Letter from Maritime Museum of BC re: Request for Letters of Support

Request for Letters of Support – Maritime Museum CPR Steamship Terminal Project

The Maritime Museum of British Columbia (MMBC) is presently engaged in a once in a lifetime opportunity to move to the historic CPR Steamship Terminal building on Victoria's Inner Harbour.

The Museum is now finalising the plan for a new harbour- front maritime attraction. Our collection of more than 35,000 unique artifacts is being prepared for the move from the Bastion Square location to the waterfront and our new warehouse facility in Saanich.

There are many moving parts to the transition process. Negotiations regarding the proposed long-term lease in the Steamship Terminal are now fully underway (there are five parties to these talks including ourselves, Shared Services BC and the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority) with a decision to go full-steam ahead expected by the end of February.

This new facility will become another great tourism anchor in the inner harbour and a visual attraction that has the potential to be linked to the adjacent 14,000 square foot water-lot. Over the years the Maritime Museum has always been a catalyst for festivals and events throughout the region such as the Tall Ships and the Classic Boat Festivals and this year's inaugural Race to Alaska event.

I ask you today, to consider writing a letter in support of the principle of the Maritime Museum's long-term lease of the CPR Steamship Terminal building and the plan to revitalize the MMBC at this new location. I respectfully request letters of support be sent to the museum no later than February 20th for inclusion in our planning documents.

Local and regional support from all stakeholders is critical to the success of this venture and our upcoming major capital campaign and your letter will be proof of this support.

Please do not hesitate to contact me personally to discuss our proposal.

Yours sincerely,

Clay Evans President, Maritime Museum of BC clayevans@telus.net or contact Office Administrator Bryan Smith at bsmith@mmbc.bc.ca, 250-385-4222, ext. 101

[Handwritten: agenda for action]