Donald M. Gay Performing Arts Center reports 26,000 visitors since opening, flags maintenance and staffing needs

Lily Gardner, event coordinator for the Donald M. Gay Performing Arts Center, briefed the Auburn School Committee on Nov. 5 on the venue’s usage, finances and maintenance needs.

“So a total of 26,000 people have visited us so far since we opened,” Gardner said, detailing a jump from about 5,000 visitors in school year 2024 to roughly 17,000 in 2025 and about 3,000 so far in the current school year. Gardner said the center’s client retention rate is 93.3 percent for the new school year and that outside renters such as Maine State Music Theater remain a major source of attendance.

Gardner summarized last year’s revenue as about $25,000 in sales but said roughly 60 percent of that is pass-through revenue that covers personnel costs for custodians and event managers. “In school year ’26, we projected that we needed about $40,000 to be in the green this year,” Gardner said, adding that current projections were running higher as more events were added late in the season.

The coordinator described several maintenance and safety items the district is addressing. Gardner said a stage paint job requires further professional assessment and the district has engaged firms including Harriman and Dudley and flooring specialists to determine appropriate remediation and finishes. She told the committee the PAC experiences frequent local power outages that have caused technical failures and said “we do need to have UPS power installed into two towers in the auditorium.” Gardner also said the PAC will host its first annual rigging inspection around Nov. 24–25 and that routine inspection, upholstery and cleaning are estimated at about $7,000 annually.

Gardner outlined operational steps to strengthen the venue: hiring event support staff and AV technicians, launching a volunteer usher program (volunteers receive tickets in exchange for a commitment to multiple school events), forming a DMG performing arts advisory board, and commissioning a professional website and refreshed branding to improve marketing and search visibility.

Committee members thanked Gardner for the presentation and asked follow-up questions about remediation timelines and longer-term capital costs. Assistant Superintendent Scott Anier said the district is treating the DMG as a distinct enterprise within district finances, with separate enterprise, restoration and additional-service accounts. He said Lily routes financial information through Business Manager Amanda Kuchar for account set-up and that the city still provides custodial and maintenance services through a memorandum of understanding, although off-hours labor remains a PAC responsibility.

The committee did not take action on the presentation; Gardner said the PAC will continue outreach and report back as projects progress.