Think carefully about arts center
To the editor: Bartlett officials are working with consultants AMS Planning and Research who proposed spending $5.3 million to build a 99-seat theater as part of a cultural arts center in order to boost the downtown economy. Since the center will operate at a $250,000 annual deficit, it will be at least six years to break even provided that the center is utilized at the level AMS suggests.
First, AMS states that optimized annual usage needed to make the facility viable is 18 village-presented events, 125 non-profit performances, and 25 commercial performances. At 168 performances or events a year, it is an average of 1 performance every 2.2 days! That's also 1.5 commercial performances a month.
It will be impossible to schedule that many events, as all will need time for preparation and tear-down. Ticket prices, facility use fees, commercial performance box office take, and many other factors must be included to get a clear picture. Much more data needs to be presented before anyone should believe this optimized usage is possible, let alone practical.
Consider that even with a successful downtown, the 29-year-old Barrington Area Arts Council recently closed its doors. Why should we believe our 5-year-old Arts in Bartlett council will be able to provide financial benefit to our community with six years when well-to-do Barrington cannot maintain their arts council?
One would like to think any non-profit arts council exists for the promotion of arts, it appears to me that Arts in Bartlett may simply be economically motivated. Our village appears to be putting the cart before the horse.
Let's consider some other communities and 'things' they do to generate downtown visits that Bartlett does not do. Wheaton, Barrington, and other communities have weekly car shows in the summer. Long Grove has apple and strawberry festivals. Why did Bartlett move the farmers market away from the town center? Why did we move the carnival, food and entertainment portions of our summer festivals out of downtown?
We could do some things differently with existing events and we could bring in new events for much less than $5.3 million.
Fellow residents of Bartlett, keep a close eye on this issue. The only thing worse than minimal economic development of our community would be a major economic blunder whose pain will linger for years.
Mark Difazzio
Bartlett