The Moose Jaw Cultural Centre will spend $90,000 to purchase a digital cinema projection (DCP) system so it can show the latest Canadian documentaries and films and expand its partnerships with festivals and filmmakers.
The organization plans to use $12,000 from its major equipment reserve budget, $5,241 from its small equipment reserve budget and $72,759 from its retained earnings fund, a city council report explained. The money in retained earnings is acquired from accumulated annual surpluses and is used to offset unexpected deficits.
There was $267,286 in the retained earnings fund as of Dec. 31, 2021, while that number will decline to $194,527 based on the withdrawal for this project.
The cultural centre’s financial history over the past five years shows it had surpluses of $70,033 in 2021, $3,493 in 2020, $6,003 in 2019 and $54,732 in 2018 and a deficit of $55,186 in 2017, the council report said.
During its Oct. 11 regular meeting, city council voted unanimously to approve the Cultural Centre’s request to access and use $72,759 from the retained earnings fund to purchase the digital cinema projection system for the Mae Wilson Theatre.
The Cultural Centre’s funding agreement with city hall says council must approve the organization’s access to that fund.
Coun. Heather Eby supported the project because the data showed the organization did not face yearly deficits and carefully managed its revenues.
“Given the history of good work and surpluses of that organization, I’m happy to support this,” she added. “I look forward to seeing good films … at the Cultural Centre.”
Presentation
Sarah Simison, executive director of the Cultural Centre, spoke to council about the request.
Council initially approved the replacement of the theatre’s projector using the equipment reserve in 2016, but the amount allocated was insufficient for the purchase, she said.
The Cultural Centre asked council in 2019 to approve $96,500 from retained earnings to replace the Mae Wilson Theatre audio system and projector for $38,000 and $59,000, respectively. However, those initiatives were not completed because of the pandemic.
The cost of technology and equipment has risen exponentially during the last few years, while the projector quoted in 2019 has been discontinued because it was outdated, she continued.
“The projector system is a priority (for us), as the current projector is not meeting the needs of the community and programs. The challenge we continue to face is that new release films are available in DCP format, (which is) an encrypted hard drive that can only be read using a digital cinema projector,” Simison said.
The new system will include a digital laser projector, screen, sound module, DCP integrated media server, pedestal, professional installation, calibration, and staff training.
This upgrade would enable the Cultural Centre to show recently released Canadian documentaries and films. It would also allow it to expand and explore partnerships with the Saskatchewan Festival of Words, the Regina International Film Festival, the Yorkton Film Festival, Queer City Cinema, the Toronto International Film Festival and local filmmakers.
The organization has determined that the audio system is still adequate but will allocate funding in its equipment reserve account to purchase a new sound system, said Simison.
“It will be a big investment, so we will (also) look for grants … so we don’t have to dip into retained earnings again,” she added.
The Cultural Centre’s production manager has worked there for 18 years, is a fully trained sound technician and has assessed the current sound system, the executive director explained.
“For some larger concerts we get, we have to rent some supplemental speakers and amps, but we’re able to manage with what we have now,” she continued. “And, we have a plan in place to replace it differently than what we proposed a few years ago.”
Simison expected to see the new digital projector system installed by January — if not sooner.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Oct. 24.
