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Preparations Underway For Cultural Center's Grand Opening

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By ELIZABETH LEE BROWN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 10, 2008

CARROLLWOOD With less than two months to opening day, members of the Friends of the Carrollwood Cultural Center spent three hours Tuesday pushing through a series of policies to get classes up and running.

The nonprofit Friends recently took over the management of the two buildings at the corner of Casey and Lowell roads from Hillsborough County.

Under the five-year agreement, the county will subsidize the new cultural center the first two years at $380,000 a year and decrease its annual management fee based on the previous year's revenue from tuition and rental fees.

The Friends have marked some key dates: March 2 for a grand opening featuring the Florida Orchestra, opening the building on March 3, and beginning classes on March 10.

To meet those deadlines, the volunteer board passed 14 items at its monthly meeting on Tuesday.

The flurry of motions included opening a bank account at Bay Cities Bank, where the group can deposit the $190,000 expected within 10 days from the county. It also sets up a way to pay its newest employee, executive director Paul Berg, who will manage the center.

Berg, former head of the Arts Council of Northwest Florida in Pensacola, said he started work on Monday.

"The facility is absolutely gorgeous," he said. "We really have no where to go but up. I'm extremely proud to be the person chosen to lead the organization."

The board also approved a general structure for the center's operating hours and how classes will be split up into six-week sessions. The group agreed to purchase a computer software program to handle the registration and scheduling of classes.

Reporter Elizabeth Lee Brown can be reached at (813) 865-1502 or ebrown@tampatrib.com.

For complete details about the Carrollwood Cultural Center check out the Jan. 12 issue of the Carrollwood News & Tribune

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