The Haines Borough Assembly Tuesday discussed pledging $90,000 to The Foundation of the Chilkat Center for the Arts to remodel the center’s kitchen.
Foundation vice-president Lorrie Dudzik said the foundation has raised about $30,000 to build a commercial kitchen. The foundation hired an architect this winter who designed several plans that ranged from $60,000 to $180,000.
The foundation opted for the $180,000 design, which will expand the building’s footprint by doubling the side of the kitchen, Dudzik told the CVN this week. The concession area will also be remodeled, and a storage area will be built to house extra chairs and tables that are now stored against the back wall of the theatre. They will also purchase new appliances. The lobby space will remain the same.
Dudzik told the assembly Tuesday they hope to find a grant to fund the project, but that most grantors want a 50 percent match. “(The Chilkat Center) really needs it and we cannot do it without the borough, at least not in any reasonable time frame,” Dudzik said.
Foundation member Thom Ely said expanding the kitchen will incentivize groups to host conventions in the facility and allow the foundation to rent the space for cooking classes or other small events. “It’s always been the goal of our tourism department to entice more conventions to come to Haines and having a full commercial kitchen will allow us to host larger groups at the Chilkat Center.”
Assembly member Tom Morphet asked if the foundation members had any information that would indicate what kind of demand existed for the center’s use.
Foundation member Annette Smith said the center has hosted many small conventions, including most recently the EMT symposium and the Chilkoot Indian Transportation Conference.
The assembly discussed where the money would come from to fund the project. Assembly member Heather Lende suggested using money from the Economic Development and Tourism Promotion fund balance. “The idea behind the tax is that it should be spent annually on those things and not saved. I’d feel most comfortable getting it out of that fund balance rather than the general fund,” Lende said.
The fund, paid for by a portion of sales tax, has a balance of about $348,000.
The foundation will apply for grants in November. Ely said they hope to go to bids next spring and that project construction would begin next summer. The assembly will take action on the $90,000 pledge at a future business meeting. The borough wouldn’t spend the money until the next fiscal year, should the assembly approve it. No assembly members objected to the proposal at Tuesday’s meeting.