There’s been a lot of controversy over the whole Monarch debacle, and there hasn’t been a lot of public information on the CCDA’s side of things until now. Our friends at CHAT TV who periodically release great content from their news broadcasts on to YouTube share their latest clip entitled “Downtown Dispute”. This video shows a bit of the CCDA’s position, where they contend, that the design expenses were never approved, so it was never officially in their budget (which was getting more and more thin as the renovations progressed). Their position is that “nobody knew about” the $9000 bill which was submitted at the end of the year by Amy of Rapscallion, and not a monthly invoice they would have thought to receive for any expenses. It seems a bit more fair on the CCDA’s perspective now.

Something still strikes me as odd though, considering they were using the posters, promotional materials, the logo and the website. Although it wasn’t stated in the video, it would be assumed, that of all these projects being done by Rapscallion was considered, by the board, to be volunteer work? It seems like a lot of work to be considered volunteering; was it never discussed? Months and months of separate pieces of work was never brought up and the payment for said pieces? I think some of the story is still missing here. Furthermore, they are still using some of the original content including the logo; albeit, an extracted/copied version. Who owns the intellectual property rights? If there was no invoice or payment, was there any contractual release of property rights?

Things are going down in downtown Medicine Hat, as Amy Gervais of Rapscallion Design discusses on the Rapscallion website.

Some time ago, Medicine Hat Media discovered duplicate, but vastly different designed content for The Monarch, which we blogged about under the title “The Monarch Identity Crisis?“. Soon after we learned that The Monarch Theatre simply was not paying their bills or being thankful for the hundreds of hours of volunteer work that it took to get the theatre up and running.

The duplicate content can be found at http://themonarch.net/, which according to Amy Gervais’ story, was commissioned by the City Centre Development Agency with complete disregard to the design continuity and branding.

Medicine Hat Media, with the help of Ashley Meller, was behind The Monarch Theatre’s revitalization project from the get go. We advertised every show that was in Kin Coulee and even came out to support the events. We advertised movies that were playing and many of us behind Medicine Hat Media have regularly attended their screenings.

Medicine Hat residents and businesses should be supporting each other, not selling each other short. Who cares about a “historical downtown” if it just becomes derelict? Some of us at Medicine Hat Media are now going to withdraw all support from the theatre as we do not want to be a part of such a disappointing situation. If you are also concerned about the happenings and the state of Downtown Medicine Hat, please contact the city council.

Monarch Theatre Media Release

The Monarch Theatre is holding a series of film showings entitled “Films Al Fresco” as part of the Monarch Theatre Revitalization Project.

The films will be shown every Saturday in July and August (except July 11th), at the Kin Coulee Park band shell and start at approximately 9:00pm.

Please bring a blanket or a chair as there is no fixed seating, so get there early for the best view. A small concession with some of your favorite movie snacks will be available on site during the events.

For those who are unaware, the Monarch Theatre is a theater downtown that was closed a couple years ago but is now re-opening and will run as a not-for-profit movie theatre and performance space for five days out of the week. It was purchased by the City Centre Development Agency (CCDA).

For more information check out The Monarch Theatre Website.