Brock University and City of St. Catharines are hiring experts to direct the next steps in the development of a downtown arts centre, but city staff are assuring arts groups and the public their voices will be heard.

At Monday night's city council meeting, councillors agreed to spend between $1.2 million and $1.3 million to hire a project manager, a lawyer and an arts consultant.

The bulk of the money -- $1.1 million -- will go to Prism Partners Inc. of Toronto, which will be the project manager for the $100-million development that includes Brock's Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts and a new Centre for the Arts. Brock's board of trustees approved the hiring of Prism at its meeting June 24, said a report from economic development director David Oakes.

He said six companies bid on the project-management contract and a 10-person committee with representatives from both the city and the university interviewed four of them.

Prism was "unanimously selected by the evaluation committee," wrote Oakes, and was also endorsed by the joint executive committee overseeing the town and gown partnership.

But St. Patrick's Coun. Mark Elliott, appointed by council to be the city's representative on the project's facility and design committee, worried about Prism's lack of arts expertise.

"I have serious questions and concerns," he said. "I visited their website and the vast amount of their experience is medical projects.

"What experience do they have with a cultural venue? This is a highly technical project with theatre acoustics for multiple venues, and each one of them will have technical aspects that must be considered."

Oakes agreed Prism has mostly medical experience, but said the company's project management credentials swayed the committee.

He said the artistic and technical details of the project will be the responsibility of the architect who is chosen and of the sub-consultants Prism hires.

In addition, councillors agreed to hire Martin Vinik Planning for the Arts LLP of Saugerties, N.Y. for $80,000 to $90,000, to craft the arts centre's operational structure.

It's the same company that participated in the 2008 feasibility study that recommended the project proceed, and it has specialized arts planning expertise, wrote Oakes.

Councillors also agreed to pay between $25,000 and $70,000 to retain an outside lawyer to prepare legal agreements between the city and Brock.

The city's own legal department does not have the expertise, he said. The city is currently negotiating with three legal firms, and at Monday night's meeting councillors gave staff permission to sign an agreement with one of them.

Meanwhile, several councillors also worried members of the arts community and the city's own cultural planning staff have been shut out of the process so far.

"It creates a bit of alarm in our arts community," said Elliott, asking for a report on "who sits where and who answers to whom.

"I have some concern about how it's being set up and how everyone fits into this plan." Oakes agreed recent work on the project has been very administrative as the city finalized the funding agreements with the federal and provincial governments, which are paying two-thirds of the project's costs. Now that Prism and Martin Vinik have been hired, the public consultation can begin.

He said there will be at least six new committees established that will offer opportunities for public input, and part of Prism's job will be to ensure stakeholders get their say.

mbergsma@stcatharinesstandard.ca