Auditorium arrangement doesn't seem right

It’s not right. Those words sounded in my brain after reading Richard Hanners’ article in the Feb. 2 Whitefish Pilot about the Alpine Theatre Project’s apparent summer monopoly of the Whitefish Performing Arts Center (PAC) from now until potentially 2025.

First of all, Whitefish families like mine contributed to the Central School Auditorium Renovation fund under the premise that the new PAC would be a venue for both the school and a variety of community arts organizations. I’ll bet that none of the approximately 800 contributors expected that one group — ATP — would come to have exclusive use of the PAC for potentially 15 summers in a row. As much as I enjoy attending ATP performances, this doesn’t seem right. I would like the opportunity to enjoy other events there in the summer, too.

Secondly, long-time arts organization in this valley, notably the Whitefish Theatre Company and the Glacier Symphony and Chorale, have always worked to coordinate performance schedules and venues. They bend over backward to accommodate and support each other. According to the article, the ATP seems to have presented some stringent requirements for other groups to use the PAC during “their” summer. That doesn’t seem right.

According to Mr. Hanners’ article, Frank Morrison pledged $500,000 to the auditorium renovation project, and this $500,000 pledge was the reason that school superintendent Jerry House signed a contract and addendum with the ATP for exclusive summer use of the PAC for $100 a day that could stretch to 2025. Even if Mr. Morrison had been able to donate the $500,000 before he died, this arrangement involving a public school auditorium upgraded by community donations does not seem right. And on another note, locking in a bargain $100-a-day rental for 15 years seems questionable on its own.

So I ask — who is in charge of the PAC? Does superintendent House decide who uses the PAC during the school year and the ATP decide in the summer? And what about money? Does the ATP keep any profit they receive for subleasing the PAC in the summer, such as for the Western Governors Conference in Whitefish last summer?

All aspects of this PAC-in-the-summer issue need to be investigated, disclosed to the public and resolved in a fair manner so it feels right to the many Whitefish residents who have invested in this fine performing arts center.

Sally Murdock lives in Whitefish.