11/10/1980 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Sally Weston, 2595 Highland Drjve, member of the Performing Arts Commission, . st'ated that everyone 1S grasping at unknowns. The prevail ing rate is known and it is also known that we do not wish this center to operate too far in the red. It is only guesswork as to how many times local groups can afford to use the facility. The budget will be subsidized 75 percent by the Eugene Arts Founda- tion and room tax funds; tenants wi11 provide the remaining 25 percent. The reduced rental rates are almost a token but this is all they can do. The need is to determine what local groups can afford. Additional room tax subsidy or subsidies from the general fund should be discussed by the community in the coming year. The commercial rates should be adopted and in the meantime staff can look elsewhere for additional moneys. She does not feel it is the Perform- ing Arts Commission's decision to compromise the facility to the extent of going further into the red. Randi Young, 15~0 Skyline Park Loop, member of the Performing Arts Commission, stated that the center needs to be run as a business and that the rates are reasonable. Compet it ive rates are needed for those who perform that are not local groups but these rates prevent local people from using the building. She knew it would be a problem since the building will be finished before local arts groups can afford to use it. She issued a challenge to the council to find a way for the community to support the local arts. She stated that no longer can one count on rich patrons or foundations to provide funding. The future of the arts will depend upon having small givers and subscribers in greater numbers, and business, industry, and government suppor~. She encouraged the council to create subsidies for local groups for the first year and noted that she would be . willing to pay higher taxes. Les Anderson, 2110 Hubbard Lane, Chair of the Performing Arts Commission and C1V1C Center Comm1ssion, stated that he has been associated with this project for more than four years. Throughout this time, the vital concern has been to determine what can be done for local artists, yet what is in the City's best interest. Public hearings have been conducted and most have focused on the local groups. From the beginning, they have wanted this to be a project of cooperation, but there are many unknowns. The City has had no experience with building or operating a facility 1 ike this and the numbers are conjecture. Twenty percent of the projected budget will come from rent, six percent of the income budget will come essentially from rent from local groups, 34 percent of the budget will come from auxiliary services, 12 percent from room tax, and 27-30 percent will have to come from somewhere else--at this point, the Eugene Arts Foundation. This will be all new money and no fund-raising efforts of this kind have been done in the past in this community. There are other costs besides rent. However, the cost of rent per seat in a large hall would be a maximum of $.66 per seat if the user took advantage of all of the services; if they used volunteers it would be $.47 per seat. For the small hall, with all services, the cost would be $.99 per seat, and with the use of volunteers, the . MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 1980 Page 4