AUBURN - The Cayuga County Ways and Means committee on Tuesday entertained the idea of giving $25,000 to a Musical Theater Festival in 2009 to establish a fully-functioning organization.
Last year, the county allocated $25,000 to help pay for a feasibility study and determine if the theater festival would be a positive addition to the community. The City of Auburn matched the $25,000 for 2008, and has already committed to giving $25,000 for 2009, said Ed Sayles, producing manager for the Merry Go Round Playhouse. Sayles is in charge of providing artistic consulting for Musical Theater Festival, Inc., which has contracted MGP to provide those services.
“This, I believe, is something that we will all look back on in the not-too-distant future and be very proud of and it will pay dividends to this community,” Sayles said. “It will help break the cycle of what we go through every year. It will be a new industry ... It will bring a lot of people in to see the town who will leave their money here with us.”
An Auburn-area theater festival has been one of the goals set by the members of A Call to Action: A Blueprint for our Region's Future. The idea is to have five to six events going on at one time in the local area.
The feasibility study concluded that Auburn could be the home of the next successful theater festival, Sayles said. However, the next step includes raising money to support the organization, which will help contribute to the local economy.
Bill Dorr, president of the Musical Theater Festival, Inc. board, hopes the county will be able to give the additional money.
“We're looking for money to keep going forward,” Dorr said. “The county has been generous in the past and we're hoping they can be generous in the future, as well as now.”
The money will be used to hire people to run the festival, find the venues and make the dream a reality, he said. Last year's funds were used for mailings, a fundraising consultant and the feasibility study.
The organization plans to turn to the private sector for money as well and having support from the city and county would be beneficial when approaching private investors, Dorr said.
“If the public institutions are not supportive of the concept, it will be hard for us - we think - to raise the money from the private institutions, from which the bulk of the money will come,” he said.
Another topic of discussion was the possible use of the Emerson Park pavilion as a venue. Although the feasibility study suggested that the pavilion would be a good place to use for the festival, the board has decided not to pursue that proposal, Dorr said.
“It's used by the community in a variety of ways,” he said about the pavilion. “If it was totally dedicated to the festival, it would take it out of use for the community, which has used it for many years.”
Though the building's smaller size was also an issue, the most important concern was that a community resource like the pavilion should not be tied up for one organization, Dorr said.
Legislator Raymond Lockwood, R-Fleming, said that if the pavilion would have been considered, he would strongly oppose the proposal.
Gary Duckett, chairman of the Parks and Trails Commission, believes the commission may be more likely to support the idea of building a new structure at Emerson Park. The commission meets tonight and will be discussing this topic further, Duckett said. While he doesn't know what the commission will say, it's clear that having a new building rather than using the pavilion will still make it possible for events to take place at the pavilion.
The Ways and Means committee concluded that it is too early in the budget season to make any decisions about the $25,000.
Chairman of the Legislature Roger Mills, who is also on the Musical Theater Festival board, said that he is extremely supportive of the festival. It will bring more than 200 jobs as well as thousands of people to the community, he said.
“I hope it will be in this year's budget but this is an unusual year,” Mills said.
Dorr believes that the theater festival will have a positive effect on the local economy.
“If we can make this work, it will be transformative for this area,” he said. “If we can make this work, it will be several hundred jobs and several million dollars poured into the economy that we do not now have.”
Staff writer Gitana Mirochnik can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or gitana.mirochnik@lee.net
“This, I believe, is something that we will all look back on in the not-too-distant future and be very proud of and it will pay dividends to this community,” Sayles said. “It will help break the cycle of what we go through every year. It will be a new industry ... It will bring a lot of people in to see the town who will leave their money here with us.”
An Auburn-area theater festival has been one of the goals set by the members of A Call to Action: A Blueprint for our Region's Future. The idea is to have five to six events going on at one time in the local area.
The feasibility study concluded that Auburn could be the home of the next successful theater festival, Sayles said. However, the next step includes raising money to support the organization, which will help contribute to the local economy.
Bill Dorr, president of the Musical Theater Festival, Inc. board, hopes the county will be able to give the additional money.
“We're looking for money to keep going forward,” Dorr said. “The county has been generous in the past and we're hoping they can be generous in the future, as well as now.”
The money will be used to hire people to run the festival, find the venues and make the dream a reality, he said. Last year's funds were used for mailings, a fundraising consultant and the feasibility study.
The organization plans to turn to the private sector for money as well and having support from the city and county would be beneficial when approaching private investors, Dorr said.
“If the public institutions are not supportive of the concept, it will be hard for us - we think - to raise the money from the private institutions, from which the bulk of the money will come,” he said.
Another topic of discussion was the possible use of the Emerson Park pavilion as a venue. Although the feasibility study suggested that the pavilion would be a good place to use for the festival, the board has decided not to pursue that proposal, Dorr said.
“It's used by the community in a variety of ways,” he said about the pavilion. “If it was totally dedicated to the festival, it would take it out of use for the community, which has used it for many years.”
Though the building's smaller size was also an issue, the most important concern was that a community resource like the pavilion should not be tied up for one organization, Dorr said.
Legislator Raymond Lockwood, R-Fleming, said that if the pavilion would have been considered, he would strongly oppose the proposal.
Gary Duckett, chairman of the Parks and Trails Commission, believes the commission may be more likely to support the idea of building a new structure at Emerson Park. The commission meets tonight and will be discussing this topic further, Duckett said. While he doesn't know what the commission will say, it's clear that having a new building rather than using the pavilion will still make it possible for events to take place at the pavilion.
The Ways and Means committee concluded that it is too early in the budget season to make any decisions about the $25,000.
Chairman of the Legislature Roger Mills, who is also on the Musical Theater Festival board, said that he is extremely supportive of the festival. It will bring more than 200 jobs as well as thousands of people to the community, he said.
“I hope it will be in this year's budget but this is an unusual year,” Mills said.
Dorr believes that the theater festival will have a positive effect on the local economy.
“If we can make this work, it will be transformative for this area,” he said. “If we can make this work, it will be several hundred jobs and several million dollars poured into the economy that we do not now have.”
Staff writer Gitana Mirochnik can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or gitana.mirochnik@lee.net
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