"Whose money and for what real reasons?" by Village Approves Funding for Arts Center Study

Whose money and for what real reasons?

Blog: Village Approves Funding for Arts Center Study

January 16, 2012

Several people posted somewhat negative opinions about this item before the original article's comment pages were closed several days ago. Considering the size and questionable nature of the expenditure, it would seem prudent to offer the opportunity to continue the discussion here in a format that is not shackled by the short time limits of the news article pages.

I find it a bit disappointing that the village government is so willing to throw money into this endeavor just on the prodding of a few local orchestra volunteers. Feasibility studies are a well-known money pit and one need only poll the participants of the recent Strings and Ribbons fiasco offered by NCDOT to see how the purveyors of these faux informational conglomerations go to incredible lengths to spend your public money in the name of their own personal goals.

Secondly, even if feasibility studies didn't have such a terrible reputation, and admitting to the possibility that Webb Management, Inc might have a reasonably good reputation amongst the performing arts center special interest groups, do you really expect this consultant to tell the village that a 2200 seat performing arts center is NOT feasible when it is their business and in their best self-interest to tell them that it IS feasible? Just for kicks, let's have the Centre for Public Accountability do the study and see how many of these projects get researched and built with public money!

And finally, there are a growing number of local residents who are beginning to question the motives and the validity of Mr. Wolff and his volunteers' arguments regarding these dreams.

Here are some important questions to consider:

The Triangle area has a population of just over 1.7 million people. The Durham Performing Arts Center was built with 2700 seats. Yet the maestro's disciples want to build a 2200 seat edifice in an area where the population of the entire county is well under 100,000 -- that is less than 6 percent of DPAC's market area. What's wrong with this picture?

The North Carolina Symphony is significantly more credible than the local orchestra, yet I don't hear their conductor Mr. Llewellyn petitioning our local government for free funding to justify a new stage. In fact, the North Carolina Symphony presents an on-going and steady schedule of high quality concerts (monthly in the near future) right here in the Sandhills and I've never heard them complain that the Robert E. Lee Auditorium was a dump that they refused to play in.

So, why is Mr. Wolff so much more important than Mr. Llewellyn that he thinks he deserves a publicly funded performing arts center in a small town that really should be finding much more efficient ways to spend its money?

Another example is the Givens Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Robeson County has a population almost 40% greater than Moore County. In addition, the campus is only 15 minutes from Laurinburg in Scotland County giving it an additional population boost. This means that the immediate area of UNCP has a population twice as large as Moore County, PLUS a captive audience of 6,000 full-time UNCP students. Yet the Givens Performing Arts Center was designed with fewer than 1700 seats! This begs the question of whether the number of seats proposed in Pinehurst is based on the prospective audiences or on egos. (And remember, Givens was built primarily to serve as an auditorium for the college -- the community performing arts center function is just an added benefit. If it wasn't for UNCP, Givens would have never been built.)

Another argument often posed by Mr. Wolff and followers is that his performing arts center will be a magnet that will make Pinehurst an "entertainment destination" for people from all the surrounding areas. Really -- do you expect me to believe that Triangle arts lovers will drive 90 miles to Pinehurst when they have DPAC and the Progress Energy Center just a few minutes away? Will Fayetteville residents travel an hour instead of simply going to the Crown Auditorium? Are any Charlotte residents likely to fight two hours of back roads to come here instead of going to their own wonderful Charlotte Performing Arts Center? Get real people!!!

Furthermore, do you really believe that the power brokers in the entertainment world (agents, producers, etc) will allow their great productions to be compromised by putting them in Pinehurst instead of the bigger, more reliable markets? Do you think they'll scuttle those venues in Durham, Raleigh, Charlotte, or even Fayetteville by double-booking shows in both locations and thereby losing the business they normally get coming in from little Moore County? It's obvious that the Pinehurst council understands very little about the realities of the live entertainment industry.

And finally, do the Pinehurst government leaders really think they should ignore the problems experienced by the City of Roanoke Rapids in their ill-conceived financial support of the now defunct Randy Parton Theater? Roanoke Rapids is now on the hook for the full cost of the $21.5M joke that they allowed themselves to be suckered into. They are scrambling to cover the $1.7M annual debt service payments in an era when government agencies are being forced to cut services to the bone. Can Pinehurst afford that kind of frivolity with your money?

I know there are many lovers of Mr. Wolff out there who will decry this post as venom and lies, but it seems that whenever anyone questions his motives, his followers never really offer published facts and measured discussion in repudiation....... only venom.

Let's put our opinions of the boy maestro aside and ask the real questions about whether the Village of Pinehurst should be throwing our public money into personal dreams that have little or no true validity under the bright lights of careful business and financial scrutiny. If you are concerned about this ultra liberal action being taken by a government that claims to be conservative, please voice your opinion -- both here and to your elected representatives.

I don't care if Mr. Wolff builds a giant palace or a tiny shed to his own ego, I just don't want my government spending my money to help him do it, and then telling me that they can't afford to maintain quality services to the rest of our citizens because they blew it all on a pied piper. If Mr. Wolff really is the savior of Moore County arts, then let his wealthy patrons pay for his concert hall and keep our public money out of it, because until we have a million people to support it, we already have plenty of seats at Pinecrest, Owens Auditorium, and the Sunrise Theater.

wdd101st 4 months, 1 week ago

I agree with you that Moore County does not (at this time) need such an undertaking.

The North Carolina Symphony attracts a large crowb at the Carolina Hotel every year. The Moore County Symphony seems to draw a good number when they perform there as well. Then to look around the area to other venues. Pinecrest High School has a very nice auditorium that can handle a larger number than Pinehurst. Not sure about the other 2 high schools because I haven't been to them in years, but I would think they also have nice auditoriums. Sandhills Community College also has a nice facility. In a time of recessionlike this, do we really need to spend more taxpayer money? If those that want a place so badly want to spend money, let them raise it out of their pockets and that of the companies they run.

Arestorer 4 months, 1 week ago

Sounds like you just completed the Feasibility study..Send them a Bill.

TimothySmithNC 4 months, 1 week ago

Apparently someone's mommy made him take too many piano lessons as a child.

JustAnotherNobody 4 months, 1 week ago

If you really want to do something about it, send a link to this post to everyone you know. If enough people make their feelings known to the members of the government of Pinehurst, I suspect that they would change their minds about climbing on this particular bandwagon.

TimothySmithNC 4 months, 1 week ago

Um.. yeah. The only person who seems to have a problem with it is you. Not seein’ a whole lotta supporters of your feigned outrage and bizarre attempts to cast fear and suspicion on what you’d like us to believe is a boogie-man carpetbagger coming to take our hard-earned money. Speaking on behalf of those of us who aren’t buying your weird paranoia, I’d just like to publicly invite you to move along (since most people are too polite to say you’re about as laughably obvious as a brick to the head).

Got news for ya, bub. Towns grow and change… you should try it some time. I, for one, am thrilled at the idea of PPAC and the new jobs, sales taxes, and tourism this will bring to our community. Using your logic, we would have never seen Rockingham Speedway, because who would drive to Rockingham when you can drive to Charlotte? The national entertainment industry magazine Pollstar, just ranked DPAC as the #4 theater in America (in the same company Radio City Music Hall, Caesars Palace, the Fox Theatre of Atlanta , and New York’s Beacon Theater) goodness forbid the Pinehurst Performing Arts Center one day be included in that group… yeah, it must be a conspiracy, indeed.

It’s also pretty obvious to those of us reading you have some kind of personal grudge against Mr. Wolff in these weird, ranting diatribes you post. Why not just admit you’ve got a beef with the guy (for whatever reason) instead all the nefarious insinuations and malevolent adjectives? After reading your latest “manifesto of spookiness and dire consequences”, I went to the Carolina Philharmonic’s website and bought season tickets to their Pinehurst Pops Series and some gift certificates for my parents (and I encourage others to do the same, Handel’s Messiah was just awesome, btw).

People like you are the reason we can’t have nice things. Take a Xanax and a beer and get over it.

Easygoing 4 months, 1 week ago

This blog entry should be published by the Pilot in an editorial not buried in a second level of a blog. Criticial reading for every citizen of Pinehurst to understand where their money is going. What do you say Pilot. will you publish as an editorial and let the general public decide how they feel about the issue??????

Arestorer 4 months, 1 week ago

Hey,,The United-Way is doing a "Comprehensive"needs study...Maybe they could use it...Alot cheaper probably...But, some of the people here are not happy if they dont overpay...I guess they think their getting a better product/service if it cost more..

southaberhurst 3 months, 4 weeks ago

I agree with Easygoing, please Pilot, Publish this editorial !!

ncsnafu1 3 months, 1 week ago

@JustAnotherNobody: Great article which the Pilot should publish as an editorial although as everyone knows, the chances of that happening rank right up there with the Pilot publishing Pinehurst crime reports.

Here are a couple of items that you could have included:

The current maintenance facilities are being moved from the New Core area at an extimated cost of $5 - $6M to clear the area for development. In addition, it's reasonable to include an estimated $2M for the streets the Village proposes to build in the area. For this $7 - $8M we get an approximate 2 acre site that a center could be built on provided that the council basically throws out all the existing PDO language that was initially written to protect the area. A prime example of this now occurring is the proposed land swap with the county and eliminating the parking space rquirements for the old steam plant project. This little project, the redevelopment of the steam plant, has the potential of costing the Village upwards of $700K to gain a business that most likely won't produce any new jobs and is now seen as a nuiance in the community it's located in.

It should also be mentioned that the proposed PAC would require an approximate 600 space parking garage to support it. Where this might be built is anybody's guess.

Pinehurst residents need to express their concerns to the council members that the proposed PAC and steam plant projects plus the development of New Core have the potential of significantly increasing the property tax rate while at the same time causing everyone to forget Roanoke Rapids.