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Edmonds Center for the Arts reports rising attendance, plans strategic review and seeks board appointment
Summary
Edmonds Center for the Arts told the City Council it served more than 7,000 people in 2024, is pursuing a state-authorized bond-extension in the Legislature, and has launched a five-year strategic plan while projecting an operating deficit for FY2025.
Ray Liao, president of the Edmonds Public Facilities District, and Kathy Liu, executive director of the Edmonds Center for the Arts, presented the venue’s annual update to the Edmonds City Council on April 1.
The Edmonds Center for the Arts, a public facilities district formed by the city in the mid-2000s to refurbish and own the former Edmonds High School, reported serving more than 7,000 people in 2024 and said it was on track to exceed that number in 2025.
The center’s leaders told the council the venue presents a season of curated performances, runs education and outreach programs for children and seniors, and hosts rentals and community events. "We present 35 to 40 presentations across multiple genres," Liu said, and added the center has bolstered programming by increasing Pacific Northwest artists in response to audience feedback.
Why it matters: ECA is an institution the council created and still appoints to its five-person public facilities district board; its financial health and capital needs affect city-appointed governance, downtown visitation and cultural tourism.
Liao and Liu described multiple program areas: a season of curated shows, outreach and education (including school matinees and teacher professional development), dementia-inclusive arts workshops and arts programming in nursing and veterans homes. Liu said the center resumed its KidsStock festival in 2024 and attracted more than 3,000 attendees at a January event drawn from more than 80 ZIP codes.
On finance, the presenters summarized FY2024 as roughly $4.7 million in revenue, about $4.1 million in expenses and a net surplus of about $190,000 after depreciation. For FY2025 the organization projects an operating deficit outside of its sales tax allocation and expects to use some one-time expenses, estimating an operating shortfall of about $686,000. Liu said the center is working on financial-principles to guide decisions and has launched a strategic planning process to address operating losses.
"We are working on defining financial success principles to guide our decision making as we continue to work towards decreasing that operating deficit," Liu said.
On capital projects, the center reported $127,000 invested in FY2024 on items including an envelope and seismic study, ADA accessibility upgrades, assisted-listening devices and security improvements. It expects about $147,000 of facility work in FY2025, including roof and elevator repairs, and said it is on track to complete repayment of a city loan by 2029.
Liao noted the center was created under state enabling legislation that finances bonds for public facility districts and said the district is seeking a legislative extension that would allow the sales-tax–based financing to continue beyond the current schedule. "We are hopeful that the legislation that allows us to finance the facility will be extended," Liao said, adding the extension request could preserve the funding source through 2041 or further.
The presenters closed by reminding the council that one board member will be rolling off this spring and that the public facilities district expects to bring a nomination for the council’s appointment process in the months ahead.
Council members thanked ECA staff for the venue’s educational programming and for accessibility upgrades. Council member Heck praised ECA’s multigenerational offerings and the organization’s attention to ADA improvements. Council president Tibbitt and others asked about use of space and corporate rentals; Liu said the center books many rentals and retains classroom-style spaces that date to the site’s high-school era.
The city’s relationship to ECA remains formal (the council appoints the PFD board) but operationally separate: Liu stressed ECA’s independent budget and a nonprofit fundraising board that supplements earned revenue from tickets and rentals.
Looking ahead, the center said it will continue strategic planning through spring and plans public programming announcements in May. Liu asked councilors to help spread word about a current vacancy on the PFD board.
