When it was announced - suddenly and surprisingly - on Sept. 17 that Information Orillia was closing, many felt like an important piece of Orillia was dying.
And when the doors officially closed Oct. 1, the mourning began.
However, it appears the organization may be resurrected.
On Thursday, Michael Gollinger appeared at City Hall to ask for financial assistance from the city to revive the organization that was poised to celebrate its 50th anniversary before it was shut down due to funding issues.
“As a resident of Orillia for the past 30 years, I was dismayed when I heard that Information Orillia was going to cease to exist,” Gollinger told city councillors. “I felt that I should do something about this.”
So Gollinger, freshly retired after almost three decades at Berry Plastics (formerly Uniplast), did just that.
“I offered my services to see if we could find a way to reinvigorate the organization and establish it on a firmer foundation,” he said.
Since then, retired accountant and former business owner Andreas Simic, and former Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital CEO Elisabeth Riley have also volunteered to help.
With Gollinger as chair, a new board of directors has formed to stickhandle the organization’s revival.
They are in the process of developing a strategic plan to make Information Orillia “a viable entity” going into the future.
That future is one that does not rely so heavily on paid staff, said Gollinger, noting the new braintrust sees a return to the organization’s roots as a mostly volunteer-run enterprise. When it closed, Information Orillia had three full-time staff.
He said Information Orillia provides vital services, noting its income tax return service has proven very popular; 900 people used it last year.
“But first and foremost, it is truly a front-line source of information in the city,” Gollinger said in his presentation to council during a 4.5-hour meeting in which more than a dozen agencies and boards presented their case for funding in advance of council’s deliberation on the 2020 budget.
Gollinger stressed Information Orillia's “downtown location (inside the Orillia Public Library) is the ideal marriage of access and accessibility for those needing information and direction.”
It also “provides a social services function to those with challenges such as visual and hearing deficits or literacy issues, whether it be linguistic or financial,” he said. “In essence, it is an advocate for those in-need community members.”
Coun. Ted Emond agreed about the importance of the service. During the last term of council, Emond was the council appointee to the board.
“The things you’re speaking about - base funding, sustainability, programs - were top of mind throughout that entire time,” Emond said of his term on the board. “Unfortunately, many initiatives that were started and tried did not bear fruit.”
He said the same issues today plagued the organization 30 years ago when he was mayor.
"At that time, Information Orillia was continually operating on the margin,” said Emond, who believes base funding from the city “is absolutely essential for an agency like Information Orillia.”
He said base funding for the Orillia Museum of Art and History and other agencies has been a lifeline for those organizations.
However, Emond also noted, at present, there is no money set aside in the 2020 budget for Information Orillia.
Despite that, Emond said he “will be supporting (the request) and lobbying, at a minimum, that we consider a contingency fund … (to be) released in the context of plans you’re evolving and bring to council.”
While Gollinger and the new board hopes the city will find a way to heed its request for $85,000 in base funding, he vows to move forward no matter what they decide.
“If they don’t we’ll find other ways,” he promised.
Gollinger said private citizens have stepped up with donations that will allow Information Orillia to operate on a bare-bones level for at least two months.
He said the goal is to re-open the office Dec. 2. With that in mind, former staff have agreed to help train new volunteers and the goal is to be open five days a week, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
“If I have to sit in that chair myself, we’re going to open Dec 2,” Gollinger vowed after his presentation to council. “It’s been closed too long. I keep hearing from multiple people all over that they really use the service a lot and they’re lost without it.”
He also pledged a return of the income tax service in the spring.
“This is a vital service to those needing to have these tax returns to receive benefits and ongoing pensions,” said Gollinger, noting last year, the service helped put $290,000 “back in the pockets of those most in need.”
If you are interested in helping financially or want to volunteer, email [email protected].
