Keely Banning says she was shocked and saddened to learn the city’s Centennial Botanical Conservatory could be facing the chopping block.
The perennial money-loser, which costs taxpayers about $600,000 a year, will be given the once-over by city council later this year, when the second phase of city manager Tim Commisso’s core business review is brought to the table.
Banning said the facility, built for Canada’s 100th birthday, holds precious memories for her, which is why she started a Facebook Group, Save the Thunder Bay Conservatory: Don’t Pave Paradise, when she first heard it might close.
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“It’s actually a piece of history, but for me, I actually have a very personal connection to the Conservatory,” Banning said.
“I used to go there with my Granddad a lot before he died and to me a part of him is still in that Conservatory. To lose it would be like losing a part of myself.”
The building, which contains a wishing pond, tropical plants and flowers, has been a popular spot for brides and grooms for the past 45 years, and provides flowers and floral displays used in parks across Thunder Bay, including the Sunken Gardens at Hillcrest Park.
Losing it would be horrible, the 26-year-old Lakehead University student said.
“I was actually devastated that they would consider doing that. Like my story, everyone else has a very similar story. Family traditions have been started around this. It hurts businesses. It hurts families. It hurts all kinds of people – even people who just can’t get out of Thunder Bay to escape the winter. It hurts everybody,” Banning said.
“I couldn’t stay quiet, so I had to go ahead and say something about it.”
She’s been heard. As of Monday afternoon her Facebook group, started on Saturday, had grown to nearly 700 members, several of who commented on the situation on the group’s wall.
“This is ridiculous,” wrote Caitlin Patton-Costigan. “Why would they want to close such a beautiful place? It has outlived its usefulness? Come on … People still go there and bring their families. Mr. Keith Hobbs, please don’t let this happen. Please. Keep the Conservatory open.”
Jeremy Gardiner took a more skeptical approach.
“So what’s the city’s plan for it? Sell off the land to one of their buddies for condos or build something else,” he wrote. “They should make it into an attraction worthy for tourists, like a butterfly park. I’ve been to one, pretty cool. They should partner up with the university.”
Mayor Keith Hobbs on Friday said the city can’t afford not to look at any of its core businesses, and that no stone should be left unturned.
“We’re getting complaints steadily about tax rates in the city,” Hobbs said, noting infrastructure needs must be addressed.
“It’s all about running the city with fiscal responsibility. I don’t think we’re going to look at (Toronto Mayor Rob) Ford-style proposals, far-reaching cuts, but we have to responsibly run this city.”
Hobbs refused comment when asked specifically about the Conservatory, saying he'd prefer to wait until it goes before council. A report going before council on Monday does indicate the facility has "used up its useful life."
