WHITEHALL — The City of Whitehall's Playhouse sustainability
committee had its second meeting Thursday afternoon, this one taking
place on the stage of the historic building and moderated by Frank
Bednarek of the Friends of the Playhouse, who was not present at the
first meeting.
This meeting, after the first one largely
focused on the big picture and how the Playhouse got here, took a
narrower focus, especially with respect to the endowment campaign the
Friends hope to commence in the future. However, Bednarek did concede
that campaign is likely "a couple of years" away because many of the
people the Friends anticipate donating to that future campaign are still
paying off donations they made to the capital campaign that contributed
to the building's $4 million renovation in 2019.
In the short
term, the focus is on how to get the Playhouse out of its current
financial deficit. As of a couple of days prior to the meeting, city
manager Scott Huebler said, the Playhouse is about $65,500 in the
negatives. No one on the committee appeared concerned this was a
permanent issue; after all, Huebler asked city treasurer Alyssa Seaver
to run the numbers going back to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in
March 2020, and at that point the Playhouse was some $119,000 in the
black. There is reason to believe better days are ahead.
A
short-term solution could come from a tweak to the city budget. While
the city did not respond to the Playhouse's request for a $100,000 loan
late last year - the committee was formed instead - Huebler did offer
that it's possible, should the council agree to it, that a budget
amendment could help the Playhouse. Currently, the city splits its
allotment of Muskegon County's marijuana tax money between the police
department - Huebler noted it helped pay for updated body and dash
cameras - and the Playhouse. An amendment could allow the Playhouse to
receive a larger share of that tax revenue. Such a decision would have
to come following an official recommendation from the committee, which
has not yet happened.
Another option for short-term relief
Huebler suggested was petitioning the Local Development Finance
Authority or Tax Increment Finance Authority boards for advertising
support, something he felt both boards would be open to providing.
The
Playhouse is also optimistic that its upcoming slate of spring and
summer events will take a bite out of its current debt. Director Beth
Beaman said the Playhouse has 20 events booked from March through June,
some of those being multiple-day events. The summer, too, will be very
busy as usual, with shows on the weekends, the continued rental of the
space by the Hope Bible Chapel, and theatre camps scheduled. When asked,
Beaman said the slate of events for later this year appeared busier
than normal, although still short of the goal of having the Playhouse
occupied with some sort of event 180 days of the year.
That
led to discussion of the ongoing issue of the Playhouse being "tapped
out" in terms of personnel to carry out some of the ideas the committee
and local people are presenting. Gnarly Heifer owner Kara Smith, a
committee member, said she's jotted down any number of ideas over the
course of the meetings but does not want to overload Beaman, the
Playhouse's only full-time employee. She hopes the Playhouse can enlist
the help of volunteers to aid in carrying out committee recommendations.
For her part, Beaman said if the Playhouse were in a position to hire
more help, her focus would be on someone to focus on development and
donor relationships, saying that's her "weakest point."
On
that topic, Mayor Steven Salter again invoked the study mentioned at the
previous meeting that said facilities the size of the Playhouse should
be staffed by five people; at the moment Beaman and part-time employee
Cindy Beth Davis-Dykema are the only employees.
The committee
adjourned just after setting March 13 at 4 p.m. as the time for its next
meeting. It will again take place at the Playhouse.
