News

Playhouse funding squeaks by in 3-2 vote

Lisa K. Bryant and Kevin Hicks answer questions from county commissioners.

By Bill Moss, Published: March 2, 2015

The Henderson County Board of Commissioners voted narrowly to appropriate $50,000 for mold removal at the Flat Rock Playhouse, throwing the theater a lifeline administrators say is needed to save the 2015 season.

Commissioners Michael Edney, Charlie Messer and Tommy Thompson voted in favor while commissioners Grady Hawkins and Bill Lapsley voted no. Edney, who brought the request to the Board of Commissioners, pushed for the funding. Henderson County's $50,000 appropriation came after the Hendersonville City Council and Flat Rock Village Council voted to give that same amount.

That made it three down, one to go. The county Tourism Development Authority is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a $35,000 donation that would give the theater enough money to proceed with the mold cleanup job needed to make five buildings or parts of buildings usable for this year's season. Mold, dampness and water encroachment were found when the Playhouse's new facilities committee commissioned a study of the campus buildings last fall. Without the cleanup of five buildings on the main campus, the theater would be unable to open this year, Playhouse officials say.
"They provide a major source of revenue as far as economic impact," Edney said. "TDA said $14 million, whether it's that number or not, that's a huge contribution to the county. We can't save everybody. This is a matter of economic development. We're saving jobs by investing in the Playhouse. The number of jobs would be substantial if they were to go away."
Commissioner Charlie Messer also spoke in favor of the appropriation, calling the Playhouse "a vital tool to the Henderson County economy."
Commissioners discussed the request for close to 45 minutes and the outcome remained in doubt until board Chairman Tommy Thompson cast the deciding vote.
Hawkins and Lapsley said funding repairs for a nonprofit organization is not the county's responsibility.
"Here we go again," Hawkins said. "In the last four years, the Henderson County TDA (Tourism Development Authority) has sunk a quarter million in the Flat Rock Playhouse. The other governments — the city of Hendersonville and village of Flat Rock — have produced over $300,000. In the last four years, a half million dollars has gone into the Flat Rock Playhouse." He could not vote to "support the maintenance on a nonprofit organization," he added.
Holding up a copy of a TDA study of tourism, Hawkins said Playhouse supporters have exaggerated the economic value when they have used a figure of $14 million a year.
"This report does not substantiate that from the Flat Rock Playhouse," he said. "There's a lot of information but there is no information in here to support that amount of economic benefit. Certainly the Flat Rock Playhouse adds economic benefit but it's not substantiated to be nearly that much."
The Playhouse "has experienced some level of mismanagement which created serious financial deficit," Lapsley said. The patrons of the Playhouse, he said, should come to the rescue, adding that he and his wife had just made a $500 contribution specifically for the mold remediation project. The county has a long list of duties it must fund, he added, starting with "lifeline services" like law enforcement and emergency medical services.
"The operations and funding of our community theater is not one of those authorized services," he said. If the commissioners approve this request, he said, "other community nonprofits will line up outside our doorstep requesting the same assistance. The taxpayers don't have a pot of gold. We do have a fund balance but it's our responsibility to spend that money wisely and responsibly."