It’s time to talk about Sarnia buying a new mobile stage, the city’s mayor says.
“Lots more events are taking place and this could be an important part of those,” said Mike Bradley.
The city was looking into an estimated $200,000 replacement for its former showmobile — taken out of service in 2016 amid lower usage and its derelict condition — but put that search on hold in spring 2020 as part of about $1.8 million in precautionary cutbacks amid uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bradley, who was in favor of those cuts at the time, said it’s time to get back on track with the original blueprint.
He’s asking council, when it next meets June 12, to authorize a staff report on options for council’s consideration at budget deliberations this fall, and noted Chatham-Kent recently authorized a similar mobile stage purchase for about $260,000.
Sarnia’s previous “basic,” collapsible stage on wheels, Bradley said, was built in 1978 and used frequently at events like Canada Day and Art in the Park.
It made it easier on group staging events, he said.
“They could take the city to the community.”
Funds from the city’s and Tourism Sarnia-Lambton’s four per cent municipal accommodation tax (MAT), on stays fewer than 30 days, could be one revenue source for a newer, more accessible and sophisticated showmobile, Bradley said.
As part of the agreement with TSL, Sarnia’s share of MAT money raised to date — $481,000 since 2020, Sarnia’s Steve Henschel said — is to be used for tourism infrastructure.
At least one service group also has expressed interest in helping purchase a city showmobile replacement in the past, Bradley said, acknowledging the project would be vying for capital dollars against several other unfunded projects on the city’s radar.
“I just detect a great interest in the community of trying to get back to whatever you want to call normalcy, and this is a big part of that,” he said.
Other projects put on the back burner in 2020like sun shade improvements to the Suncor Agora, also will be up to council if they want to revisit, Bradley said.
There are issues with the Centennial Park stage’s functionality, he said.
“Some of those things could be re-examined again.”