanine overlooking the gym (where there were foosball, ping-pong, and pool tables). At certain times of the year, the gymnastics apparatus was set up. I will never forget watching some of the roughest kids in school (with their unlaced high-tops, Van Halen softball shirts, and mullets) launching themselves off the mini-trampoline and doing spectacular dive-rolls over the vaulting box. Flips, as I recall, were not permitted.

I don’t think there are many open gyms in the district nowadays. The teachers who would be willing to volunteer their evenings for such things are likely already tapped out coaching, doing graduate degrees, or spending time with their own families. Plus I suspect that the now-ubiquitous excuse for all sorts of inaction—“insurance issues”—has been invoked so open gyms are no longer permitted on school property, even if a willing supervisor exists. I think this is a shame because open gyms would give teens in this town something positive to do with their spare time. As the brief experiment at Maggie in the 80s suggests, such opportunities can even attract unlikely participants.

Given the high economic and social cost of youth crime and drug abuse in Penticton, one might expect the city to be interested any initiative with a potentially preventative effect. The city could, for example, organize regular open gyms for teens in its facilities. But here is the problem: the city does not have sufficient gym space. According to several city employees, the demand for the Community Centre gym during peak hours exceeds its capacity. Some may argue that this town is full of gyms, but this ignores two critical issues. First, the school gyms are under the control of the school district, not the community. As recent jurisdictional friction illustrates, this is not a trivial distinction. Second, and more importantly, not all gyms are created equal. Those attempting to attract teenagers to community-based recreation programs ignore the importance of having a socially attractive space at their peril. I think Maggie’s gym (circa 1983) worked well for open gym because it was bright and spacious. It had bleachers and a mezzanine so it was possible to participate at the margins without standing in the middle of someone’s court. I suspect an open gym for teens would be significantly less successful in, say, one of our tiny, boxy elementary school gyms.

This brings us to what was once Pen-Hi’s north (main) gym. As generations of former Pen-Hi students recognize, the north gym, with its massive bleachers and openness, creates a unique social space. In my day, the gym was where people went at lunchtime—not to play sports, but to congregate, to see and be seen. Here we have a space that has proven itself attractive to teens over many years for both physical recreation and social interaction. Why not exploit it?

Of course, there are no guarantees that an open gym program for teens will mitigate any of our youth problems or will attract enough teens to justify the effort. But there are a couple of things that we do know for certain: First, no problem will be solved if we fail to invest the time and resources required to try some solutions. Second, if an open gym for teens will work anywhere, it will be at the north gym.

Update: The taxpayer's left hand slaps its right hand?

There was a short news article on Page A3 of the Herald (19 March, 2007):

"City council has decided to use the time between now and the school district's June 1 deadline for a decision on the Penticton Secondary School auditorium to conduct a facilities inventory [...] In a prepared statement, Mayor Jake Kimberley said the city would look into the cost of taking over the auditorium. He added that the city had heard 'loud and clear' there are differing priorities, which include not only a performing arts centre but expanding the swimming pool."

I found the omission of the gym in this story odd, since the city had said it was considering both buildings. The story in Western provides some additional information, including a telling quote from the school board chair:

"Okanagan-Skaha school board trustees this week gave the city until June 1 to decide whether it wants to submit a proposal to run the Pen High auditorium as a stand-alone facility. The original deadline was March 31.

The city also expressed interested in taking over the north gym, but that option is now off the table, said Larry Little, chairman.

While the auditorium has overshadowed the north gym, its fate has generated considerable attention in recent weeks, with several citizens calling for its preservation.

'It (the north gym) is still our property and it is still our decision,' he said, noting that the new Pen High school now under construction will include more recreational space."

My editorial comments:

I think it is important to address Mr. Little's misapprehension head on: It is clearly not his gym. Nor is it the school district's gym or the Ministry of Education's gym. It is our gym. We, as taxpayers, employ various people to look after our gym, but this does not mean these employees have ultimate authority. It is like the driver of a city bus saying, 'This is my bus'. Yes we delegate enormous responsibility and decision autonomy to the drivers of our buses. But we do not grant them the power to veto all decisions made regarding the use and disposition of "their" buses. Nor should the school board grant itself a veto and presume to know that taxpayers would prefer, say, a parking lot to a community gymnasium.

The SOAP proposal essentially involves transfer of our gym from the administrative oversight of one body of elected officials (the school board) to the administrative oversight of a different body of elected officials (city council). Contrary to Mr. Little's assertion, no real change of ownership is involved. I think the school board should keep this in mind.

Of course, we recognize that the school board has a mandate to ensure the new school works. Fair enough. However, this does not mean that the school board should act contrary to the interests of the community in seeking to fulfill its mandate. The new Pen-Hi, after all, is part of the community. As Mayor Kimberley points out, we have finite resources. We cannot afford to have the left hand of the taxpayer working to spite its right hand.