Sharon Temple gets $40K in town funding, costs $300K to operate

Lack of funding means Sharon Temple could cut hours, education programs

Yorkreigon.com
January 30, 2019
Amanda Persico

The Sharon Temple National Historic Site and Museum has become a victim of its own success -- hosting more programs and events than ever before, but not having enough funding to upkeep the heritage building.

The temple’s annual operating budget is about $300,000, about a third of which is dedicated to staff salaries. There are less than half a dozen staff members working a mix of full- and part-time.

During East Gwillimbury’s budget deliberations, councillors agreed to roll the $40,000 grant into the town’s operating budget as a stable funding source, so the temple board doesn’t have to come hat in hand each year.

“Other municipalities fund and support municipal museums to the tune of I don’t know how much,” said Ward 2 councillor Tara Roy-DiClemente during East Gwillimbury’s recent budget deliberations.

To get a better handle on what heritage costs, town staff proposed hosting a council workshop later in the year to tackle heritage issues, including museum funding.

The $40,000 grant is loosely based on an informal funding formula of about $1 per resident, which is still less than other museums in neighbouring municipalities.

And that leaves some funding gaps, said temple board of directors president Jim Pearson.

“(It) helps,” he said. “But that leaves the other $260,000 to source.”

Donations, events, sponsorships, income from property rentals and other annual government grants help close the gap, he added.

If the funding isn’t found it could mean cutting educational programming, reducing staff hours or decreasing open-to-the-public hours.

It’s only the beginning of grant approval season, so now’s “not the time to panic,” added Pearson.

Compared to other municipalities, the Sharon Temple, with its 8,500 artifacts, is the only museum where operating costs are not incorporated into the town’s overall operating budget.

At one end, the King Museum -- housed in an old school house dating back to the 1860s -- received about $108,000 in 2018.

At the other end, the Elman W. Campbell Museum in Newmarket -- the old land registry office dating back to the 1880s -- received about $328,000 in 2018.

Meanwhile, the Sharon Temple -- built in the 1820s -- received $40,000 from the town, covering about 15 per cent of the temple’s operating budget.

Operating costs for the Hillary House National Historic Site, home of the Koffler Museum of Medicine in Aurora, are not part of Aurora’s operating budget. But the Hillary House did receive about $74,400 from the town in 2018.

The Georgina Military Museum received less funding in 2018 than the Sharon Temple. But municipal funding covered about 42 per cent of the museum’s expenses.

The national historic site recently secured a $118,000 Trillium grant to cover the cost of painting the entire exterior and ground floor of the iconic building.

That’s been a longtime coming, Pearson added. There’s plenty of paint flaking off exposing some of the bare wood. And the interior has not been painted since the 1980s.

“Wooden buildings never stop deteriorating,” Pearson said.

There’s a long laundry list of items at that need care, added Lori Woodyatt, executive director of the Sharon Temple, from readjusting the tilting log cabin, exterminating and repairing termite damage to fixing fallen lanterns.

East Gwillimbury is expected to pass its 2019 budget in the coming weeks.