Struggling with Tannery Pond Center's costs, Jbg. leaders mull lease or sale of arts venue

NORTH CREEK | Considered the prominent arts and music venue of the southern Adirondacks, Tannery Pond Community Center in North Creek is experiencing a financial shortfall, and a group of area residents has for months been analyzing how to make the venue self-sustaining. A bi-level 15,000 square feet facility with an auditorium/theater, art gallery, and meeting rooms, the Tannery Pond Community Center has hosted concerts, musicals, art exhibits, drama productions, lectures, seminars, presentations, and community gatherings over the past two decades. Constructed in 2001 and finished in 2002, it was given to the town of Johnsburg by local benefactors Elise and Woody Widlund, who paid for its construction with some help from local donors. Since its opening, it has been operated by the non-profit group which has booked shows and concerts while overseeing Tannery Pond Community Center's various uses. Last year, an analysis of the building's condition concluded that the venue needed about $350,000 in repairs and upgrades. The town of Johnsburg pays between $50,000 and $70,000 annually towards its utilities, operating expenses, and minor repairs. In recent months, the town board has deemed that any greater contribution than this sum would be a considerable burden on taxpayers. In response, the Tannery Pond Center Futures Committee was formed to evaluate how to best protect the center's financial future viability. After 15 meetings in about 11 weeks, the committee presented its conclusions to the town board at its July 20 meeting. This group of 15 people proposed that the Tannery Pond Community Center be transferred, at a nominal price, to a non-profit entity either through a sale or a long-term lease. Committee chairman Donna Trautwein Welch estimated the center could be operated by a new non-profit entity with a budget of about $200,000 and have two full-time employees, or their equivalent, as its staff. The transfer of the center to a non-profit entity would allow the town to access a greater range of grants and other funding sources, Welch told the board in her 30-minute presentation. She said that this non-profit group could conduct fundraising drives and obtain public and private grants that would allow Tannery Pond center to not only survive, but increase its programming and events schedule while enhancing collaboration with local cultural organizations, businesses, and Johnsburg Central School. The sale or lease should be accomplished by early 2022, and steps should be taken toward the transaction by September, Welch said, adding that repairs and upgrades should be undertaken within months to prevent further deterioration of the center. "Now is the time to move ahead quickly, judiciously so we can make Tannery Pond the cultural centerpiece of the community, and a compliment to the tremendous growth and diversity of the area," she said, adding that the center was important to Johnsburg's economic and cultural vitality. Welch's presentation prompted applause from the audience at the town meeting, and Johnsburg town board members subsequently praised the work of the committee. The town board then unanimously passed a resolution expressing support for the committee's proposal. Later, Johnsburg Supervisor Andrea Hogan noted that the Futures committee was a group of 15 people of varied talents and backgrounds, and some of them had experience in grants writing as well as managing arts organizations or other non-profit entities. "This committee brings a tremendous new energy to planning how to manage Tannery Pond Center going forward," she said. One potential obstacle remains, however, to realize the committee's proposal: there may be deed restrictions that accompanied the town's acquisition of Tannery Pond Center in 2002, she said. "The town board has to pore over the deed documents and consult with legal counsel to make sure we are honoring the Widlund's gift," Hogan said. "Right now, we don't know whether can actually transfer the center to another entity — but the town is struggling with the expenses of the building, and we have to do something differently."

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Struggling with Tannery Pond Center's costs, Jbg. leaders mull lease or sale of arts venue

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