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Letter to the Editor: Hold Mendel gallery referendum
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Letter to the Editor: By Robert S. Hampton, The StarPhoenix October 12, 2009
To paraphrase a recent comment by Mayor Don Atchison, some people may be upset with the Mendel hijacking but tough, it's a done deal. People are entitled to their opinion, but his is the right one.
Since the Mayor of Dancing Lights and Parking Lots probably will retain his office through the name recognition vote, maybe it's time to let the public in on this decision process. Let's add a referendum on the ballot and give the citizens a say on this landmark move.
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Mendel Volunteers Voice Strong Opposition to Gallery's Destruction
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In the CBC news report “Saskatoon OKs art gallery plan” (Tuesday, December 1, 2009), Beverley Caldwell, a longtime volunteer of the Mendel Art Gallery said of the city of Saskatoon’s decision to abandon the existing building: “A lot of the people around the Mendel are very upset by it. I think that you will see the end of the present volunteer program because it’s not true to the nature of the Mendel.”
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Letter to the Editor - By Margi Corbett, The StarPhoenixDecember 4, 2009
City administration's recommendation to strip the Mendel Art Gallery of its name, our legacy, and move its collection to a second-rate location borders on the absurd. Our council has got us into a huge, multifaceted mess called River Landing, and now it wants to save face as expediently as possible.
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Owls and Roosters: River Landing debacle has entered realm of the absurd
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Joe Kuchta continues to dig into the shady deals and obfuscation surrounding the River Landing project on his Owls and Roosters blog:
"River Landing farce continues as city committee gives Lake Placid ‘unofficial’ extension; Coun. Glen Penner set to betray Aug. 19 vote on deadline..."
Read the full article at Owls and Roosters
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Vince Varga supported Mendel Expansion on Spadina - what happened?
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Taken from "Mendel Art Gallery names new executive director" The StarPhoenix May 2, 2008
Speaking at a Friday morning news conference announcing his appointment, Varga immediately expressed his support for the expansion and renovation of the gallery. The Mendel requires $21.5 million for the project; of that, $4.6 million has been committed by the city, $4.1 million from the province, and an application for $6.6 million is in the hands of Heritage Canada.
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Overwhelming Majority in Ward 4 in Opposition to New Art Gallery
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This is an excerpt from Sean Shaw's website:
I strongly believe that the residents of Saskatoon as a whole should be given voice on any decision given the large tax dollar numbers attached to a new art gallery. $58 million is a healthy chunk of taxpayer dollars (Federal, Provincial, and Municipal) and we should be well aware with recent examples that budgets on paper tend to be exceeded in reality (i.e. River Landing ballooning from $35 million to nearly $90 million, and growing). Not to mention the added year-to-year operation costs associated with an art gallery expected to exceed the Mendel in size by nearly five times.
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Knights and Pawns Both Serve the King
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In the article “Council approves art gallery move” by David Hutton, The StarPhoenix, December 1, Mendel board chair Art Knight states: "The gallery came to the realization that this (renovation and expansion of the existing building) wasn't going to work at the current location . . . We had some stinging advice . . . that (the renovation) wasn't going to fly.” He doesn’t divulge the details of this revelation and doesn’t identify whose advice he was taking.
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Thank you for your support!
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AT LAST NIGHT'S COUNCIL VOTE ON ALL FRONTS! For your letters and emails, for getting over 1,000 signatures on our petition and for showing up to speak so passionately and eloquently last night! Thank you for your passion in preserving this great gallery and there will be more to come. This is just a phase in this process 2014 is a looong ways and an election away! Stay tuned and keep on fighting! Thank you for all that you do!
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TO MAYOR ATCHISON AND CITY COUNCIL FROM FRED MENDEL'S GRANDDAUGHTER
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The following letter was submitted to Saskatoon City Council on Friday, November 27, 2009 by Camille Mitchell.
Your Worship and City Council,
As a significant stakeholder in the Mendel Art Gallery, Honorary Chairperson of the Mendel Foundation and granddaughter of Fred Mendel, I respectfully request the postponement of any vote regarding the future of The Mendel Art Gallery until I and members of my family have had the opportunity to speak to City Council to address this proposed move to River Landing.
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WHY NOT EXPAND THE MENDEL ON SPADINA?
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NO ONE WANTS TO HONESTLY TACKLE THE QUESTION, WHY NOT EXPAND THE MENDEL ON SPADINA?
Rebuttal to Friday, November 27 Star - Phoenix Op-Ed:
I read John Hampton's opinion piece in today's Starphoenix (Friday Nov. 27/09). He provides no argument as to why the plan to renovate and expand the Mendel Art Gallery had to be abandoned for the AGS concept at River Landing.
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