By Stella Pristupa, The StarPhoenix March 27, 2012

I must defend the Mendel Art Gallery for what it means to Saskatoon. It is not broken and doesn't need fixing.

It is the dream of a man who chose Saskatoon to reconstitute an old auto factory into a meat packing plant that became the city's largest employer. Fred Mendel brought art and culture to Saskatoon, made a place for artists worldwide to show their work, for young people to learn the arts, and for school students to display their work.

His first gallery was above the packing plant, and then expanded to his home and that of his daughter, Eva Mendel Miller. It was their dream to create a gallery for Saskatoon - a way of thanking Saskatoon for making the Mendel family so welcome. If the city sees fit to destroy the dreams of a wonderful, passionate man, I am ashamed.

There must be a way to preserve the existing gallery and construct an adjoining structure with all the necessities for displaying and storing artwork. The Mendel is a much more pleasing building with a beautiful river view than the proposed monstrosity, which looks like poorly placed Lego blocks.

I worked for the Mendel family for many years and was there when his dream came true, when he entertained renowned artists, and when Bill Perehudoff painted the murals on the walls in the suite. Powers-that-be should think again. Can we not have something left in its original form instead of going to River Landing and being renamed because they have money? Give some heart back to those who helped create Saskatoon.

Stella Pristupa, Saskatoon

BY DAVID HUTTON, THE STARPHOENIX MARCH 7, 2012

The Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan will require $1.5 million more per year from taxpayers than the Mendel Art Gallery when it opens in 2015, which reflects the cost of running a much larger gallery, officials say.

Read the full article at the StarPoenix website

BY MARGI CORBETT, THE STARPHOENIX MARCH 3, 2012

The report, Mendel move supported; Survey criticized by some (SP, Feb. 16) about public opinion on this issue is misleading.

It is interesting that two recent media polls produced results radically different from the Fast Consulting market analysis funded by the Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan. Answering a simple, yes/no question, 70 per cent of 600 respondents to a CTV online poll don't support moving the Mendel to River Landing; similarly, 72.2 per cent of 7,837 respondents to a NewsTalk 650 Radio online poll don't support a move.

Interested readers can link from the StarPhoenix site to the Fast Consulting "data." Of course, RAGS supporters are counting on readers not having time to pore over a 47-page document. Therefore, I invite you to consider just one of many examples of how we've been misled through poorly constructed questions and manipulated responses.

BY GORD SEABORN, THE STARPHOENIX MARCH 2, 2012

I have lost faith in our mayor and council. This art gallery thing is totally out of control.

The high volume of letters to the editor at The StarPhoenix about the Mendel hasn't been enough to make this mayor and council think again. We get polls that pull the voters this way and then the other. There is a lot of dust flying over this gallery.

I saw a photo of the proposed addition for the Mendel Art Gallery, and it was quite attractive with the trees and background. I then envision the new gallery, which really puts me in mind of a big box store surrounded by concrete and pavement.

I think we should put a hold on this building until election time, and add a ballot for the two galleries as well as for the mayor and councillors. I know where my votes are going.

THE STARPHOENIX MARCH 1, 2012

The City of Saskatoon's planning staff was sent a "gentle reminder" from management about using work email addresses to lobby for or against civic issues.

"It was a gentle reminder not to use the city hall system for their own personal input," said Alan Wallace, the manager of the city's planning and development branch. "They are citizens, they have their own rights to weigh in on certain issues. But where there are issues based in civic policy, any lobbying that's done has to be done on their personal time."

A number of staff members from the Mendel Art Gallery and the city's planning and development branch sent emails asking colleagues to support the move of the Mendel to the Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan in online polls conducted by CTV Saskatoon and radio station 650 CKOM two weeks ago. The emails were forwarded to the The StarPhoenix by a number of employees and citizens who say they don't support the move.

Read the full article at the StarPhoenix website

BY A.D. CROOKES, THE STARPHOENIX FEBRUARY 24, 2012

Regarding headline in the story, Mendel move supported (SP, Feb. 16, one wonders what the criteria was for the people who were contacted. If council is so sure that everybody is in agreement with this survey, why not put it to a plebiscite during the election?

I, for one, would not vote in favour of the move. When it comes down to federal money, I am sure that different departments have money floating around for the extension of the existing Mendel Art Gallery.

There is talk of whether to charge admission to the proposed new gallery, which would make it pretty expensive when you consider the underground parking, whereas there is plenty of free parking across the road from the Mendel. Come on, council, get off your butts and let's have a plebiscite.

A.D. Crookes Saskatoon

BY CYNTHIA VAN SETERS, THE STARPHOENIX FEBRUARY 24, 2012

Re: Mendel move supported (SP, Feb. 16).

I just wonder what the response would have been like if poll takers were included the question as to whether the renovation of the existing Mendel Art Gallery would be a positive step for Saskatoon?

I suspect we would have seen a similar positive response - perhaps even greater.

I am actually a little insulted at the question that was asked because it doesn't really prove anything except how poll questions can be composed to give the answer you want.

Cynthia van Seters Saskatoon

BY KAREN PUGH, THE STARPHOENIX JANUARY 30, 2012

In the Hans Christian Andersen tale, The Emperor's New Clothes, it took a child to point out the obvious.

Keeping this tale in mind, let's see the proposed Remai gallery for what it will really will look like: Not an attractive accessory dressing up our south downtown, but more like an industrial car park, devoid of any esthetic value.

Canadian Architect Magazine has given this building an award. If this soulless structure is what passes for good design, it just demonstrates that, like the compliments from the emperor's fawning courtiers in the fable, you cannot trust the experts.

StarPhoenix January 20, 2012

Re: Wide opposition (SP, Jan. 17). I want to thank David Geary for his cogent letter regarding the lack of community support for the new Remai Art Gallery at River Landing. He expresses the frustration so many of us feel about Mayor Don Atchison's obvious "edifice complex."

Unfortunately, it won't be long until Geary is publicly labelled a braying ass, an ignorant radical or a whiner, as have the other concerned citizens who dared to question this council's abandonment of Fred Mendel's legacy. I try to avoid watching television coverage of the new gallery, because thinking about this terrible mistake still makes me feel sick. However, I couldn't help but notice the poor turnout at the city's recent open house at TCU Place to view the detailed drawings of the Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan.

There appears to be very little interest in the expensive new edifice.

Margi Corbett Saskatoon