A consultant hired by the Pinehurst Council to assess the cultural arts needs in Pinehurst and Moore County gathered input for residents tonight.

The meeting was held in the Assembly Hall of the Pinehurst Village Hall.

Duncan Webb of New York-based Webb Management Services shared some key questions, and data that will be answered in a report on the role of cultural arts in Moore County that he expects to deliver to the Pinehurst Council before it meets on May 22.

Numerous residents spoke and many voiced concerns about spending taxpayer money for a new facility.

Webb worked to dispel the rumor that the study was to fund a 2,200-seat performing arts center and that taxpayers would foot the bill.

"There is not presumption of a project," Webb said, "And there is no presumption of who would pay for it."

Webb and another representative from his company spent three days in Pinehurst and Moore County in February gathering data for the study. They interviewed stakeholders and toured significant performance venues in the area.

Earlier this year the Pinehurst Council hired Webb Management Services to conduct a needs assessment of the performing arts in Moore County.

For more on the story, see Sunday's print edition of the The Pilot.