The Festival of Northern Lights will soon become an incorporated company independent of the city of Owen Sound.
Currently the popular festival is technically operated by the city through an advisory committee that does all of the hands-on work.
But Doug McKee, the chair of that committee, says they have been in negotiations with the City for about a year on an agreement that will turn the committee into a board of directors for a new non-profit company.
The company would operate the festival on a five-year contract with Owen Sound.
The city would guarantee a certain level of financial support for the length of that contract.
McKee says the existing structure is very cumbersome for a number of reasons.
First of all, because the committee is a creation of a municipal council, it cannot seek a provincial Trillium grant or other sources of funding that would probably be available to the festival.
And finances are definitely of concern to the festival because it has become a victim of the city’s cost-cutting measures.
This year the festival lost 20 thousand dollars in funding despite having come in under budget in 2009.
That 20 thousand represented more than 20 per cent of the event’s 2009 budget.
Also, initiatives passed by the committee sometimes don’t come before council for approval for up to six weeks.
McKee says that makes it difficult to get things done in a timely fashion.
This year’s Festival of Northern Lights kicks off on Friday, November 19th at 6 PM and will continue through January 2nd.
