Okotoks Town Council and administration have lots of research ahead of them after a site feasibility study for a performing arts centre at the creamery site on Riverside Drive was presented to them May 8.

In February a report came to council regarding some consultations that had been done in the community and a matrix that had been set up for best use for the site. Out of that some sort of performance park elevated to the top for residents through the matrix. Council then asked administration to do a feasibility study of sound and water mitigation on that site if they were to put a performing arts centre there.

The feasibility study came back that in fact a 300 seat performing arts centre would fit on the land, however mitigating sound and water would cost about $2.2 million dollars, or 8-10% of the project.

Okotoks Town Councilor Carrie Fischer says while the study was taken as information a 300 seat theatre is not something council would approve.

"We all know 300 seats isn't enough, that study was done under the finite growth model in 2012, our community has changed a lot since then. We need it to host performances, grad, all sorts of big community events, this suggests to us that we need a bigger theatre, but we don't know what size that is," she explains. "A 300 seat theatre only came to the table because it was already in place as a set of drawings, and could be used quickly and easily to perform the test for water and sound mitigation. It's not because anybody had any intention of building a 300 seat theatre in this day and age."

Fischer says she hopes council and the community can continue conversations about what to do with the land, she stresses no decision has been made on the use of the site.

"There's some more things we have to go through, we have to understand if a bigger centre would fit on that site, we've got a lot of research to do here, and one of the things that makes it so prudent to do that research is that we already own this land, we must look at what we can put in this land, and test that against the needs in the community."

A new feasibility study looking into a larger building for the creamery site, possibly holding 700 seats was requested by Okotoks Town Council.

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