Riverdale Farm friends given until July to come up with financial plan

The Friends of Riverdale Farm could have until July to come up with a plan to make the farm more financially sustainable before council contemplates slapping a $2 user fee on the petting zoo overlooking the Don Valley.

Today budget committee member Michelle Berardinetti tabled a motion that would put off plans to charge the fee until after the community organization had time to finish the job it started earlier this year.

Berardinetti tabled the amendment to a motion by budget chief Mike Del Grande, who suggested the city might raise some cash by charging a fee to get into the farm.

On Thursday, members of the Friends organization came to the budget committee, crying foul.

“We felt broadsided with this coming out as hey, we’re going to pre-empt this process,” said Anne Pastuszak, a member of the team looking at ways to reorganize the farm, which serves as a petting zoo for local children and also a gathering place for the community in Cabbagetown and Riverdale.

Pastuszak said the organization is looking at a variety of ways to bring money into the farm – ranging from public-private partnerships to other public initiatives.

She said if the city began to charge, that would pre-empt that work.

“We’re not working on a specific model right now,” she said. “What we are doing is taking the challenge back to us, and working out a business plan. There is a particular amount of money the city wants us to replace, and we have to figure out how we are going to create a stream of revenue. There is a matrix of possibilities. Maybe more private sector involvement, maybe less.”

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