But Theater Seat Fund Drive Is Going Well—

Town Hall Elevator Project

To Miss State Grant Deadline

By John Voket

The best laid plans of a local architect have fallen short of his expectations, possibly putting an existing state grant and future grant allocations in jeopardy. Architect Frank Black, who assured town officials and the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers that an elevator installation project would be complete by June 30, reported Tuesday that it may be late September before the new elevator is operating.

A full agenda, including a project update by Mr Black, was administered during a fast-paced meeting of the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers Tuesday, before the group adjourned for its traditional summer break.

While business related to the elevator project and another unrelated issue involving the local architect seemed to leave trustees with more questions than answers, the panel received some positive news regarding the theater seat fundraising campaign, and the upcoming Town Hall 75th Anniversary celebration.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, resident Gordon Williams reported that in a little more than six weeks, revenues slated for a fund established to replace seats in the town hall theater had nearly doubled.

Mr Williams, who chairs a local Lions Club committee charged with raising funds for the seat replacement campaign, credited his organization’s successful Duck Race and private donors with boosting the fund’s balance well over its half-way mark.

“We’re really excited about the progress of our seat replacement fund,” he told the managers who gathered in the town hall’s lower meeting room. “As of May 7, we had 105 seats sold for a total of $37,500. But today we’re passed 56 percent of our goal with 216 seats sold and a fund balance of $64,800.”

Mr Williams said that he was pleased with the level of donations from private individuals, and noted a couple from Woodbury presented him with a $300 check earlier in the week.

“Another couple paid $5,000 to become gold level contributors,” he said. “Their contribution is equivalent to a full row of [theater] seats.”

According to Mr Williams, the Lions Club cleared $8,820 from its annual Memorial Day weekend duck race on the Pootatuck River, all of which was turned over to the theater seat fund. Mr Williams also acknowledged town hall trustee Sandra Motyka, who mobilized her Kent Road neighbors to contribute enough to purchase a seat.

And while he appreciated a recent business donation for seven seats from TR Paul, Mr Williams noted that business donations to the theater seat campaign were less than impressive.

“We’ve just appointed another volunteer to specifically target local businesses and businesspeople for the campaign,” he said.

Theater manager Tom Mahoney confirmed to the board that the world famous Preservation Hall Jazz Band would be headlining the Edmond Town Hall 75th Anniversary celebration. The concert appearance by the well-preserved ensemble is scheduled for Thursday, October 6, Mr Mahoney said during his facility report.

A bio sheet from the band’s recording label states that the Preservation Hall Jazz Band got its name from Preservation Hall, one of the “unmissable” landmarks in New Orleans. The band has been referred to by one music critic as “a bridge across the ages — a link between the present day and the heyday of traditional New Orleans music.”

Some of the creators of this style of music are still with the ensemble. The musicians, who range in age from 29 to 88, seek to preserve the music that evolved in New Orleans around the turn of the 20th Century and to bring it to contemporary audiences.

Elevator, Theater Issues

The positive news from Mr Williams and Mr Mahoney was tempered, however, by the confirmation that the town hall elevator project was woefully behind schedule, and would absolutely miss its June 30 deadline. Mr Black, in his report, confirmed that concrete block work on the addition housing the elevator was progressing.

“We’re expecting the brick to come in Friday, the elevator shaft is done, and the elevator itself is on site; as are the doors and windows,” Mr Black said. “Installations will begin as soon as the roof [over the elevator shaft] is done.”

Mr Black then noted ongoing issues that have inadvertently contributed to further project delays including drainage pipes that were unearthed during recent excavating, which required the installation of a special drainage culvert and a workhole cover.

“Excavation is going on [to install] drainage,” Mr Black said. “The contractor is telling me now that the project is scheduled for completion by late September.”

In previous reports, Mr Black noted issues involving the integrity of foundation walls, groundwater invading the foundation repair excavation, and inclement winter weather as additional factors contributing to delays.

During a February 2005 Board of Managers meeting, Chairman Edgar Beers reminded Mr Black that the final extension stipulated the deadline must be met.

“The grant extension is approved through June 30,” Mr Beers said. “That means all work has to be done, and all funds need to be expended.”

Mr Black appeared certain the deadline would be met.

“Overall the project is on schedule. I don’t see there will be any further modifications to the schedule or completion date. By June 30 we should be going around with our punch list,” he said, referring to the checklist ensuring all components of the project were completed.

The project has a budget of $1.5 million, $1 million from the town that was appropriated in 2001 and $500,000 from a Small Cities Grant from the state. In November of 2004, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal was forced to request an extension on the state grant because delays were expected to push the project close to or past the initial grant deadline of December 31, 2004.

During a spring 2005 project meeting, Mr Rosenthal warned Mr Black that any further delays would not be tolerated. Contacted about the ongoing delays Wednesday, the First Selectman was resolute.

“If we lose grant money from the state due to delays caused by the architect, we will seek to recover the funds from him,” Mr Rosenthal said. “We have sent letters and a lot of information to the state over the past year [to justify requests for grant extensions], and the DECD [Department of Economic and Community Development] spokesperson said they would take our requests into consideration.”

Mr Black maintained that unanticipated delays were out of his control.

“I would hope [the state] would understand that any delays are related to water circumstances and underpinning,” he told the board.

In an unrelated matter, the board of managers and Mr Black discussed an outstanding invoice the architect submitted in April for services rendered, which was being held up for payment by the trustees. The bill for $4,275 was to cover time the architect spent taking meetings and securing comprehensive estimates for renovations to the town hall theater. Mr Black was requested to prepare the estimates by a building committee made up of trustees, town hall staff, and Legislative Councilman David Brown.

“You asked me to get a handle on what it would take to renovate the theater,” Mr Black told the board. “I had to meet with a lighting consultant; I had three meetings with a painting conservation specialist; our work consisted of a comprehensive review of everything in the theater.”

But Ms Motyka, who served on the construction committee, said her recollection of the charge to Mr Black was exclusively related to seat replacements.

“It’s not that we doubt you did the work, but I didn’t realize we would be going into so much detail,” she said.

Following further discussion, Mr Black promised to supplement his invoice with dates and times of specific meetings he held with other consultants, and was assured that payment would be forthcoming as soon as trustees had the necessary validation.

“All we ask is to be paid for work that was done,” Mr Black said before departing the meeting.