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Heritage Theater manager seeks consultant to scope renovation; council to consider spending from capital reserve
Summary
Heritage Theater manager Jason Clark recommended hiring theater consultant Schuler Shook to assess needs, advise on ADA and technical upgrades, and help prioritize renovation work; the contract proposal is roughly $89,000 and staff discussed using $500,000 previously earmarked in the capital improvement fund to begin planning.
Jason Clark, manager of the Heritage Theater Festival Hall, told the council on March 5 that the city should hire a specialist consultant to guide an upcoming renovation.
Clark said he attended a trade show and concluded the project requires current industry expertise: ‘‘We need people who have done this more currently than my professional experience,’’ he said. Staff brought forward Schuler Shook (recorded in the transcript as 'Shieler Shook' or 'Schuler and Shuck'), a theater consulting firm that made an on-site visit and submitted a bid package. Clark said the firm recommended stakeholder meetings, building assessments and two on-site visits and proposed a cost in the neighborhood of $89,000.
Councilors discussed funding. The administration previously earmarked $500,000 in the capital improvement fund for future theater renovation; staff said that reserve is set aside but not yet a live budget line and that a formal budget revision would be required to expend the funds. City staff suggested awarding the contract on consent and completing the budget revision process in parallel so consulting work can begin.
Clark emphasized the consultant’s role in prioritizing scope—identifying which items must be done now and which can wait—and in serving as a neutral referee among competing priorities. The consultant also includes a cost consultant on the team to help estimate and manage costs.
Next steps: staff will place the consulting agreement on the consent agenda and pursue the budget revision needed to move funds into a live project account.
