It was the city’s only option. Otherwise the popular cultural arts center in the heart of downtown Olympia would have been forced to close its doors. “The Washington Center would go dark,” warned Kevin Boyer, interim executive director.
The sad reality is the Washington Center is a victim of the persistent economic recession that has gripped this nation for more than four years. The center, with its broad offering of lively entertainment, has been hit hard by slower ticket sales. Going out for an evening performance or a weekend matinee is discretionary money for many South Sound residents. And in this time of layoffs and furloughs and shrinking budgets in the public and private sector, families are saving, not spending. The Washington Center, like many other community organizations, has suffered as a result.
The budget shortfall is a city issue because the Washington Center is a city-owned facility at 512 Washington St. S.E. It was built as a regional facility because officials in Lacey and Tumwater recognized that the center serves the entire South Sound community. If you doubt that, attend almost any community performance and see how many Panorama City residents are in attendance from Lacey. They arrive by the busload.
The city contracts with the nonprofit center board of directors to operate the Washington Center. But as the owner of the property, the council controls the endowment fund.
That fund contains $1.7 million. The endowment was begun when the city sold property to what is now Top Foods on Olympia’s west side. It was a former dump site and when the remaining dump property to the west of Top Foods is sold, those proceeds also should flow to the endowment fund.
In 2010 the center’s board of directors requested, and received, council permission to use $100,000 from the endowment fund to support center operations through this month. The hope was that the economy would rebound, spurring ticket sales and getting the center back in the black.
Regrettably, that has not happened, thus the request to borrow another $200,000 to get see center operations through June of 2013. The center continues to manage and profit from the operation of the Minnaert Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of South Puget Sound Community College.
Both the City Council and center’s board understand that repeated borrowing from the endowment fund is not sustainable.
To that end, the board of directors has charted a new course. The board has reconstituted itself to include a finance committee, development committee and community outreach committee to bolster the center’s financial position. The board is also committed to drafting a five-year business plan, with an emphasis on increasing rentals and strengthening ties to local performing arts groups. The board is also dedicated to philanthropic fundraising.
Those are good first steps. Creating a reserve fund to see the Washington Center through economic downturns, also must be a priority.
The center’s financial difficulties should squelch any more talk of building yet another performing arts center in Lacey. If the community cannot support one regional facility during these harsh economic times, it’s foolish to even consider opening a center in Lacey.
Instead, the councils in Lacey and Tumwater must recognize that while the Washington Center may be physically located in Olympia, outlying residents are part owners, too. Lacey and Tumwater councils have an obligation to help fund the center.
The Washington Center for the Performing Arts is an incredible community asset. It showcases local talent and provides a stunning venue for performances and community events. Keeping the Washington Center in operation – even if it means dipping into the endowment fund – is the right strategy during these tough economic times.
(Editor’s note: Olympian Publisher George Le Masurier is president of the board of directors for the Washington Center. He did not participate in the discussion, drafting or review of this editorial.)
