A nonprofit group planning a performing arts center in Abingdon has begun seeking community advice and help with fundraising toward construction of the building on a site the county is acquiring under a complicated estate gift arrangement.
Center for the Visual and Performing Arts Inc. and County Executive David Craig signed a memorandum of agreement in October in which the county agrees to provide up to one-third of the funding for the building and will also be responsible for all interior and exterior building maintenance, while the center group will responsible for maintaining and replacing all fixtures and furnishings.
The agreement requires the center group to raise at least one third of the cost of the building, with the remaining third envisioned as coming from the state and/or federal government through grants or bond issues. It also states that the county and the center will work "cooperatively in securing donations, grants, bonds, and/or other governmental funding from all available sources; however, the county cannot guarantee that such funding will be available.
The center group has not stated how much it expects the project to cost.
Talking to community
The Center for the Arts is beginning to get the word out about its fundraising efforts through Harford's community councils, according to statements made at recent meetings of some of the councils, groups sanctioned by the county government to discuss, monitor and recommend action on issues affecting several communities in Harford.
Center for the Arts recently invited representatives from the community councils to a meeting, and asked them to return a survey, Don McCreesh said at the Fallston Community Council Tuesday.
Cynthia Hergenhahn, chairwoman of the Abingdon Community Council, also discussed the Center for the Arts at that group's meeting Monday.
She also explained the group is moving forward with fundraising, and said the main concern at this point for Abingdon would be traffic from the already-busy Route 24 corridor.
The proposed site for the arts center is a 41-acre wooded tract near Route 24 and Wheel Road that could be accessed from Tollgate Road. The land is being acquired by the county as a gift from the estate of Emily Bayless Graham.
McCreesh wrote in an e-mail that the meeting on Jan. 17 with community councils was informative.
"I think that several of the folks from the other councils as well as myself were not familiar with the Center for the Arts. I appreciated being invited and do feel that it was a beneficial means to outreach to the community councils," he wrote.
The survey asks council leaders to list existing arts, civic and service organizations in their communities, existing "cultural places," underused places, community cultural needs, community interests and potential volunteers or board of trustees members.
"Looking at the survey it appears to be fact finding into our local community as to community interests and needs, is meeting space a need for the community, and a recommendation for board members, donors and possibly interested volunteers," McCreesh wrote. "I do feel that this education process is meant to help build awareness to the Center for the Arts and in some manner to also aid in the fundraising process."
Sallee Kunkel Filkins, the Center's executive director, couldn't be reached for comment late Wednesday and Thursday; however, she said in a brief phone conversation a week earlier that the group has been developing a fundraising plan and is also nearing completion of a schematic plan for the site and the building.
County capital project
According to the MOU between the county and the center, the building would be a county capital project, but "the Center shall play an active role in the selection of consultants and the design of the facility."
In addition, "Any major improvement will be a joint decision and the County will consider such through a request by the Center made in the annual County capital budget process," the agreement states.
The Center would also be required to give the county a business plan and annual audit.
County Attorney Rob McCord, who negotiated the MOU, said in November the agreement between the county and the Center was still subject to ratification by the Harford County Council. McCord said at the time he did not know the timetable for submitting it, in part because the county had to tie up a few loose ends regarding the site acquisition.
Harford County has already signed a separate agreement with the trustee for Graham's estate to acquire as a gift the 41-acre arts center site and a 69-acre parcel between Routes 24 and 924 that would be used as a nature park to be named in honor of Mrs. Graham. This land will also be given to the county, which will in turn be responsible for renovating the Georgian home on the property for public use and for maintaining the property consistent with Mrs. Graham's wishes that it be left in a natural state and used for education.
The agreement with the estate also states that the county will get title to the 41 acres west of Route 24 once it completes its agreement with the Center for the Arts. It is also stipulates that the parties have seven years to complete the center – with an extension of three years possible at the discretion of the estate's trustee. Otherwise, the land will revert to the estate.
The agreement between the county and the Center for the Arts says that after the project is completed, the county will lease the site to the Center for $1 per year for an initial term of 30 years, with two additional renewal options of 15 years each, with rent to be agreed upon by both parties.
The Board of Trustees for the Center will include the Harford County Executive, the Harford County Council President, the Harford County Department of Parks and Recreation Director and the Harford County Cultural Arts Board President, or their designees.
Aegis staff member Allan Vought contributed to this article.