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Paramount operations and AP 3/VenueWorks contract prompt community calls to protect arts programming
Summary
AP 3 presented its operational proposal to run the Paramount Arts Center with VenueWorks as a subcontractor; PAC Inc. notified the city it would not extend its lease and asked for a $20,000/month subsidy. Local arts staff and volunteers pressed commissioners for contractual guarantees to preserve youth education programs and existing staff roles.
AP 3 told the Ashland Board of Commissioners it intends to operate the Paramount Arts Center as part of a combined facility once the conference center is complete and said an interim, six-month operating fund would be required to keep the theater open during transition.
Sam Howard said AP 3 would be the contract holder with VenueWorks as a teaming partner and that the city would retain levers in the contract to remove an operator if expectations were not met. AP 3 provided a pro forma budget showing a six-month startup cost "as an estimated cost" and said the figure of roughly $319,000 was an estimate for operating and booking funds, not a single grant check to any operator.
Why it matters: PAC Inc., the nonprofit that had managed the Paramount, emailed the city a notice of nonrenewal on Nov. 20 and — as reported in the meeting — asked the city for a $20,000-per-month subsidy before…
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