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Gearing Up For Grand Opening

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By ELIZABETH LEE BROWN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 12, 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 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 March 3, and beginning classes March 10.

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

"The facility is absolutely gorgeous," he said. "We really have nowhere 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.

Other actions included agreeing to a membership and room rental fee schedule, moving forward with an auditing company, seeking proposals for marketing services, and getting a company to supply soda machines in the two buildings.

The group also will lease to purchase 14 pianos from Adams Pianos for $80,000, contingent on obtaining financing. The piano deal includes acquiring a $75,000 one-of-a-kind concert piano handmade from Japan.

Board member Kate Davis voted against the piano deal because of budgetary concerns.

"For a purchase of this magnitude, we need to be extremely circumspect," she said. "I think we need to look at our budget and see what we can afford."

The budget has set aside $75,000 in a piano fund, but the Friends are counting on acquiring that money through fundraising.

The Friends' five-year budget shows it expects a $71,151 surplus the first year with the goal to build that surplus to $343,693 at the five-year point.

Board members agreed they will be expected to raise $100,000 each year to subsidize the center's operational budget.

As board member Ken Hoyt went through the list of policies that included rules for caterers and room rentals, forms for volunteers, registrants, employees and a host of other housekeeping items, Friends board President Tom Jones said, "It's controlled chaos at this point."

Jones said the list of forms and policies lays the groundwork for getting the center operational.

"I know we're going to succeed. I firmly believe that," he said.

A contract dispute involving the lighting and sound system has tied up the county issuing a certificate of occupancy and has left the auditorium in darkness since Jan. 4.

The county is asking the Friends to pay $42,000 for work order changes involving the installation of conduit connecting the theatrical lights to the dimmer panel. The county is saying the changes were made at the Friends' request, said board member Richard McLaurin.

But the Friends are disputing the expense, saying they had agreed to pay for the dimmer panel in exchange for the additional work by the county, he said.

The dispute and darkness has put a planned Monday meeting and tour of the center by the general membership of the Florida Orchestra Guild in jeopardy. About 50 people are expected at the morning committee meeting.

Jones said he is uncomfortable with allowing 50 people into the building without lights in the main auditorium and without a county certificate of occupancy.

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

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