Pembroke's first Busker Festival receives council support

Pembroke – A first-ever Busker Festival will be livening up the downtown in August and although council is supporting the venture in providing $1,000 in in-kind contributions through the waiving of fees for barrier installation and removal, the decision was not made without a discussion about fairness.

“How is the stereotypical fundraiser for the Robbie Dean Centre with a street closure any less deserving than this one?” Councillor Ian Kuehl asked last Tuesday night during a committee meeting, noting this request for a waiving of a similar fee was refused by council recently.

This kind of picking and choosing will get council in trouble, he said. The councillor had previously voiced his support for the event itself, but stressed he is not in favour of the city picking up the tab of as much as $2,500 to set up the barricades and take them down in the city core.

In the end, Councillor Andrew Plummer suggested members of council could donate individually if they wanted to support the event, which he suggested was better than using taxpayer dollars. Coun. Plummer, Coun. Kuehl and Councillor Troy Purcell each donated $500 individually, thereby reducing the city contribution to $1,000. However, even with this reduction, there were still three members of council voting against the city providing $1,000 in in-kind donations. Opposed were Mayor Ron Gervais, Coun Plummer and Coun Kuehl.

Joanna Els, the Buskerfest Committee Chair, and Bethea Summers, the Pembroke Business Improvement Area (PBIA) executive director, were at council to pitch the Buskerfest venture. They were asking council to approve a road closure on Pembroke Street West between City Hall and Frank Nighbour Street for the event, which will take place on August 10 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. The request was also for the waiving of the fees for the installation and removal of road barriers.

“It would be the first of its kind in this area, so we are really looking forward to having a really big city festival in our small hometown,” said Ms. Summers.

The festival is more than just musicians on the street, she explained.

“It is going to be an outdoor festival and we are going to have musicians, jugglers, magicians, stilt-walkers, acrobats,” she said. “We will have some live art being done in real time, so it is quite a cultural event.”

There is no Busker Festival in the county, she pointed out, so there could be a draw from a wider area, including North Bay. The event will be free and attendees can tip the buskers.

“There will be three entertainment areas,” she said. “They are not on stages, so they can use the space and set up.”

There will be extra waste bins on site to deal with the garbage and the PBIA will check them during the day and get rid of the garbage. Porta-poties will be dropped off that morning and picked up that night.

Ms. Els noted she runs The Nook Creperie in the downtown core and this is a venture she feels will be ideal for the downtown.

“I am really invested in bringing some fun things to the downtown that will hopefully generate some tourism and get some people into our downtown core,” she said.

There is a good team working behind the scenes of the Busker Festival.

“We want an experience which can be for all ages,” she said.

The committee has been working with a company in Ottawa that does the Sparks Street Festival, she said.

“We want people to build memories in the downtown, so I was passionate about bringing this project,” Ms. Els said.

They want to have local talent and a side vendor market, as well as possibly a car show down one of the side streets. This will bring in different activities for people to enjoy, she said.

“We have been extremely lucky that people have been very supportive; we have been fundraising like crazy,” she said, adding they have received funding from Petawawa and Laurentian Valley.

“We hope to make this an annual event which will in turn draw tourism,” she said.

The committee was very passionate about having a fundraising aspect as well and will be partnering to raise funds for the work on the Kinsmen Pool during the event and prior to it, she added.

Council Supports Initiative

While all members of council expressed their support for the event, the question of the city covering the cost for the set up and take down of the barricades was not such an easy decision.

“It is a great event and it is part of our strategic plan with partnerships to promote a vibrant downtown, so I am really looking forward to it,” said Deputy Mayor Brian Abdallah, in beginning the discussion.

He pointed out a lot of money has been raised already to make this event happen.

“It is a win-win for everyone and it will be a great day for Pembroke,” he said.

Councillor Patricia Lafreniere said it was a wonderful event but she wanted to be cognizant of the expense with the work crews. She ascertained there was support from the downtown businesses for this road closure as well.

She said another event asked for support and council said they would “draw a hard line” but also look at each event individually.

“For this one time, I can support it; looking at the costs it is quite minimal,” she said, adding she wants a follow-up report to see if it was a good event for downtown businesses.

“We are trying to really enforce our fees and stick to our guns,” she said.

Coun. Kuehl said while he was supportive of the event, he noted there are lots of events happening this summer in Pembroke and council had set a precedent already in refusing to waive fees. He did not feel the city should pay for the costs of putting up and taking down the barriers.

Coun. Jacyno called it an innovative idea with community spirit. He suggested waiving the fee.

“We had so many hits with COVID and this will bring lots of people to the community and will expose them to some of the vacant storefronts we have here and show our innovation as a city and attract new people and new business,” he said.

Coun. Purcell said the downtown “has gotten a bit of a bad rap” in the last few years and he was cognizant of the hard work by community members.

“I think I would be willing to offset those costs,” he said, noting the MAT (Municipal Accommodation Tax) which will be implemented could be used in the future for similar ventures.

“It really helps our downtown which has been struggling; we also heard from the owner of Giant Tiger business is tough and I can understand that,” he said.

Working together with business to support an event like this is a way the city can be involved, he commented.

Mayor Gervais pointed out the committee had met with members of council and the operation staff before the meeting and looked at operational concerns.

“You took the time to meet and answer whatever our questions were,” he said, noting issues like access by first responders and porta-potties were discussed.

The mayor said he was supportive of the event.

When it came time to vote, Coun. Kuehl reiterated he wanted consistency. Budgets are tight and council is in the position of saying “no” to many things because of waiving “hundreds of dollars of fees”, he said.
“We are losing thousands of dollars in rent by giving people $1 leases,” he said.

The City of Pembroke has already contributed to the festival with a $5,000 cash contribution and the operations department probably has work to do as well, he added.

“At what time do we stop acting like a charity?” he questioned.

Individual Contributions

When it came time to vote, council unanimously supported the road closure. The second vote was more divisive.

Coun. Jacyno said council can look at issues on an individual basis and he made the motion to waive the fees for the first-time event. This was seconded by Deputy Mayor Abdallah.

Coun. Plummer, who was chairing the meeting, said he understood the importance of the event and he was cognizant things cost money in the city. He suggested if individuals want to support the event they do so, but not spend taxpayer dollars on waiving fees.

“I will personally commit $500 of my personal money to the Busker Festival to help pay for that,” he said. “If any other council member wants to chip in, we can pay for this together, without spending taxpayers’ money.”

Coun. Kuehl and Coun. Purcell chipped in with $500 each, making it $1,500.

Coun. Jacyno said he supported the community and was tapped out. He questioned if this individual contribution would reduce the amount the city pays.

Coun. Plummer said from the original amount of $2,500, the contribution from the three members of council would leave a $1,000 donation from the city with the rest picked up by the three councillors.

This motion was passed by council, however Coun. Plummer, Coun. Kuehl and the mayor voted against it. In favour were Deputy Mayor Abdallah and Councillors Jacyno, Lafreniere and Purcell.

The Buskerfest will be on August 10.

Debbi Christinck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eganville Leader