VANCOUVER COURIER
COPE accused of sellout
By Sandra Thomas-Staff writer
COPE parks board commissioner Spencer Herbert says his 11th-hour decision to vote in favour of a proposed Vancouver Aquarium expansion was a tough one.
"Fifty-one per cent of me is in favour," said Herbert. "I could have said 'no, no, no,' but I knew we'd be locked in to a lease until 2028 so I thought I better get involved."
The parks board voted in favour of the $80-million aquarium expansion at a special public meeting at the Hastings Community Centre Monday night. COPE commissioner Loretta Woodcock held the only no vote, while board chair Heather Holden was not allowed to vote because she is an employee of the aquarium.
More than 40 people spoke at the six-hour meeting at which the parks board also approved a 20-year lease to the aquarium. Herbert's decision surprised many people because, until Monday night, he and Woodcock were the two holdouts against the plan. Independent Allan De Genova was touted as the swing vote.
The 1.5-acre expansion plan includes new larger pools for belugas, dolphins, sea otters and sea lions, a new public plaza, new washrooms, two galleries, an animal care facility and a restaurant. Despite the snow and freezing temperatures Monday night, the community centre was packed with residents, business owners, aquarium staff and volunteers, environmentalists and animal-rights advocates.
It was a professional-looking Herbert who showed up to the meeting.
Gone were the trademark blond streaks, vintage-style clothes and porkpie hat. Herbert wore his hair one shade of light brown and donned a new dark suit.
He said he could only vote in favour of the expansion if it came with several compromises, including 1,000 free passes to the aquarium for each of the city's 23 community centres to hand out to low-income families. The board also voted to remove the city's bylaw governing the importation of cetaceans, such as whales and dolphins, from the aquarium's lease.
Woodcock supported Herbert in his decision, but said she could not vote in favour because of her strong feelings about keeping whales and dolphins in captivity. She said she also wants Stanley Park kept as intact as possible.
"People are very passionate when it comes to Stanley Park and they were very clear on their feelings about using it for the aquarium," said Woodcock. "Their decision was either yes or no. There was no 'maybe' involved."
Herbert said he knows he made some people angry. "But I also feel that by getting involved I was able to do some good things."
Anger does not begin to describe the way Annelise Sorg, director of Coalition for No Whales in Captivity, felt Tuesday morning.
"After Spencer finished speaking people started yelling, 'Shame, shame on you,' at him," said Sorg. "He sold out. I want to know what happened to COPE. I know the NPA sold out a long time ago, but now it looks like COPE has done the same thing."
Sorg said the meeting appeared to be a setup and that the board steered clear of almost all discussion about whales and dolphins in captivity.
"Spencer tells the aquarium they need to give passes to poor people because the aquarium is such a great place," she said. "Give me a break. This whole board is so corrupt there is nothing I can do anymore. I'm hanging up my harpoon because this board is so corrupt."
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Show us a bit more money De Genova tells aquarium
By Sandra Thomas-Staff writer
More money from food sales, a less obtrusive gift shop and a financial review every five years were some of the compromises the parks board and Vancouver Aquarium reached at a public meeting Monday night as the facility's new expansion was approved.
At the special public meeting, the parks board voted to approve the aquarium's $80 million, 1.5 acre expansion and extend its lease by 20 years.
Independent parks board commissioner Allan De Genova said he introduced the amendments because of concerns the $45,000 a year the aquarium pays to the parks board for its lease is too little. The aquarium makes $26 million in revenue annually.
"I heard from community centre associations who say the money the park board is paying to help maintain the aquarium is taking away from their programs," said De Genova.
De Genova's amendments, which were agreed to by the aquarium, included siphoning off four per cent of profits from food sales to the parks board. He also asked that the aquarium cover part of its own maintenance costs, which the parks board has traditionally paid for. Those costs include the care of the outside plaza area and washrooms and electricity for the salmon stream.
De Genova also asked that the gift shop, which according to preliminary plans juts into the outdoor plaza, be moved back into the aquarium to make it available only to aquarium visitors.
"The way it looks now is that any visitor to the park can go in and purchase gifts and that takes away from park board run gift shops like the one at the Totem concession," said De Genova. "Also by moving the gift shop back into the aquarium we gain back 3,000 to 4,000 square feet of land."
De Genova noted the aquarium's revenue from food sales and service alone is $2.5 million, four per cent of which the parks board will receive a cut. He estimates the savings in maintenance will be $25,000 to $30,000 a year.
"I also thought it was important that our financial agreement come under review every five years the same way it does with all of the other vendors operating in the park," said De Genova. Aquarium president John Nightingale said while he's looking forward to a strengthened relationship with the parks board, he questioned some of De Genova's concerns regarding the lease.
"I understand why he's concerned about the gift shop, but you have to remember this is a very bare concept," he said. "From a helicopter pilot's view it might be perceived as having excessive prominence, but the design is very preliminary."
He said De Genova's fiscal concerns are unfounded and that money taken away from the aquarium could mean cuts to its conservation, education and research programs.
According to financial information supplied to the Courier by the aquarium, the facility received no financial support from the city last year. That same report also shows the aquarium paid $760,000 to the city from profits it made from its concession, parking, rent and from fees paid by sightseeing companies.
"We can pay more but that could mean a reduction in programs," said Nightingale. "There are only so many hands we can have tied behind our back."
The next stage in the aquarium's expansion will be to raise money for the project. Construction is expected to begin in the spring.
published on 11/29/2006