An offer of a free piano could end up costing the city of Port Moody between $500,000 and $2 million.
On Tuesday, Oct. 8, council tasked staff to investigate two options for storing the piano, which would be provided by the organizers of a seasonal series of live music performances at Inlet Theatre.
At a delegation to council last spring, Darlene Cooper and Bill Sample, the promoters of the Inlet Theatre Music Series, pitched a proposal to raise funds to acquire a concert piano to be gifted to the city. They said it would help attract a higher calibre of performers to book the facility and even open up new revenue opportunities.
“The theatre is becoming known as a respected concert hall as musical concert bookings have increased,” said the promoters in a subsequent memo.
“We believe that the theatre is losing bookings due to the lack of a grand piano.”
But space at the back and sides of the stage at Inlet Theatre is too small to store a piano and leaving it on stage is impractical, said a report to council.
As well, said Port Moody’s manager of cultural services Devin Jain, keeping the piano in the galleria area would increase its risk of being damaged and incur moving costs every time it has to be rolled in and out of the theatre for a performance.
The report suggested seven options for storing the piano, ranging from keeping it on stage or in the galleria, to building a special storage facility, hoisting it above the stage between shows or lowering it on a hydraulic lift to a cavity below the stage.
Costs ranged from several hundred dollars to hire movers each time the 500-pound piano has be rolled from the galleria or back of the stage, to up to $2 million to construct a storage area behind the theatre that could be accessed through its sliding glass doors at the back. It would also function as a stage that would allow more events to be hosted in the outdoor amphitheatre behind city hall.
“The inspiration for this option is that with a creative design, more events within the amphitheatre could also be facilitated,” said the report of the most costly option, adding landscaping was completed and production equipment purchased years ago but the lack of a stage had made using the outdoor space for events “costly and time consuming.”
Several councillors said they loved the idea of activating the amphitheatre, while also providing a place to store the piano.
“This would be a win win,” said Coun. Kyla Knowles.
“We need to put our money where our mouth is when it comes to the arts,” said Coun. Callan Morrison, adding construction of a combination stage and storage area might be a good use of the city’s public art reserve fund that council recently voted to review how it could be better used beyond just buying static works.
But Coun. Haven Lurbiecki balked at the cost without further consultation from the community.
“That’s a lot of money we’re signalling we’re willing to spend,” she said.
In the end, council voted to have staff look further into the outdoor storage and stage solution as well as the installation of a hydraulic lift that would allow the piano to be stored underneath the theatre then report back.
The lift option is estimated to cost between $500,000 and $750,000 and would require Inlet Theatre be closed “for a period of time.”
📣 Got an opinion on this story or any others in the Tri-Cities? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected].
📲 Want to stay updated on Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Anmore and Belcarra news? Sign up for our free daily newsletter.
💬 Words missing in an article? Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing.
