EDITORIAL: Righting a big wrong

Council is in full agreement  – the Centennial Botanical Conservatory is worth having.

Where they disagree is how to go about keeping it.

Thanks to a report requested of administration on Monday night, they’ll get the answers they need to make an informed decision.
Refurbish or rebuild is the biggest question that appears remaining on the table. Either option is going to be an expensive one.

A Band-Aid solution, as Coun. Rebecca Johnson calls it, will see netting installed in the tropical display house to ensure the facility partially reopens by year’s end.

There will be many taxpayers who loudly scream to have the facility closed.?They’ll call it a drain on city coffers, an unused facility that’s seen its best days in the distant past.

The city itself is to blame for this. In the most recent budget, the conservatory has a paltry $79.04 set aside for advertising.
As one member of the public told council on Monday, there is little or no programming or planning in place to draw people to the 45-year-old facility.

This needs to change.

If council is going to spend the money to replace or refurbish the centennial project, the will must be there to ensure it is utilized by the people of Thunder Bay and advertised to those visiting our fair city.  There’s no sense righting a wrong if the same mistakes are going to be made all over again.