Jasper Arts Commission pushing for expansion
The Jasper Arts Board met Monday afternoon and talked about current efforts and future programs.
Board President Mike Jones is resolute in keeping the need for the Arts Center expansion at the forefront of the Jasper City Council’s mind. The reason is that it has been over five years since the Arts Center first put together a definitive plan to expand, but the funding never materialized due to the City of Jasper putting money into the new Jasper Athletic Fields.
The bonds will be paid off in January 2013 and Jones and the Arts Commission are convinced that they are the next in line to receive funding from the City. This along with fundraising efforts would be used to expand the center.
But, the price has also gone up – the original estimate was $8.5 million. Jones reports that their latest estimate shows that the expansion would now cost around $10 million. He also says that he needs a monetary amount and commitment from the City of Jasper before the board can proceed with plans to expand.
In previous meetings Jones has said that the Arts Commission would need to create a not-for-profit organization to be able to solicit donations from the community to help pay for any costs over and above what the City would be able to fund through a bond issue.
Jones reported to the board that the City Council is very interested in the Arts Commission request and those board members who attend the City Council meetings to give a report need to keep reminding the Council of the need until action is taken.
Jones also reports that as a department of the City, they come in under budget every year, which saves the City money. “I can tell you that it’s less than it was last year, which is something in this day and age of inflation, where we were actually able to bring the budget down.”
According to Arts Center Director Kit Miracle ticket sales are strong. “Right now we’re finishing up same seat sales and we have a lot of orders for new series tickets and a lot of orders for single tickets.”
Miracle also said the shows are bringing people into Jasper. “We have a lot of people out of town, even out of state who are interested in…Jake Shimibukuro (ukulele artist), Peter Yarrow and some of those'” she said.
Questions about any of the upcoming shows can be answered by calling the Arts Center at 482-3070. Or you can visit the City of Jasper website at http://www.jasperindiana.gov and look for the Arts Commission link on the left of the home page.
I have been doing research into the budgets of Dubois County and Jasper from 2011 and where they are in 2012. For 2011, to fund all the spending the city of Jasper had to use the vast majority of EDIT funds and $430k from the utilities. So, where would this $10 million dollars come from? The council needs to be very specific to the citizens of Jasper how exactly this $10 million will be funded. I don't believe any EDIT funds or loans from the Jasper Utilities should be required to pay for this, but is my opinion. The people of Jasper need to let their voice be heard on every part of this issue from how this should be funded to do we really need a $10 million expansion. More opinions help the process move forward. Hopefully, the council has multiple town hall sessions asking for opinions before making up their minds.
Adrian, The complete $10 million will not come from the City of Jasper. They will only fund a portion of the cost of the Arts Center Expansion in the form of a bond issue. The rest will be raised by the Arts Commission Board as tax deductible donations from the community. The question is, 'how much will that amount be?'
That's why the Arts Board is pushing the City to name an amount to get the ball rolling. The Jasper Athletic Fields cost around $5 million (I think that's the right figure). So, anything the City can do to get this going will help the Arts Board to know how much they will have to raise in donations.
Furthermore, this is a good investment for not just Jasper, but all of the surrounding area. The Arts Center delivers quality programs to the community that really (according to population size) shouldn't even have an Arts Center.
And, just to reiterate: the Arts Board has NEVER gone over their budget. They deliver high quality at an affordable price.
Total waste of time and money in my opinion. They should worry more about the schools and other public utilities before they spend money on the Arts Center. The arts get very few people anywhere in life.