Conway Entertainment outlines 90-day overhaul of Lerner Theatre; council approves $75,000 transfer

Conway Entertainment Group on Monday told the Elkhart City Common Council it has begun a 90-day program to stabilize operations at the Lerner Theatre and reduce the venue’s reliance on city funds.

Conway representatives said they have focused on staffing, ticketing, marketing and facility maintenance while working with the Lerner governing board. “Our vision is to transform the Lerner into a world class venue of cultural enrichment for residents and visitors alike,” Conway principal Scott Welch said.

The report matters because the Lerner has required city subsidies since its renovation, and council members asked for clearer accounting of past shortfalls and how the venue will move toward financial stability. The council voted to move $75,000 from a Lerner full‑time wages line to a contract‑services account to continue contracted management while the general manager position remains vacant.

Interim Lerner director Sherry May summarized operational changes she said the team implemented during the interim: stakeholder engagement; restructuring the box office and creating a director of operations; reclassifying job titles in coordination with the city to reduce salary costs; bringing social media work in‑house; renegotiating catering and other vendor contracts; and standardizing rate sheets for commercial and nonprofit users. “We restructured box office manager, promoting within and creating a new role of director of operations to improve efficiency in the theater,” May said. She told the council those moves produced identified savings including roughly $30,000 in salary reclassification savings and eliminating a combined operations/building manager position that she said reduced annual payroll obligations by about $72,000.

Conway’s Blake McDaniel and Welch also described business practices they said they are deploying from other municipal venues to increase ticket sales and better manage expenses. McDaniel cited a prior turnaround in Nashville as proof the model can work but emphasized it would take time: “It took about 2 years to get things to the point where they needed to be,” he said, adding that the team expects to move the Lerner toward at least breaking even over time.

Council members asked for more financial detail. One councilmember urged Conway and staff to produce an estimate of how much revenue the Lerner has left “on the table” from past ticketing and collection issues so the governing board and council can weigh whether to continue the current operating arrangement or seek a third‑party long‑term lease. Conway representatives agreed to provide more detailed analysis and said they would be transparent about findings.

Council action and next steps The council considered two Lerner‑related budget items at the meeting. On a resolution (25‑R‑02) the council authorized transferring $75,000 from the Lerner full‑time account to contract services to fund interim management for up to six months. The motion to adopt the resolution was made by Councilman Micheler and seconded by Councilwoman King; the roll call vote passed 8–0 (Holtz, Curry, King, Micheler, Hines, Crabtree, Henke, President Dawson recorded as yes).

Separately, the council read on first reading a proposed ordinance (25‑O‑07) that would amend the Lerner’s personnel ordinance to reorganize positions and maximum salaries for Lerner employees in the 2025 appropriated budget. That ordinance remains at first reading and will return to the council for subsequent readings.

Conway and the Lerner governing board Conway said it has been meeting with Lerner board members regularly and that the governing board is involved in the interim decisions. May said recruiting for a permanent general manager is underway and that the interim changes are intended to leave the next manager with cleaner processes and reduced operating risk.

Council members thanked Conway and May for the report and asked for follow up material, including (1) a breakdown of the identified savings and timing for realization, (2) an estimate of historical revenues or fees that were not collected that might be recoverable, and (3) the projected fiscal impact for the remainder of 2025 under the current interim contract. Conway committed to providing more detailed numbers to the council and to the Lerner governing board.

Ending The council approved the transfer to continue contracted management for the immediate term and set the personnel ordinance (25‑O‑07) for further consideration on later readings. Conway said it will return with more detailed financials and booking plans to show progress toward a financially sustainable season.