(Photo by Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens)

By David Opinko

City Council set to vote on expansion to Japanese Gardens facility

Mar 31, 2020 | 2:47 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – April 6 will be the day that the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden will know whether their project will go ahead after all.

The expanded Programming & Community Facility would be 465 square metres and provide “new and improved cultural, historical, horticultural and other related programming and exhibits outside the Garden.”

This would replace the current office just before the entrance to the gardens.

It would allow for a greater array of programming to be offered while ensuring that most events would not have to be cancelled due to poor weather.

The project was originally approved in the 2018-2027 Capital Improvement Program, but a motion was introduced earlier this year to Lethbridge City Council to potentially discontinue four major community capital projects. The Programming & Community Facility was one of them.

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After representatives with the Japanese Gardens spoke to council a couple of weeks ago, they were asked to come back again with further details on the financial ask.

Due to restrictions on public gatherings because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Executive Director Michelle Day, President Brad Hembroff, and Director Colin Hirano presented to council by phone.

Hembroff began by acknowledging that COVID-19 has put the city in a difficult fiscal position. However, he believes that the virus will eventually die down and that they need to be ready for when people are able to travel again.

Between 2014 and 2018, their fee-for-service from the city for general operating costs ranged from $115,630-$130,110. That would rise under a new agreement to around $304,890 per year. The increase is due to things like the rising minimum wage and snow removal.

There would also be a one-time grant of $99,000 to build and stabilize new building operations. However, Hembroff says the goal is to increase long-term revenues to the point where they would become less reliant on the municipality over time.

In total, it will cost approximately $2.92-million to build the new facility. Of that, around $2.5-million would come from the federal gas tax, $90,000 from fundraising, and just under $300,000 from the City of Lethbridge’ Pay-As-You-Go community fund.

While the majority of the money would be from the federal government, Hirano says Ottawa could pull funding from the project if the city does the same since it could be seen as a symbol that it is less important than originally thought.

Between 2014 and 2019, overall attendance to the Japanese Gardens rose by 204 per cent while the popular Winter Lights Festival increased by 60 per cent.

Mayor Chris Spearman says Nikka Yuko has certainly proven to be one of Lethbridge’s most successful tourist attractions.

“If we’re encouraging people to come to the city, do we continue to support the efforts that are there now? Will it be adversely affected if the project gets delayed? Those are all issues council will have to weight up.”

Spearman adds that they need to take actions to support the economy and the creation of jobs. At the same time, council will have to determine if, during the COVID-19 pandemic, this is a high-enough priority.