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Theatre Collingwood (sort of) asks town to co-sign line of credit

During budget talks at council’s Jan. 13 meeting, Mayor Yvonne Hamlin brings forward motion to lend the non-profit $25,000
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Collingwood council chambers is on the second floor of town hall at 97 Hurontario Street.

Theatre Collingwood needs a little bit of help, and they’re hoping the Town of Collingwood will lend a hand.

However, the request got lost in translation and left councillors confused without a formal ask to refer to. 

At their committee of the whole meeting on Jan. 13 during discussions on the 2025 budget, Mayor Yvonne Hamlin explained she had a conversation on Sunday at the Mayor’s Levee with an individual on the board with Theatre Collingwood.

The mayor said the organization needed a $25,000 loan to help the non-profit through a difficult time, which kicked off a discussion at the council table about whether or not the municipality should consider becoming a lender.

“They’re having a cash crunch and are desperately short of $25,000. Because it’s relatively short-term (they asked) if they went to the bank, could the town guarantee their $25,000 loan to get them through until expected donations and grants came through,” explained Hamlin.

Hamlin said her understanding was the organization needed the money within a week. She put forward a motion for the town to lend Theatre Collingwood the funds. 

There does, however, seem to be a case of broken telephone. Theatre Collingwood's executive director Erica Angus didn't know the topic was coming up at the council table, and clarified the local theatre company is not asking the town for a loan or a cheque. 

“I would have liked to be at that meeting,” Angus told CollingwoodToday in an interview following the meeting. “It isn’t as grandiose as it seems.”

Angus explained that January is a tight time financially for the organization, as they have to pay deposits for all their acts for the coming year in order to secure dates.

However, ticket sales haven’t opened up yet, so the organization typically uses a line of credit to advance the funds, and the organization then pays that back throughout the year through ticket revenue, donations, sponsorships and grant funding.

“It’s a very expensive time of year for us,” said Angus.

In the past, one of the founders of Theatre Collingwood and board member Barbara Weider would act as the guarantor for the line of credit.

Following Weider’s death in 2015, the organization would sell early-bird season packages at a discounted rate in November and December to get the funds together for January.

However, when COVID-19 hit, the organization found there wasn’t a market for that anymore with concern from patrons that events would be cancelled if COVID-19 outbreaks came back.

“After the pandemic, people’s buying trends changed. It’s not just us. Theatre companies everywhere are having this problem. People didn’t want to commit to a season because, what if the world shut down?” she explained.

As of now, Angus said no current Theatre Collingwood board members are willing to act as guarantor.

She said the organization doesn’t need the town to front $25,000, but instead she’s hoping they might consider acting as guarantor for the non-profit’s line of credit just for this year. She said such an arrangement isn’t unheard of, with Theatre Orangeville having a similar arrangement with the Town of Orangeville.

But without the clarification from Angus at the council meeting on Monday, Mayor Hamlin led a discussion for about 20 minutes around the table. 

Among her suggestions was an advance on a community grant. This year’s application intake runs into February, and the total amount in the council community grants envelope to be doled out later this year is $117,000.

In 2024, Theatre Collingwood was a recipient of a council community grant from the municipality to the tune of $10,800.

The town's treasurer, Jennifer Graham, cautioned against this course of action. 

“I believe you’ve worked very hard on having a transparent and open grant review process and grants should go through it,” said Graham. 

Councillors around the table weren't ready to make a decision. 

“My concern is, it’s a slippery slope,” said Coun. Chris Potts. “In this case, I’d like to have more information and knowledge on being a lender. I don’t foresee us being in that business.”

“If we open the door to this, we’ll have all kinds wanting us to lend them money,” he said.

Coun. Kathy Jeffery agreed.

“I don’t think I’d want to be considered a lender,” said Jeffery. “We’re responsible for the taxpayers dollars and if there’s going to be an unpaid difference at risk, I don’t think we can be taking any kind of risk. I don’t want it to be perceived that they already had an in because they had this advance.”

“It’s a bad look, both ways,” she said.

Coun. Christopher Baines referred to Theatre Collingwood’s 40-year history in town.

“I understand the concern about (setting a) precedent, but I think they’ve demonstrated that the long-term support of this community will definitely pay this back. I have no qualms about that,” said Baines.

Coun. Steve Perry asked why the town was just hearing about the situation now.

“Did they wake up one morning and think, holy shoot, we need $25,000? I’m concerned about that,” he said.

Coun. Deb Doherty asked if the town could split the difference and lend the organization the same $10,800 they received the previous year through the council community grant. 

However, at the end of discussion, Hamlin changed her motion and council voted unanimously in favour of having town staff meet with Theatre Collingwood representatives and report back at the next council meeting.

Theatre Collingwood's long-term plan, said Angus, is to bring back discounted advance season passes at the end of 2025, so the organization won't need a line of credit in 2026. They’re continuing to sell a four-play flex pack that is in effect for one season at a time.

She said Theatre Collingwood isn’t in jeopardy of shutting down if the organization doesn’t get a guarantor.

“All bills have been paid,” said Angus, with a laugh. “We don’t have much in the bank. Money will come in. We’ve done this for 40 years. This will happen, but it’s an uncomfortable situation to be in.”

“It’s an important  conversation for us to have. We’ve struggled with this for several years. If our donors would all donate on Jan. 1, we’d be laughing,” she added.

Angus said she looks forward to having conversations with town staff to provide the town with more information before they make a decision.



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