Despite West Windsor Arts Council members’ original feelings that they were being left out and misunderstood when it came to negotiating a lease agreement for the former Princeton Junction firehouse, the arts group and Township Council reached a compromise agreement.
The terms of the lease agreement, approved late in the evening on July 19, came after an executive session and subsequent public discussion on the terms before a 4-0 consensus was reached, with Township Council President Diane Ciccone abstaining because she is a member of the arts council.
Under the agreement, the Arts Council will pay $250 a month in rent for the first two years under the 10-year agreement. While the council voted on the terms of the agreement on July 19, the formal agreement itself will be on the agenda for Monday, August 2.
“Like any compromise, both sides are not thrilled,” said Eduardo Garcia, the executive director of the arts council. “There were concerns about our being seen as partners, and I think that the final agreement reflected that much better than the earlier ones.”
“The end result is the new agreement,” he added. “It represents what I think is a good compromise.”
Members of the Township Council wanted to be careful in adding any burden to the budgeting process during the rough economy. But Councilman Charles Morgan has pointed to the process as a reason a new township-wide policy is needed. “If the arts council is happy, I’m happy,” said Morgan. “But they were really abused in the process by a government that has changed the rules midstream. You don’t treat partners as tenants when you start out as partners.”
Prior to the consensus reached on July 19, Arts Council members were worried that a proposed monthly rent of $500 would stymie progress and delay the grand opening of the new facility, which is scheduled for late September.
The issue began at the Township Council’s July 12 meeting, when the Township Council met in closed session and returned to vote on its terms for the lease agreement and giving Business Administrator Robert Hary the authority to negotiate a lease agreement. The proposal carried a term of 10 years at a rate of $500 per month for the first two years, beginning January 1, 2011, after which the lease would have been negotiated based upon the actual costs of operating the building.
Prior to that vote, Arts Council Executive Director Eduardo Garcia made a presentation to the council in which he provided background of the agreement the township approved in 2006 (including its revision in 2008) and an interpretation of its terms. According to Garcia, “none of us from the Arts Council anticipated a request to begin immediately to pay a monthly fee to the Township rather than wait for the 2.5-year transition period before we began our fair share discussions outlined in the MOU.”
That memorandum of understanding called for the arts council to put up $300,000 of its own money toward renovation and outfitting the facility; that the township would put up the costs to make the building code-compliant; that the township “would provide full in-kind support during a transition phase of operations;” and that the arts council would manage the facility for the township and the community, said Garcia.
He also pointed out that unlike the arts facilities run in other towns like Middletown, Woodbridge, and Rahway, the towns entered into partnerships with arts organizations and use tax funds to pay staff to manage the facilities. That isn’t the case in West Windsor, where other facilities like the senior center and recreation departments, are fully run by the township on its own, he said.
“As a partner, the board of the arts council willingly accepts managing the facility for the community,” Garcia added. “The Arts Council is prepared, with great trepidation I might add, to assume the responsibility of finding operational funds that will move the arts council from operating costs of about $60,000 a year up to 2009 to $311,000 in 2012 because we believe in our community and in the programs and services we can provide.” In return, he asked for township officials to affirm their commitment.
Members of the Arts Council also voiced their opposition on July 19, saying they felt the terms of a memorandum of understanding that was created years ago were being interpreted differently. They accused township officials of viewing the Arts Council as simply a tenant and not a partner.
Arts Council members said they had expected a transitional phase and support from the township for the first 30 months of operation — based on the township’s recognition that it wanted to develop this arts center for “the enjoyment of the public.”
The original $500 monthly rent would have undermined the art council’s ability to fund programming at the new facility, they said. According to Arts Council officials, the organization has already contributed $300,000 to the renovation of the building itself — a building it does not own — as well as years of work from its volunteers, and would have been using the money it has raised to establish its programming.
Arts Council treasurer Ruth Potts spoke during the public comment and said the council’s operating budget is only $60,000 and being forced to pay 10 percent of the organization’s operating budget within the first year for rent ($500 for 12 months) would hurt their efforts. “We always knew we would pay our fair share of the operations,” she said, but added that they expected to ease into a payment schedule.
Heidi Kleinman, a former member of the Township Council who is on the executive board for the arts council, also spoke at the meeting, mentioned the “volunteer army of hundreds” who have contributed many hours in getting the facility up and running. Arts council members were worried the township saw the new building as a revenue source in a tough time, she said, and they were also opposed to an idea of renting the facility out to third parties.
“Where in any rental agreement does the landlord require you to put $300,000 of capital into a building? It was not getting out in the discussion because we weren’t part of the discussion,” she said.
Additionally, Arts Council members said they would be providing staffing, programming, and managing of the new arts facility for the township — at no cost to the township. They said they felt many people saw the issue as one in which the township was providing a gift to the Arts Council.
“We are the gift to the town,” Kleinman said. “They are fixing that building that they inherited, and we’re putting in money.”
However, the Township Council returned from its closed session and had come up with the compromise that combined terms suggested in a letter by Garcia and the township’s original terms. Under the new terms, according to Hary, the 10-year agreement would begin January 1. For the first two years, the Arts Council will pay $250. In the third year and successive years, the rent will be $500 and increase by 10 percent each year. So, in the fourth year, the arts council will pay $550 a month and so on.
“We debated the counter proposal versus the township’s revised proposal, and we were able to make modifications,” Hary said. “The reason why there is a lesser rental rate for the initial two years is it gives the arts council an opportunity to develop a positive cash flow and get their programs running. They have a pretty good track record and history.”
Garcia said he understands that it is still a tough economy. “I’m delighted that they gave us a bit of a break in getting started,” he said. “We need some time to learn. We have no idea what kind of response we’re going to get from the community, so I appreciate that they are being considerate through the first two years. We never felt in any way that we would not make a contribution to costs.”
After the meeting, Kleinman said arts council members were pleased they were heard. “We didn’t feel that we were being heard and understood, and now, we feel we were heard and we were understood, and we’re back to having a partnership,” she said.
The building itself has been a staple of the community since it was built in 1931. It served as a hub for community events, like roast beef dinners, carnivals, a reception area for weddings, and the venue for teen discos in the 1970s, which is why the arts council wants to preserve as much of the building’s history as possible, including the Princeton Junction Firehouse signage on the outside of the building.
Under an agreement between the township and the fire company, the township built a new fire house for the company, which in turn, donated the old building to the township under the condition that it keep the fire house appearance with the design.
Work began in December to transform the 75-year-old former firehouse. The first phase of the project includes a 125-seat performance space, an education space for classes, and a community meeting room-lobby-cafe, with Wi-Fi access.
According to Hary, the entire amount the township has contributed is $800,000, which includes architects’ fees, the roof that was previously redone, and environmental inventory, and costs associated with obtaining clearance from the state. “That was the total budget for the past five years,” Hary said. Hary said that the township only spent money to bring the building up to code. The arts council has contributed toward enhancements, such as special lighting and other work that makes the building more conducive to running an arts center.
The renovation project is about 95 percent complete, said Hary. “There are just some finishes that have to be done with regard to doors and molding and some cabinets,” said Hary. “For the most part, the infrastructure, the ceilings, and the walls are done.”
Morgan, however, took issue with what he called “shuttle diplomacy” that sent Hary between the Township Council and Arts Council, without allowing for true face-to-face negotiations and discussions. “It is true that under the Faulkner Act that the administration has a responsibility and authority to negotiate contracts, but it is also true that no contract can be executed without the Township Council’s approval.”
“They are being asked to do all three things — pay rent, pay operating costs that would normally be assumed by a landlord, and capital expenses that would normally be assumed by a landlord,” Morgan added. “I don’t disagree that they should pay for some of the expense, but not to be done on a discriminatory, ad-hoc basis.”
He said that the township needs a non-discriminatory township-wide policy that applies to all community facilities — the Schenck farmstead, ball fields, senior center, and others. “All of these facilities are used by members of the community, but they’re all treated differently, and the Arts Council’s been singled out.”
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh said after the meeting that he was disappointed by some of the earlier comments that suggested the township was not supportive of creating an arts facility for the public good. “I was always 100 percent behind it,” said Hsueh.
He said his hands were tied in negotiating the agreement because it had to be approved by council. “I also understand some of the council’s concerns about the budget situation,” he said, referring to the governor’s move to place a 2 percent cap on the tax levy increase.
He pointed to his platforms when he ran for mayor nine years ago, which included creating an Arts Council and facility for the township. Hsueh said he and Planning Board Chairman Marvin Gardner had secured annual contributions to the arts council from DDR, the firm that owns and manages the Nassau Park shopping center. When DDR wanted to expand its shopping center, one of the conditions was for them to fund the art council’s executive director’s salary at $30,000 each year, plus inflation. Garcia, the executive director, still earns $31,500 today. Hsueh also said his nonprofit organization, the West Windsor Community Foundation, has donated $46,000 to the arts council in one year.
Hsueh also said he encouraged Princeton University to make a contribution of $20,000 to the Arts Council in lieu of taxes. “I have my own personal passion about art, and I feel it’s important to have the arts center to be part of the community,” he said. “That’s why I have always been 100 percent behind this center. I expect the Arts Council to be there, hopefully, forever.”
