Council Approves Partnership Between City and SAPAC for Auditorium Renovation

San Angelo’s City Auditorium renovation project will see some much needed support following a Council decision at last week’s meeting, which allowed for a change to a development and construction agreement in which the City will combine forces with the San Angelo Performing Arts Coalition (SAPAC).

Assistant City Manager Rick Weise introduced the proposed contractual changes, outlining priorities and limitations on the project under the current agreement, in which the City is solely liable for all renovations and repairs.

Parts of the project have already been completed, Weise stated, describing the phased progress made as part of the previous City Hall project, during which the plumbing, air conditioning, asbestos removal and basement were completed. 

Additional funds were allocated for roof replacement, he said, and funding for these projects was deducted from the initial $3.7 million earmarked for the auditorium. A balance of approximately $2.1 million remains to move the auditorium to an operational stage.

Priorities at this point include new rigging and upgraded lighting and sound systems, Weise said, as well as refurbishment of the current seating. Also to be funded out of the remaining balance are renovations of the restrooms, lobby and stage areas.

As per architect recommendations, Weise said that staff had built in a contingency to account for fluctuating material costs and additional architect fees.  “We built in a fairly hefty contingency,” he explained to Council, bringing up a slide depicting calculated costs. “In those numbers, you’ll notice that in…all of that, you’re still $441,000 over budget. There is a $495,000 contingency built into those numbers, so depending on how we went, we might make it there or we might have to reduce one or two of those items to get where we needed to be.”

The City’s costing excludes several other high priority items, Weise said, that without a partnership with SAPAC would not be possible. SAPAC and the Area Foundation have raised $2.5 million to contribute to the auditorium renovation, and that money would cover deficits in the City’s contract, as well as enhance the scope of the overall project.

“As you walk through the building, you’ll notice a lot of cracking in the floor,” Weise said. “That is one of the things that partnering with SAPAC will allow us to do, is to replace that flooring so we get rid of structural concerns. As we move forward, we’ve got a vibrant facility that is up and operating for many years to come.”

Cracking also exists in the balcony, and the auditorium lacks a fire sprinkling system, Weise added. As part of the partnership, SAPAC funds would be allocated to cover these items, and would also be applied to cover all of the architect’s fees. In turn, the City would be responsible for hiring a construction manager, subject to Council approval.

With the addition of the items SAPAC proposes to include in the project, the costs would again exceed the budget, however contingencies would cover these costs, Weise explained.

“We built in some contingencies as we did before,” he said. “You’ll notice in this particular case, you’re $707,000 over the dollars that are allocated, but there’s a little over a million dollars built into the project.”

A further section of the agreement requires that SAPAC establish a $1 million endowment for operational expenses, however a letter from Area Foundation President and CEO Matt Lewis explains that a generous donation naming the foundation as the beneficiary of an estate would cover those costs when the estate gift matures.  Until it matures, SAPAC will reserve $250,000 for operational expenses, the letter states.

In order to fulfill an obligation to contribute to SAPAC’s management services, the City will award SAPAC $50,000 in hotel occupancy tax funds a year for three years, with an option to negotiate with Council thereafter for funding not to exceed 10 percent a year.

Having heard Weise’s presentation, Council had only a few questions pertaining to the use of the facility after the project is complete. Built into the agreement is a clause requiring that 10-15 percent of the access to the auditorium be for charitable purposes. Mayor Dwain Morrison expressed a wish to have proof that the auditorium would be accessible to the general public.

“I like this 10-15 percent charitable, but I want some verification on this, because this auditorium belongs not to SAPAC, this auditorium belongs to the citizens of San Angelo,” Morrison said. “And if everyone in this city is not able to use this—and I’m talking about children, and the schools and all the different plays, and all the things that have been in this for the 80 years of its existence—if this is not verified, and our citizens do not have the opportunity, then we need to look at this again.”

The Mayor also took issue with a previous agreement with the symphony, in which  the symphony was leased the space for $1 a year. “I also do not like leasing this—some of the prime real estate in the City of San Angelo—for $1 a year to the symphony,” he said. “I don’t like that, never have, never will. Especially when the City has to go out and rent other properties for our health department and our water department is falling down around us, and then to give the property for a year.”

Councilwoman Charlotte Farmer spoke to the Mayor’s concerns, stating that she, too had had issues in the past, but has since changed her perspective.  “I do remember agreeing with the mayor on the rental fee until I saw the value of the return in visiting the people to the city—the economic value of it,” she said.

As a final point of emphasis, several council members stressed that they would like to maintain the historical value of the auditorium, particularly as pertains to the seating.

“I think it would be criminal to replace these beautiful wooden and metal seats with new, modern, plastic seating,” Mayor Morrison said. “I don’t mind refurbishing them, but I think it would be absolutely criminal to take these seats out and replace them with something modern.”

Following all Council comment, a motion was made to approve the updated and amended agreement, and passed unanimously, 7-0. The next step in the project will be to hire a construction manager.