Scott Williams swilliams@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Scott Williams The Mielke Arts Center, located at N5649 Airport Road, is owned by Shawano County and leased by the Shawano County Arts Council. The public property committee approved a new five-year lease, but it must still be ratified by the arts council and the County Board.
The Shawano County Arts Council would pay higher utility bills and assume greater responsibility for property maintenance under a new lease hammered out Thursday on the county-owned Mielke Arts Center.
The tentative agreement came after a county official warned arts council representatives that without a deal, their nonprofit organization could be removed from the Mielke Arts Center by the end of the month.
The new five-year lease now must be ratified by both the arts council and the county board to extend a public-private partnership that has existed for 40 years.
Ed Grys, who represents the Mielke Family Foundation on the arts council, said after the agreement was struck that he felt county representatives were “as fair as they could be” on the lease issue.
“They have their responsibilities and we have ours,” Grys said. “It was not adversarial.”
Negotiated during a meeting of the county’s public property committee, the tentative agreement allowed both sides to compromise, although the arts council ended up yielding on most major issues.
At stake is future management of a property that has functioned since the 1970s as both the arts council’s headquarters and the venue for such events as this weekend’s Shawano Folk Music Festival. It also is the site of stage plays, art exhibitions and community activities.
Among the biggest sticking points on the lease renewal was access to public restrooms in the main lobby of the arts center. The county wanted to reduce maintenance costs by declaring those restrooms off-limits to visitors except during public events on the property.
Arts council representatives called the proposal “silly,” saying that it would inconvenience patrons who use the facility for rehearsals, workshops and other activities.
County officials responded that if the arts council wanted unlimited use of the lobby restrooms, the group would have to take responsibility for cleaning and maintaining the restrooms, which the county had done previously.
“We can’t be a free janitorial service,” Supervisor Deb Noffke said.
The arts council representatives agreed to take over maintenance of the bathrooms and the remainder of the building, and gave up on a request that the county handle more outdoor property maintenance. For the bathrooms, the county agreed to continue supplying paper products and trash bags.
Calling the county’s upkeep of the property “atrocious” at times, arts council president Mary Madsen told county officials, “We will take care of it.”
Built in 1975 at a cost of $140,000, the arts center at N5649 Airport Road was funded by the county, city of Shawano and private donations. The complex includes an indoor theater with seating for about 250 people, as well as dressing rooms, concession stands and outdoor performance stages.
The arts council leases the property for $1 under a five-year deal with the county that expires later this month.
Building Maintenance Director Steve Dreher cautioned arts council representatives Thursday that, without their agreement on specific provisions, there would not be enough time to get a new lease in place before the current lease expires Aug. 31.
At that point, Dreher said, “You’re out of the building.”
“That seems a little bit radical,” Grys replied.
Another major point of contention was utility costs, with the arts council currently paying 60 percent and the county paying 40 percent of the monthly electricity and gas bills. The county wanted the arts council to assume complete responsibility for all such costs under the new lease.
The negotiated compromise would impose an 80-20 cost-sharing agreement effective in 2016 and continuing throughout the new lease.
In exchange, the arts council would give up a demand that the county pay rent whenever using the arts center for county government functions — a proposal that drew strenuous objections from county officials.
The two sides also reached an agreement on the terms under which either side could seek to break the lease early.
The arts council board is scheduled to consider the new lease Aug. 13, and it then goes before the county board on Aug. 26.