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Hillsdale TIFA committee directs staff to contact Dawn Theater applicants, sets two-week deadline
Summary
At its Jan. 8 meeting the Hillsdale TIFA Targeted Development Committee reviewed three management proposals for the Dawn Theater, asked staff to verify Open Meetings Act limits on private discussions, and voted to email applicants with the RFP as guidance and a two-week response deadline.
The Hillsdale Tax Increment Finance Authority (TIFA) Targeted Development Committee on Jan. 8 reviewed three applications to manage the Dawn Theater and voted to have city staff contact applicants with guidance from the existing RFP and a two-week deadline for responses.
The committee, chaired by Chris Bahash, discussed proposals from a venue management team led by Ryan Hudson and Kory Osmun, North Point Events (William Daguanno and Hannah Rowe), and a solo submission from Dena E. Rushton. Committee members emphasized that any manager must bring relevant experience and a path to financial sustainability. "Hudson is an experienced promotor but in poor health," Kevin Conant said, and he noted that Osmun "is an experienced DJ" who has addressed some RFP standards. Andrew Gelzer said the Dawn's programming should "bring diverse entertainment with [an] original community component" while remaining "profitable and sustainable." Bahash said the Hudson/Osmun submission "only addressed half of what TIFA is requiring" and stressed that financial capacity matters.
Gelzer reported North Point Events had local ties and responsiveness but that its representatives indicated they did "not desire to invest a ton of initial capital" and would likely begin part-time while coordinating with Friends of the Dawn for longer-term investment. The committee said it had not yet had direct contact with Rushton and asked staff to follow up for clarification about her availability and intentions.
Committee members also asked Olivia Smith, the city's zoning administrator, to check with legal counsel about whether nonpublic conversations or confidentiality agreements with applicants would be consistent with Open Meetings Act requirements. The group agreed to replace the term "RFP" with "Application" in solicitation language to better reflect the intended process.
On outreach and advertising, Gelzer asked about spending additional funds; Luke Robson urged the committee to wait until staff had contacted applicants and exhausted local options. Gelzer requested that city staff place a manager advertisement sign on the City of Hillsdale Facebook page.
Robson moved to direct Smith to email all applicants, attach the RFP document as a guideline for responses, and give applicants two weeks to reply; Conant seconded the motion. The motion "carried," and the committee did not record further vote detail in the minutes. Bahash asked that a discussion of when to involve Friends of the Dawn and the Dawn Theater Governance Board be added to the Jan. 22, 2026 agenda.
In public comment, Mary Wolfram of Friends of the Dawn thanked the committee for conducting the search, offered the group's website and Facebook page for advertising, and suggested weddings could be a revenue source for the theater. Jack McLain asked when the next full TIFA Board meeting would occur and said he believed the Dawn may be too small to serve as a wedding venue because of limited mingling space and parking.
The committee adjourned at 6:19 PM.
