Signal Mountain council and MAC directors begin talks on town-funded director, oversight and transition plan

The Town of Signal Mountain Council on May 12 heard an extended public discussion and a question-and-answer session with the co-directors of the Signal Mountain Elementary School Preservation Fund about a proposal for the town to fund a full‑time director for the Mountain Arts Center (MAC) and possible operational arrangements ahead of the current lease and memorandum of agreement ending next year.

The discussion matters because the preservation fund has run MAC programming and renovations for years, the co-directors said, and the town would be asked to pay for a director, utilities and operating expenses while the preservation fund would continue programming and capital projects under a negotiated structure. Council members said the proposal could affect the town budget and directed a council member to meet with the preservation fund to develop a transition plan and negotiating framework.

Public comment and questions to the co-directors filled much of the meeting. Several residents asked for greater transparency, regular reporting and council-appointed board representation if town money is used. One commenter urged that any board overseeing MAC be subject to open‑meeting rules and appointment processes similar to the library board. During the council Q&A, Mr. and Mrs. Graham — introduced as the preservation fund’s directors — said their operation has been largely voluntary and financially constrained. “Everything that the MAC makes goes back into the MAC,” Mr. Graham said, adding that he and his co-director have “put somewhere around $300,000 of our own money into the MAC.” He also told council, “If you count up the volunteer time … we have saved the town somewhere close to a million dollars over the last 5 years.”

Council members asked for specifics about timing and responsibilities. The co-directors said they do not intend to continue running day‑to‑day operations after the current lease and MOA expire: “Come 07/01/2026, we don't intend on extending the situation that we're in now,” one Graham said. They proposed hiring a town employee as director (a town hire paid by the town), with the preservation fund providing input on hiring, and discussed the possibility of a hybrid governance model that would include town‑appointed members and preservation fund members.

The preservation fund representatives described how MAC revenue is currently handled: instructors collect fees that are processed by the fund, the fund pays teachers and retains 20% of class revenue to cover utilities and program growth. They said typical month‑end cash available for renovations or equipment is modest — “maybe $1,500 or $2,000” — and that current fundraising does not cover the costs of a full-time paid director. The co-directors said major renovation work is largely complete, with some remaining needs (they identified windows as a remaining high‑cost item), and said further capital work would depend on fundraising or a negotiated arrangement with the town.

Council members and the co-directors agreed the details need negotiation. Vice Mayor Clay Crumbles volunteered to be the council’s point person to meet with the preservation fund and the town manager to develop a transition and budget plan; Crumbles said he would meet with the Grahams and report back to council. Mayor Elizabeth Baker and other council members said the library/friends‑of‑the‑library model could be a useful comparison but cautioned that a hybrid board can be operationally “murky.” Several council members suggested the preservation fund could remain a fundraising entity while the town resumes operational control, with a mechanism to ensure MAC revenues support MAC operations and capital needs.

The Grahams said they would be willing to help transition operations, that they expect to scale back from day‑to‑day management to volunteer support, and that they prefer any transition plan preserve momentum for programming and teacher relationships. Council members repeatedly thanked the Grahams for volunteer time, renovations and programming that have increased the MAC’s reach beyond Signal Mountain.

The council did not take a formal vote on the MAC operations proposal that evening. Instead it gave direction to begin detailed negotiations, assigned a council point person and asked that negotiations include budgetary timing so the town can determine whether to include a director in next year’s budget.

Ending: Council members asked staff and the Grahams to begin drafting a transition plan and clarified that any town funding would be subject to budget approval; Vice Mayor Crumbles agreed to be the council’s liaison and report back to the full council with a negotiation timeline and draft terms.